Tiguex War

War

Cárdenas established his base of operations in August 1540 at Ghufoor, sometimes called Coofor or Alcanfor, one of the largest settlements among the Tiguex pueblos. The arrival of additional Spanish troops soon rendered this initial camp too small, prompting the Spanish to seize adjacent pueblo structures and displace the native residents living there.

During their stay at Ghufoor, harsh conditions the Spanish had not adequately prepared for led Cornado to order his men to collect food and clothing throughout Tiguex Province. This collection process was carried out with disregard for the Natives, deepening the existing conflict between the two groups.

Xauían, a leader from Ghufoor whom the Spanish called Juan Alemán, had initially helped the Spanish establish their camp but turned against them as their behavior grew more aggressive. The mistreatment his people suffered drove Xauían to approach leaders from other tribes, hoping to forge a unified Tiwa resistance against further Spanish abuses and losses.

Matters escalated when a pueblo resident demanded that the Spanish discipline Juan de Villegas, an officer accused of assaulting his wife. Insufficient evidence meant Villegas faced no official inquiry. By December 1540, the Tiwa struck back against these injustices, slaughtering between 40 and 60 horses and mules that belonged to the expedition and had been left to roam freely. This act of defiance prompted Coronado to officially declare war against the Tiwa people.

Following standard practice of meeting any resistance with immediate and overwhelming force, Coronado dispatched Cárdenas along with a substantial contingent of allied Mexican Indian fighters to subdue Arenal, a Tiwa settlement. Although the inhabitants tried to surrender, the Spanish killed every defender present, and roughly 30 Tiwas were burned at the stake. Following this massacre, surviving Tiwa communities fled their villages along the river and gathered for a final defense atop a mesa the Spanish named Moho.

Unable to take Moho through direct assault, Coronado instead besieged the stronghold across roughly 80 days spanning January through March of 1541. The defenders fought back by hurling stones down from their rooftops and shooting arrows from within their dwellings. Eventually, dwindling water supplies forced Moho's inhabitants to attempt a nighttime escape toward the surrounding mountains. Xauían lost his life during this flight while protecting women and children from Spanish attackers, though many others who fled successfully reached the mountaintops. These survivors then continued fighting Coronado's forces through guerrilla tactics. Ultimately, exhausted and hampered by brutal weather and dwindling supplies, Coronado withdrew his army from the region entirely.

Popular culture

The Tiguex War has received extended fictional treatment just once, in the novel Winter of the Metal People, published in 2013.

Aftermath

After this engagement, Coronado embarked on his 1541 expedition across the Great Plains, pushing into central Kansas as he hunted for the fabled wealth of Quivira. By the time he came back, the Towa people of Jemez Pueblo had grown convinced that the Spaniards meant them harm, and their hostility led to fighting and a siege directed at Pecos.

As for the Tiwas, they had left every one of their Pueblos empty during the campaign toward Kansas, moving back in once the expedition departed for that region. Eventually, though, they gave up these settlements altogether, choosing instead to consolidate into fewer, larger Pueblos. Coronado himself pulled his forces back into Mexico in April 1542, and nearly four decades would pass, thirty-nine years in all, before any Spaniards ventured into the region again.