The Caxcanes defended their homeland and need to be recognized for their courage and pride

By John P. Schmal   |   Published on LatinoLA: July 7, 2008

Throughout human history, many groups of people have witnessed the arrival of aliens from far away countries in their traditional homeland territories. Responses to such intrusions have varied from century to century, continent to continent and from one group of people to another. In most cases, the invader intruded upon the economy, the resources and the political administration of the indigenous peoples. And all too often, the invader dominates and enslaves the people. Other occupations are less dramatic and painful.

Although this is an event that has taken place time and again to many peoples, I find the story of the Caxcanes in the Juchipila and Nochistlan areas of southern Zacatecas to be particularly interesting, primarily because I have many friends and a brother-in-law whose ancestors come from that area. Although the Caxcanes have disappeared as a cultural and linguistic entity, millions of people whose origins are in southern Zacatecas and northern Jalisco carry on the genetic legacy of the Caxcanes and this is the story of their ancestors' resistance.

The Caxcanes living in the vicinity of present-day Juchipila and Nochistlan in April of 1530 were visited by an army of intruders, led by Nuno Beltran de Guzman. Guzman, commanding an army of 300 Spaniards and 6,000 indigenous soldiers, had left Mexico City four months earlier to escape a political war with the great Conquistador, Hernan Cortes. When Guzman's forces entered the area, most of the Caxcanes faded into the surrounding hills of the Sierra de Nochistlan. The Caxcanes, themselves, had been newcomers to the area three centuries earlier. In the Twelfth Century, the Caxcanes had driven out another indigenous group, the Tecuexes, using armed force.

On December 3, 1531, Guzman, a native of Guadalajara in Espana, had tasked his chief lieutenant, Captain Juan de Onate, with creating a settlement at the place the native peoples called Nochistlan. Guadalajara, named in honor of Guzman to honor his birthplace, was officially founded on January 5, 1532. The building of the city progressed but faced a major obstacle in that the local Indians refused to provide manual labor for the town's construction. Lacking basic resources and located far from other Spanish settlements, the young city of Guadalajara struggled.

When Guzman visited the town in May 1533, the inhabitants of the town told him that they lacked sufficient resources of water. In addition, they were very concerned about Indian attacks. The Spanish inhabitants seemed perplexed that they could not get the Caxcanes to labor for them but it's possible that the Caxcanes had already heard about the abuses of the notorious encomendero system and did not want to subject themselves to a system that was so degrading.

The encomienda system was originally meant to establish a beneficial relationship between the Spanish encomendero and the community he was responsible for. However, in many areas of the Spanish empire, the system quickly degenerated into an abusive system rife with taxes and closely resembling slavery.

So the Caxcanes resisted and did not cooperate.

In July 1533, Guzman ordered that Guadalajara be moved south. The historian Peter Gerhard has indicated that as many as 50,000 Indians lived in the area at the time of contact, including approximately 6,000 families in Nochistlan. Eventually, the conquest of the area proceeded as it did in other adjacent areas of what we now call Zacatecas and Jalisco.

Rebellion

Eventually the abuse of the encomienda system led to a violent uprising of the Caxcanes and Tecuexes and other Indians throughout the region in 1541. Tenamaxtle, originally from Nochistlan, was one of the leaders of this rebellion which quickly spread south. With the help of his second-in-command, Caitlacotl, Tenamaxtle led a coalition of 60,000 indigenous soldiers southward to threaten Guadalajara. Eventually, their advance was stopped, but only after many Spaniards had been driven from the region.

The revolt gained the attention of the Viceroy Antonio Mendoza who called for aid. Pedro de Alvarado had recently arrived in the coastal area to take part in the search for gold in the northern regions, but decided to assist the Viceroy. To Alvarado, the Great Conquistador, the Conqueror of Guatemala and the Architect of La Noche Triste, this change of plans was a minor inconvenience. As he had done so many times in the past, he expected to put the indigenous rebels in their place and proceed with his original plans.

Against the advice of Mendoza, Pedro de Alvarado made a reckless attack against a fortified position near Nochistlan on June 24th. The resistance of the Caxcanes surprised Alvarado and his men who were forced to retreat. In the chaos of the retreat, Alvarado was crushed under a horse that had lost its footing. In great pain, he died of his injuries in Guadalajara on July 4, 1541. After a long career of conquest, the Great Conquistador lost his life while trying to subdue the Caxcanes.

Later, in the year, Viceroy Mendoza had put together enough forces to force the Caxcanes and Tecuexes of Nochistlan and surrounding areas into submission. The reconquest was tragic. Many of the surviving Caxcanes were enslaved and sent to Guadalajara. In addition to the hard labor imposed upon them, many of these Indians died in the epidemic of 1546-1548. However, some of those who survived were able to return to their homes after a decade.

On December 12, 1550, Bishop Maraver sent a letter to King of Spain requesting that the Crown permit the conversion of the Caxcanes. In an effort to carry out this effort, the Bishop indicated that the entry of Spanish soldiers in the area should be prohibited for at least 15 years so that the clergy could concentrate their efforts on converting the people of the region, without distraction from potentially negative elements. This request was granted.

In the following decades, many indigenous groups in the area of Nochistlan and Juchipila remained hostile towards Spanish intruders and their indigenous allies from the south. Gradually, however, the area was settled by outsiders who made Nochistlan and Juchipila their homes.

The resistance of the Caxcanes and the Tecuexes in southern Zacatecas and northern Jalisco has been forgotten by some, but not by all. Some people from this area feel a sense of pride in the fact that the famous Guadalajara had to be removed 150 kilometers to the south because of the resistance of their ancestors.

The people of Nochistlan also speak with pride of their resistance to the French. More than three centuries later, during the French occupation, Colonel J. Jesus Mejia led an attack on French forces on May 13, 1864. During this period, the people of Nochistlan still talk about the French general who was shot in the head near the City.

The Caxcanes no longer exist as a cultural entity. According to the Czech anthropologist, Ales Hrdlicka, the last speakers of their language died in the late 1890s. However, anyone whose ancestors came from the border regions of southern Zacatecas and northern Jalisco is most likely descended from the Caxcanes. The Caxcanes defended their homeland and need to be recognized for their courage and pride.

Dedication:

I dedicate this story to my two friends, Sonia and Cristina Perez. Together, the three of us spent a year tracing their Moyahua, Juchipila and Nochistlan roots back over 300 years. We estimate that about two-thirds of their ancestors are descended from the Caxcanes Indians. This research project was a rewarding experience for the three of us.

Other Resources:

For a presentation on the diversity of Mexico's indigenous people, please see the following link that is available to all as a community service of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research (SHHAR):

href="http://www.somosprimos.com/schmal/IndigenousMexico.pdf"

More detailed stories about the history of the Zacatecas and Jalisco Indians can be read at:

href="http://houstonculture.org/mexico/states.html"

Sources:

Carvajal de Barragan, Paulina, "Costumbres y Tradiciones en Guadalajara," in Manuel Caldera Robles, ed., "Capitulos de Historia de la Ciudad de Guadalajara, Tomo II". (Guadalajara: Ayuntamiento de Guadalajara, 1989-1992).

Gerhard, Peter, "The North Frontier of New Spain" (Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press).

Torres, Francisco Mariano de, "Cr??nica de la Sancta Provincia de Xalisco" (Mexico, 1960).

John Schmal is a Board member of the Society of Hispanic Historical and Ancestral Research and does presentations on Indigenous Mexico.

Find this story online at latinola.com/story.php?story=6618