That Disturbances Cease

With the Spaniards' return to Santa Fe, the calculated alliance of some Pueblo Indians, and the fierce resistance of others, the decade of the 1690s is pivotal. Governor Diego de Vargas, leading his armed Hispanic colonists and Indian allies, scores three remarkable victories over resisters fortified on mesa tops. Then, in 1696, they manage to suppress a second revolt of the northern Pueblos. An uneasy peace settles over the kingdom and provinces of New Mexico. Pedro Rodriguez Cubero accedes to the governorship in July 1697 against don Diego's wishes. Bitter colonists, emboldened now to testify against the reconqueror, accuse him of profiting unduly from the enterprise and ignoring their well-being. Their passions intrude. Governor Rodriguez Cubero has Vargas confined to quarters and there he nurses his ill-feelings for nearly three years and conspires with a circle of partisans. That Disturbances Cease, volume 5 in The Journals of don Diego de Vargas, documents the legal maneuvering at Santa Fe, Mexico City, and Madrid, as sitting governor, former governor, and groups of contending colonists struggle to make themselves heard and advance their interests. At issue are government subsidies to maintain and defend the precarious colony. Finally, in 1700, the viceroy orders Vargas to appear in Mexico City, present his accounts, and justify the actions of his administration. This volume continues the high standards for translation, annotation, and introduction evident in all the books in the series. The editors have located and brought together from archives in Spain, Mexico, and the United States documentary materials bearing on the Vargas era.