Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition facts for kids
The Chamuscado and Rodríguez Expedition was a trip made by Spanish explorers in 1581-1582. They explored the area we now call New Mexico. The leaders were Francisco Sánchez, known as "El Chamuscado," and Fray Agustín Rodríguez. They were the first Spaniards to visit the Pueblo Indians in about 40 years. The last Spanish explorer there was Francisco Vázquez de Coronado.
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Why the Expedition Happened
Fray Agustín Rodríguez was a friar living near Santa Barbara, Chihuahua. This town was the northern edge of New Spain (which was a Spanish colony). In 1579, a Native American told Rodríguez about towns to the north. These people grew cotton and made clothes.
To the Spanish, this meant the people were civilized. They thought these people might be open to becoming Christian. Rodríguez got permission from Spanish leaders for the trip. His goal was "to preach the Holy Gospel." Rodríguez knew about the travels of Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca. He didn't know much about Coronado's earlier trip.
The expedition started on June 5, 1581. Captain Francisco "El Chamuscado" Sánchez was the main leader. "Chamuscado" means "scorched" in Spanish. He got this name because of his bright red beard.
The group included nine Spanish soldiers and three Catholic friars. Rodríguez was one of them. They also had 19 Native American helpers, including two women. The soldiers had good weapons and horses. The expedition brought 90 horses and 600 sheep, goats, cattle, and pigs. They also planned to look for valuable minerals.
The Journey and the Native Peoples
The expedition followed the Conchos River. They traveled for over 100 miles. Along this river lived the Concho and Raya people. They spoke the same language. These groups were described as "naked" and ate roots and wild plants.
Further downriver were the Cabris or Pasaguantes. They lived along 40 miles of the riverbanks. They were also "naked" but spoke a different language. They grew squash and beans. The Spanish said they were "very handsome." Spanish slave traders had visited these areas before. This meant the official expedition was not the first Spanish contact.
Near La Junta, where the Conchos River meets the Rio Grande, they met more groups. The Abraidres lived at the junction and to the south. The Patarabueyes and Otomoacos lived to the north. These groups were friendly. The men were called "handsome" and the women "beautiful." They lived in houses made of woven branches and mud. They grew squash and beans. But the Spanish still saw them as "naked and wild." (See La Junta Indians)
North of there, near present-day El Paso, Texas, lived the Caguates. They lived in houses made of mud bricks. They grew corn and beans. They also traveled to the Great Plains to hunt buffalo. They ate fish from the river too. The explorers thought about 10,000 Native Americans lived between La Junta and El Paso. These people told the Spanish to follow the Rio Grande upstream. They said they would find "houses two stories high." These houses were made of mud walls and were white inside. The people wore cotton clothes.
Historians still discuss which of these groups became known as the Jumanos.
Meeting the Pueblo Indians
After many days of travel, the expedition reached the first Pueblo Indian village. It was south of Socorro, New Mexico. They continued up the Rio Grande. They passed many large and successful Pueblo villages. North of Albuquerque, New Mexico, they left the Rio Grande. They traveled east to the largest pueblo at Pecos, New Mexico. This town had 400 to 500 houses. Some houses were four or five stories tall. This means about 3,000 people might have lived there.
The Spanish described the Pueblo Indians as "handsome and fair-skinned." Some women even had "light hair." The Spanish were very impressed with them. The Pueblo people grew corn, beans, and squash. They also kept turkeys.
On September 10, 1581, one of the three Catholic friars, Juan de Santa Maria, decided to go back to Mexico. Chamuscado sadly agreed to let him leave.
The soldiers then went east onto the Great Plains. They were looking for buffalo. On the Pecos River near Santa Rosa, New Mexico, they met the Querecho Indians. About 400 men with bows and arrows came to meet them. But Rodríguez helped calm them down. The Spanish called them "naked" and uncivilized. These people hunted buffalo. A short distance further east, they found many herds of buffalo. There were 200 to 300 buffalo in each herd. The Spanish killed about 40 buffalo and made jerky (dried meat). The Querechos were the people who later became known as the Apaches.
The expedition returned to the Rio Grande Valley. They then traveled west to Acoma Pueblo and Zuni. Winter snows stopped them from reaching the Hopi pueblos. After that, they went east again. They visited several pueblos in the salt flats east of the Manzano Mountains.
The people who wrote about the expedition didn't see any lasting effects from Coronado's earlier trip. The Pueblos didn't seem to have adopted Spanish customs. They also didn't keep any horses or other animals Coronado left behind. It seemed their population had recovered from the hard times Coronado's army caused. Chamuscado and Rodríguez had fewer people. They made fewer demands on the Pueblos. However, they did have one fight after Native Americans killed three Spanish horses.
Chamuscado and Rodríguez visited 61 Pueblo towns. These towns were along the Rio Grande and its smaller rivers. They counted 7,003 houses with one or more stories. If all houses were full, and if eight people lived in each house, then about 56,000 people lived in these towns. They also heard about other pueblos, like the Hopi, but couldn't visit them.
The Journey Back Home
The Spanish found out that Fray Juan had been killed by Native Americans. This happened only a few days after he left the expedition. Even with this news, the two remaining friars wanted to stay in New Mexico. The soldiers left them behind. They also left most of their supplies and several Native American helpers. This happened in the Tiwa town of Puaray.
The soldiers started their journey back to Santa Barbara on January 31, 1582. During their return, Chamuscado died. He was almost 70 years old. He passed away at El Xacal, near Julimes, Chihuahua. The eight remaining soldiers arrived in Santa Barbara on April 15, 1582.
The two friars and their Native American helpers who stayed behind were also attacked. But two Native Americans escaped. They returned to Mexico to tell what happened. The Chamuscado and Rodríguez expedition was a small trip. But it made Spain interested in New Mexico again. This led to the creation of Spanish New Mexico a few years later by Juan de Oñate.
See also
In Spanish: Expedición de Chamuscado y Rodríguez para niños
