New Mexico remained a frontier mission field during the i 7th century. Twenty friars were serving by 1624; the churches numbered 43 ; and the number of Christian Indians 34,000. The total Spanish population at the end of the century was only 2,000, which shows that the colony had not become an important source of wealth. The differences between the Indian culture and the Spanish European manner of life were the principal causes of the revolt of the Pueblos in 1680. The Pueblo Indians were willing to accept the God of the Christians as an additional protecting power, but they could not give up their own beliefs concerning the spirits of the universe without completely de stroying their organized tribal life, because every phase of their existence is affected by their conceptions of the relation of the tribe to the world. The Spanish settlers abandoned their hold ings and retreated southward to El Paso. Diego de Vargas effected a reconquest of the province between 1692 and 1696. Albuquerque was founded in 1706 and by 1799 had a population of 4,02o. The total population of the province at the close of the 18th century was about 30,000; 20,000 Spanish and io,000 Indians.
The internal affairs of New Mexico prior to 1821 were not affected to any great degree by the revolutionary developments which took place during this period in Spain and Mexico. New Mexico became a political subdivision of the Mexican Republic ; granted independence from Spain by the Treaty of Cordoba, Aug. 24, 1821. Trade with the American settlements in the Missouri valley, which had been discouraged during the Spanish regime, was legalized in 1821. An annual caravan set out from Missouri in the spring of the year. The value of the merchandise carried on the outward journey increased from $15,000 in 1822 to $450,000 in 1843. The Santa Fe trade was a success because merchandise could be freighted across the plains to the markets of New Mexico and sold for a lower price than goods could be brought from Vera Cruz by way of Chihuahua.
The Republic of Texas claimed the Rio Grande as its western boundary. The prosperous Santa Fe trade, which would be a rich source of taxation, encouraged Texas to assert this claim. An expedition was organized in 1841 which arrived in New Mex ico in a disorganized condition and surrendered to Governor Armijo at Anton Chico. A second expedition in 1843 also failed.
Upon the outbreak of war with Mexico the army of the West under command of Col. Stephen Watts Kearny, occupied Las Vegas Aug. 15, 1846 and took formal possession of the country. The capital was occupied three days later and a military govern ment was established which ruled the territory for five years. The civil government was retained for two years during which period a rebellion broke out resulting in the assassination of Governor Bent at Taos, on Jan. 19, 1847. The Territory of New Mexico was created by act of Congress, Sept. 9, 1850, extending
from the 103 meridian of longitude on the east to the Territory of California on the west. The present boundaries were fixed by 1863 with the formation of the Territory of Arizona from the western half, and the Territory of Colorado from a northern portion two years earlier.
At the outbreak of the Civil War the Territory was invaded by a Confederate force, under command of Brig.-gen. H. H. Sibley, which marched up the Rio Grande valley and occupied the capital. The Union army under command of Col. E. R. S. Canby, with reinforcements from Colorado, won the decisive battle of the campaign at Apache canyon, on March 28, 1862. The period following the American occupation was marked by the solution of the nomadic Indian problem and the economic development of the territory. A reservation was established in 1868 for the Navajo Indians in the north-western part of the Territory; the Mescalero Apache were settled in the southern part of the Ter ritory in 1873 ; and the Jicarilla Apache in the northern part in 1880. The legal status of the Pueblo Indian was complicated by the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo and later decisions of the U.S. Supreme Court.
The building of railways into the West, the increasing popu lation, and the quieting of the Indians resulted in a great in crease in cattle and sheep. The overflowing cattle herds of Texas were used to stock the ranges in New Mexi"co and the States to the north. The Goodnight-Chisom trail up the Pecos valley was followed by the overland drives to the ranges in Colorado and Wyoming; and to the railway shipping points in Kansas. Conflicts occurred between the cattle and sheep raisers over water and the use of the open range. The most bitter of these was the Lincoln county war which started in 1877 and lasted about three years. The Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe railway was extended to Albuquerque in 1880. A year later connection was made with the Southern Pacific railway at Deming, which placed the Territory on a transcontinental line. With the advent of the railways mining and irrigation developed; the population increased and a public school system was established in 1891.
The Spanish and Mexican land grants in New Mexico have constituted one of the most difficult land problems in the history of the State. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo confirmed the grants but lack of accurate documents made difficult the settle ment of conflicting claims.
Constant efforts were made to secure Statehood. The Enabling Act was passed by Congress on June 20, 1910, a constitution was drafted and approved, and on Jan. 6, 1912, the State was formally admitted to the Union. In politics New Mexico has maintained a fairly even balance between the major parties, voting predom inantly Democratic in 1916, '22, '24, '30, '32, '34 and '36, and generally Republican in 1918, '20, '26 and '28.