Excommunicated and Banished

In 1625, three years after their marriage Diego de Vera paced the floor of the adobe home he and his wife had built during the years in Santa Fe.
"María, my love, come here, I must talk to you," Diego de Vera sounded faraway yet determined. “Do you know the new Friar that has been appointed as head of the church here?"
"Si, cómo no, mi esposo. He is Fray Alonso Benavides, recently from the Canary Islands. He has not only been appointed head of the church here, but is also representing the King on matters of the Inquisition. ¿What is it? my husband, you seem so anxious."
"There is a matter I must confess to the church, but first, I must make a confession and attempt to make amends to you, my dear wife. This is something I planned never to confess or divulge.“ Diego paced the floor in agitation. “I became more firm in my resolve when we had our two daughters.” Taking María in his arms he continued. “I’ve come to love and respect you more as each day passes. But now, with Benavides here, in Santa Fé. He will know. It is better for me to come forward and confess voluntarily than to have him drag me before the pueblo and condemn me publicly." He pushed his wife gently away, looking deep into her eyes, awaiting her response.
"What is it my husband? What mortal sin could you have committed? You are a good and holy man, as good as any I have known here or in Mexico."
"As a layman Benavides was sheriff in the Canary Islands. He knew me there, and he knew my wife in Tenerife in the Canaries.” María listened intently in an attempt to make sense of this new information.
“He will remember me, and know that my wife did not die, but may still even to this day be alive there on the island. She and my children do not know what has become of me. I planned never to return, allowing her to believe I was dead, but now, it will all come out in public. It will be a humiliation to you and the children.”
Diego gently pulled María’s hand from her tear stained face. “I must do what I can to lessen the pain of the disclosure, for your sake. I am sorry that I have lied to you, but more sorry that I have brought you such great pain." María sobbed openly, and pulled Diego toward him as he made an attempt to leave the room.
Diego pulled away from her grasp, then walked slowly through the streets to the church confessional booth where he confessed to Father Benavides his bigamous status.
As penance, Father Benivedes ordered Diego to return to the Canary Islands. Father Benivedes set sail for Spain to report information on New Mexico to the queen in 1626, taking Diego along as far as Mexico. There Benivedes interceded, pleading Diego’s case, testifying that Diego had confessed the crime voluntarily and had been a good encomendero in New Mexico, personally teaching the catechism to the Indians under his control.
“Diego got off with an easy sentence.” Brent exclaimed. “He returned to his wife in the Canaries and was never allowed to come back to New Mexico.” Brent murmured.
“An easy sentence compared to excommunication or death,” Lynae contradicted, “but hardly an easy one for his New Mexico wife, María de Abendano, and their two young daughters. The last time they ever saw their husband and father was as he sailed for Europe.[1] Somehow I don't feel as happy about Diego being punished when I realize how sad it was for his wife and kids never to see him again." Lynae added.
"Any sadder than his first wife and kids never seeing him again, not knowing what happened to him?" Brent rationalized.
“Maybe that first wife didn’t even want him back. Maybe he wasn’t as nice to her as he is to María, or just maybe she was happier with him out of the family. Maybe…” Lynae rattled on thinking of all the reasons she knew of in her extended family why people separated, once again recalling her initial feelings against Diego.
“Let's see,” Brent interrupted Lynae’s litany of possible reasons as he flopped down on their couch to read more from the Chavez book. “Diego was thirty-three in 1626 when he revealed his bigamy. They had two little children, both girls. These were María, who became the wife of Manuel Jorge, and Diego de Montoya, and both became our ancestors. The other was Petronila who married Pedro Romero. After the annulment their mother married Antonio de Salas and had at least one more son.”
“Boy, the actions of one man changed history and family genealogy for us, even four hundred years down the line. I wish I could know what my life will be like, and how the choices I make will change the future."
"Be careful what you wish for,” Brent cautioned. “It seems to come true all too easily. Before you speak out loud, think about the consequences. I’m sure I don’t want to come back here during the Indian uprising in l680,” Brent remembered the details of the gruesome story from the tour guide in Santa Fe. “So let's not even talk about that time period.”
"But Brent, don't you wonder why after eighty years of following the Church and the Spanish rule, Indians with no memories of life before the Spaniards, would band together to try to exterminate all the Spanish settlers, friars, and soldiers?"
“Lynae, I said, I don't even want to think about it." Brent put his hands to his ears and began whistling tunelessly to block out Lynae’s words.
Brent at coin club, Rancho Academy, Las Vegas
NV


A Bit of History
At home in their Las Vegas apartment, Lynae searched through Mom's genealogy notes and pages of history books copied at the Salt Lake Family History Center just before the Christmas break ended. They had been on their way to the airport to fly back when Mom insisted on spending time at the library sending the children across the street to the Pioneer Historical Museum. Brent decided to tag along with Mom, instead, to see the Family History Library, so Lynae and Jenny soon joined them back at the copy machine pouring nickels into the slots like a Las Vegas slot machine.
"At least here, we get something back for the nickels we put in," Mom had joked.
“We already have homework and the year has barely started.” Lynae complained. We have to choose a state to study for our term project in history class, this year.” “I’ve decided to follow New Mexico History through the four hundred year development since the Europeans first subjected the natives of that area.” she announced.
“That’s a pretty broad subject. You might want to narrow it down to--say-- maybe just write about one of the centuries.”
With that in mind, Lynae and Brent began to read the parts Mom had marked.
“The first settlers came with Oñate in 1598. Wagon trains followed the thousand miles of trail from Mexico City to Santa Fé nearly every year until the 1680 rebellion. The trains were accompanied by soldier escorts, many of whom made the trip numerous times. The Camino Royal, or Royal Road, later became the destination of Anglo traders carrying goods from the United States along the Santa Fé Trail.
The Viceroy's instruction of March 30, 1609, outlined the Indian policy for frontier New Mexico:
"No one shall have jurisdiction over the Indians except the governor or his lieutenant.”
Peralta was permitted to map out parcels of lands with new grants for these encomiedas if they did not interfere with those of the previous governor, Juan de Oñate.
Viceroy Velasco's orders to Peralta were very plain: "Inasmuch as it has been reported that the tribute levied on the natives is excessive, and that it is collected with much vexation and trouble to them, we charge the governor to take suitable measures in the matter, proceeding in such a way as to relieve and satisfy the royal conscience."
Peralta's policy was to defend Santa Fe against Indian attacks. The viceroy instructed:
"Under no circumstances, shall he give up the protection of the land and the colonists, but he shall try by peaceful means or by force to subdue the enemy or drive them out."
“This plan for peace with the Indians involved the military as well as missionaries already hard at work converting the Pueblo Indians to Christianity.
The small settlement south of San Gabriel began to grow. Each year wagon trains filled with soldiers, friars and new settlers made their way northward along the Camino Real for a trek of over a thousand miles from the City of Mexico to the New Mexico province. Family by family the Spanish settlements grew. While the friars supervised the Indians in building many chapels and convents in the dozens of pueblos surrounding the area, the other colonists were left on their own to build their churches.
“The Spaniards were content with a temporary church made of mud mortar and poles, which Friar Alonso de Peinad organized. This building stood only a few years before it collapsed; then the settlers reverted to holding services in a makeshift church in a wattled structure called a xacalon which was also used as a galaerron or granary.
“In 1627 Friar Alonso de Benevides, supervised the building of a new church called the Parróquia. He wrote the first authentic record of the church building:
"The church in the city was a poor hut. The religious so far, had built churches for the Indians in the pueblos where they resided and left to the Spaniards the care of building a church for themselves. And so as soon as I came in custodio 1622, I commenced to build the church and monastery. The convent and church in Santa Fé was completed by 1629.[2]
“By 1630 the population of Santa Fé included only 250 Spaniards among a total population of about one thousand. During the thirty years of Franciscan work on the conversion of New Mexico, over 700natives joined with them living in Santa Fé. The first twelve years they were unable to make any spiritual conquests. In 1622, the province of New Mexico was erected into a custodia and Friar Alfonso Benavides was appointed as custodio.”
“Cool,” Lynae pointed to the Spanish words on the page she was reading. I bet that is where we get the word custodian —someone who takes care of and looks after a building or child — you know like mom is the custodial parent when we are with her?”
“I don’t know. For custodial parents some of the encomenderias and custodias were not so much out to take care of the Indians under their care, but to take advantage of them!” Brent mused.
Lynae continued to read: “Of the 266 ministers Benavides had taken with him only sixteen priests and three lay brothers, and they were unable to care for the thirty-four thousand three hundred and twenty Indians.”


“Over thirty four thousand Indians — I didn’t even know there were that many in the whole country!” Lynae interrupted her own reading again, then continued solemnly.
“In view of this condition of affairs the cedula directed that "to the said custody of New Mexico be sent thirty religious to teach and convert the natives. In 1629 this royal decree was completed and additional missionaries were sent. Through the missionaries: "the Lord hath wrought so many marvels and miracles and made so splendid discoveries of riches, spiritual as well as temporal."
“This would be a good narrow topic to cover in your report. You could make a map and show the various tribes — do you know what a league is? We could make it one inch to a league and populate it with tiny figures—one plastic Indian to represent 1,000 natives.”
“So, how much is a league?”
“Look it up,” Brent advised.
“This dictionary says about three miles.” Lynae put the dictionary away and continued to read from the copied pages.
“There were an enormous number of natives under the Spanish and Church rule: the nation of the Piros was an agricultural and hunting people, dwelling in exceedingly fertile land. This was the first series of semi-civilized pueblos found toward the north. Although they were among the last of the tribes to accept Christianity, by 1626 three monasteries and churches had be built.
“The province of Piros extended along the river fifteen leagues from the first pueblo of Senecu to the last of Sivelleta, altogether there were fourteen pueblos, the chief being Socorro, on both sides of the river with 67 thousand inhabitants, all baptized.”
“Where are we going to get 67 plastic Indians? Better make it one figure equals ten thousand!”
“Teoa (Tigua) nation, 7 leagues north of Piros included fifteen or sixteen towns located on the river. It had seven thousand inhabitants and the convents of San Antonio de Sandia and San Antonio de Isleta. The nation of the Queres dwelt four leagues above the Teoa, the first town of which was San Felipe. There were seven villages with a population of four thousand, three convents and a church in each pueblo.”
“So how do we represent four thousand? Cut one into pieces?”
“The Tanos nation, ten leagues from Tompiras, ten leagues east of the Queres, the first town of which was Chili. There were fourteen or fifteen villages, containing ten thousand inhabitants with good churches and six monasteries. Tompiros has five villages, with four thousand inhabitants, convent and church and a training school in all the trades. The Pecos nation lies four leagues north of the Tanos, with two thousand inhabitants, a convent and a very elaborate church and good schools.”
“By authority of the governor the soldiers are appointed chiefs of the Indian pueblos, from whom they receive a tribute which is sufficient for their maintenance, and even for enabling them to help the needy among their countrymen.”
“Was that a tax, a bribe or tithing?” Brent murmured mostly to himself.
“The first nation to embrace Christianity was the Taos nation, eight towns of six thousand people. Taos had churches and three convents including the very attractive church at San Ildenfonso. Teaching the Indians to use dams and ditches in the area was a project of the friars.
“The Hemes nation, west of the Toas about seven leagues had two towns, St. Joseph and San Diego, with three thousand population.”
“We could put in little irrigation ditches and show how the Spaniards and Indians worked together to irrigate the desert. It’s cool that irrigation methods that were brought from the Iberian Plains of Spain are still in use today in the Río Grande Valley.”
“But did you realize it was the Pueblo Indians, and not the Europeans, who had the best sanitation practices?”
“Well if sanitation includes fertilizing their gardens with sewage, I guess you’re right. At least they took pains to take it away from the living areas and dispose of it. It was the sewage thrown into the streets and tramped into the homes that caused a lot of the plagues and diseases destroying whole populations of Europeans."
“Diseases brought into the New World destroyed hundreds of thousands, maybe millions of natives who didn’t have immunity to deal with the new germs.”
“Too bad they didn’t have flu shots!”
“That’s too gross to get into. Let’s ignore that part. We could put in little horses, cows and cowboys with ropes to show it was actually the Spaniards who brought cattle ranching to the New World, and all the equipment like lariats, saddles, and cattle drives.”
Brent took the book and continued to read where Lynae left off.
“The Picuries nation, located about ten leagues up the river from the Toas had a population of about two thousand residing in one village. They properly belonged to the nation of the Taos, but were considered as another race, having lived by themselves for a long time. The Taos nation, located seven leagues north of Picuries had a population of twenty-five hundred baptized. Although they were the same nation as the Picuries originally, they spoke a somewhat different language.
“The Rock of Acoma twelve leagues west from the town of Santa Ana in the Queres province, did not consent to receive the missionaries until 1629.
“The ten thousand Zuni built several villages with two convents and two churches thirty leagues west of Acoma. The ten thousand Moqui lived thirty leagues west of the Zuni among several villages.”
“Do you know how big this map is going to be? Twelve leagues west, plus 12 more, then thirty? We’ll have to scale it down smaller or we won’t be able to move it!”
“Or rent a fork lift.”
“The Navajos first resisted the missionary efforts, but finally consented to attend services at the mission of Santa Clara, in the Toas nations, which was built in 1629 located between Santa Fé and the Río Grande.”
“The Navajos are the only ones I’ve heard of in the Four Corners area.” Brent mumbled between sentences as he read.
“This is awesome! There were hundreds of thousands of natives living in this state when the Europeans came. No wonder Mom says it’s not right to say the history of New Mexico began with Oñate’s coming.” Lynae said remembering Mom’s insistence on that very thing in El Paso.
"Lynae, here is the answer to your question, about why there was an uprising after eighty years. But don't tell me about it. I don't even want to think about it! I'll end up finding an arrow head or something that transports me back in time, and I’ll get massacred with the settlers."
"Oh, Brent, you can't have gotten massacred, our ancestors were the ones that lived through the massacre, and you wouldn't be alive now if they hadn’t. And you wouldn't be alive if you had gotten killed going back there, then."
"What?" Brent dropped his jaw and looked at Lynae with that “no duh” expression he had worked so long in front of the mirror to perfect.
Lynae summarized her discoveries out loud to Brent before beginning to rewrite her introductory paper: "There were three elements of conflict during the eighty years of Spanish rule in the area. First, the governor was determined to get more land and power by forcing the natives to obey his rules and pay huge taxes. He recruited more and more people who were willing to settle the new colonies.
“Next, the colonizers had brought their families into the area expecting to settle there, developing farms and ranches and building permanent homes. And third, to the church people, the friars and their helpers, the main point of being there was to convert the natives to Christianity. They only supported activities and events leading them toward their own goal, just like Mi Abuelo Cristóval explained to us at dinner.”
“I guess because everyone had different goals that contradicted and conflicted with the others, there just wasn't much progress toward growth and culture during the rest of rest of the seventeenth century.” Brent summarized.
"Do you know that after the first group of eight priests and two lay brothers who came with Oñate in 1598, the number of church people grew to fifty friars in 1639. They worked the missions serving over sixty-thousand Christian natives in over ninety pueblos grouped in twenty-five missions. The military became the only source of protection for the missionaries and they only had about two hundred and fifty soldiers at Santa Fe.” Lynae scanned ahead and summarized.
“They couldn't have done it that easily if the Indians in the pueblos around the area hadn't even tried to resist.” Brent calculated. “They just went along with all the demands of the soldiers rather than fight them. It wasn’t really until after 1670 that the Apaches became a problem and began raiding the colonies.”
“But that solved your other problem.” Brent lifted his hand in a gesture of dismissal. “Just write what you just told me, and your paper is written.”


[1]Chavez Antonio de Salas was a step-son of Pedro Lucero de Godoy. It is not certain if he was a child of Pedro's first wife in New Mexico, Petronila de Zomaor, or of a former wife in new Spain. He held the encomienda de Pojoaque Peueblo, where he and Maria de Abendano lived with their son Simon Salas and the two daughters of Maria's from her invalid marriage to Diego de Vera.

[2]History