UNIT 2

EUROPEAN INVASION

History of the West

Enter the Spanish

Began arriving in the Great Plains area around the 1600’s Sought to control the land through “Missions”

Generally scattered many miles apart

There was no separation between church and state These Priest were known to Indians as “Black Robes”

Led by a Catholic Priest who goal was to Christianize and civilize the Indians Catholicism generally more “accepted” by Indians than

Protestantism Ex. Albuquerque, New Mexico

Biggest introduction from Spanish were the horses Acquired through trade and strays

Albuquerque, New Mexico

Albuquerque, New Mexico (Con’t)

Enter the Spanish (Con’t)

Conchos Indians Lived along the Conchos River

just south of the U.S./Mexico Border Conchos got Spanish horses and metal before any

other tribes Forced them north, creating conflict with the Apaches

Athapascans onto the Great Plains Apaches then moved on the plains after gaining metal

and horses Came to dominate 2/3 of the Great Plains

Conchos and Jumanos

Enter the Spanish (Con’t)

Eastern Apaches Devastated the Caddoans before they got horses and guns Raided them in late winter when groups were the weakest

They took lots of captives Then sold them into slavery with the Spanish at Pueblo

villages

Apaches gain horses and metal By 1500s developed trading/raiding ties that gave them

access to Pueblo goods After 1630 they had enough horses to begin raiding the

Spanish Who they had been friendly with

By 1655-75 horses and metal gave them an advantage over their neighbors

Pueblo Revolt of 1680

Under Popé, against the Spanish, a turning point Fought against the use of the Encomienda system

Using Indians as slaves, similar to Dutch and English use of blacks on Plantations

Pueblos turned on one anotherApaches joined in, forming alliances, then

breaking them The result was lots of plunder, horses and guns

Apaches then control the southern Great Plains and Southwest

Spanish Faltering

Utes took advantage of Pueblo Rebellion Joined with Navajos and Apaches in trading/raiding

Pueblos Eventually they gravitated toward more raiding as they

accumulated metal and weapons After 1690 they turned on the Navajos

Took horses and slaves, which they sold to Spain in present-day New Mexico

Acquired horses sometime in the late 1600s In 1707 brought the Comanche to Pueblo trade

Both groups hit the Navajo hard and forced them closer to Spanish for protection

By 1710s the Comanche replaced Apaches as primary raiding problem for Spanish Began dominating the Southern Plains

European Concern Over Competition

Pedro De Villasur Sent by Valverde of Spain to check out the French

presence near present-day Omaha, Nebraska The Spanish expedition parked just across the river from

the Pawnees Apache guide took Villasur and his men to far north

near the wrong Pawnee group Spanish tried to negotiate with them., but they

seemed threatening The night of August 12, 1720, the Pawnees and friendly

Otos attacked the Spanish expedition Nearly wiped out the Spanish

Killed Villasur, 35 of 42 Spaniards Apache guide got away quickly

Pedro de Villasur Expedition

Major trade locations before Europeans

Enter The French

Arrived at the mouth of the Mississippi around the turn of the century Went up the tributaries and began trading

Primarily with Pawnees, Caddoas and other village agriculturalists Guns a major source of trade

Caddoans used the guns against their old enemies Sold Indian slaves to the French

• Nearly 200 at a time

By 1650 stationed near the western edge of Lake Superior Setup trade operations with other tribes

British Beginnings in the Plains

1668 the British Hudson Bay Company (HBC) opened bayside posts The Cree Indians became the middlemen

Used their new guns against the nearest subdivision of Dakotas

By the 1680’s they ally with the Assiniboine Eventually merging into one group

Cree/Assiniboine terrorized neighbors and dominated trade between the HBC and the Mandan/Hidatsa trading post Many tribes pushed westward

Ex. Cheyenne moved from Wisconsin to Black Hills area by 1750

Guns and Horses

French Influence

France into New Orleans in the late 1600’s French Fur traders moved up the Mississippi River

and its tributaries France worried about the Spanish

So they tried to ally with the Apache A retired trader Bourgmont worked hard for the

French in 1723-24 Wanted to help forge ties between Apaches and the

Kansa (Kaw) But failed struggled due to already established fur

traders who feared any changes in existing trade networks Eventually developed strong ties with the Kansa

French Influence (Con’t)

French then tried to ally with the Comanche in 1727 Connected them with the Pawnees and Jumanos

Trade ties then expanded to other Caddoan-speaking tribes About the same time the Comanche acquired many

horses and a few guns In late 1740’s the French thus started expanding

trade relations By 1749 they had made contacts with a greater number

of tribes Comanche, due to French supply of guns, drove the

Ute back into the mountains• Also used them against the Pueblo, Apache, and Spanish• Most Apache went into present-day New Mexico for

protection Comanche then dominate the southern plains

French Influence (Con’t)

Started sending traders into Indian villages The Cree-Assiniboine middle role continued for some

time Slowly, however, Indians lost their exclusive position

in distributing European goods After 1750 British moved into frontier and often traded

directly Outside the earlier trade hubs

In the 1760’s both the French Northwestern Fur Company and the British Hudson Bay Company sent traders into the Mandan-Hidatsa trade center By the last decades of the 18th century, the French had

setup their own trading posts in southern Canada British continued that new method of trade

David Thompson

Worked for the French Northwestern Fur Company Tried to compete with the British Hudson’s Bay

Company First tried to work among the Blackfeet with little

success The Indians were blockading the flow of arms to the

Northwestern Plateau Indians In 1807 he set up Kootenay House and Kullyspell

House Able to bring enough arms to allow the NW Plateau

groups to hunt buffalo again

Comanche Peace of 1785-86

Around 1750’s Comanche still lived north of Arkansas River Raided into Texas

often trading what they took from Texas settlements to the Spanish in Taos

But they also raided the Spanish and slowly moved southward In retaliation the Spanish had a few victories in the

1770’s

In 1774, 600 Spanish and Pueblos attacked a Comanche encampment in New Mexico Over 100 prisoners taken

Comanche Peace of 1785-86 (Con’t)

1779 New Governor Juan Bautiste De Anza gather 500 Spanish and 200 Utes and Apache after a large Comanche encampment Killed a prominent headman Green Horn ( Friend of Toro

Blanco)Coming from a position of strength, Anza put out

the word in the 1780’s that he was ready for peace Headman White Bull led the opposition to peace

Men from the pro-peace faction killed White Bull and rallied behind leader Leather Cape

Governor Anza setup negotiations but encountered the typical problem of Indian political fragmentation

Comanche Peace of 1785-86 (Con’t)

Anza appointed Leader Cape “Commissioner General” In the end the Comanche won some trading rights

Like access to the Taos annual trade fair Anza lifted the ban on alcohol and the Comanche

promised to help against the Apaches Who were not completely drive off the plains yet

Comanche raiding slowed but mostly in New Mexico Only bands who had supported the treaty

Changes in Lifestyle Due to Europeans

Fur post system altered lifestyles Made canoes less important and horses vital

French used to conduct trade in eastern cities Indians traveled to sites with canoes laden with furs

Trapping groups like the Blackfeet, Cree, and Kaw relied on horses to take them to and from posts They became provisioners of posts, bringing in pemmican,

buffalo robes, etc. These groups gradually moved toward a plains lifestyle

More status-conscious More wives Alcoholism Sometimes lost traditional ways of doing things as they became

more and more dependent on European products

Indians lost control of their trade markets

Movement of Horses into Plains

Acquisition of Horses