New Mexico

Returning settlers founded La Villa de Alburquerque in 1706 at Old Town Albuquerque as a trading center for existing surrounding communities such as Barelas, Isleta, Los Ranchos, and Sandia; it was named for the viceroy of New Spain, Francisco Fernández de la Cueva, 10th Duke of Alburquerque. Governor Francisco Cuervo y Valdés established the villa in Tiguex to provide free trade access and facilitate cultural exchange in the region.

Increased Comanche influence

To encourage settlement in its vulnerable periphery amidst the increased power and reach of Comanche raids, Spain awarded land grants to European settlers in Nuevo México; due to the scarcity of water throughout the region, the vast majority of colonists resided in the central valley of the Rio Grande and its tributaries. Most communities were walled enclaves consisting of adobe houses that opened onto a plaza, from which four streets ran outward to small, private agricultural plots and orchards; these were watered by acequias, community owned and operated irrigation canals. Just beyond the wall was the ejido, communal land for grazing, firewood, or recreation.

While New Mexico was legally part of New Spain, it fell under the influence of Comancheria in with the 1785 and 1786 Comanche-Spanish peace treaties and became a de facto protectorate, with New Mexico refusing multiple orders from Madrid and Mexico City to go to war with the Comanche. Nevertheless, relations between the various indigenous groups and Spanish settlers remained nebulous and complex, varying from trade and commerce to cultural assimilation and intermarriage to total warfare. During most of the 18th century, raids by Navajo, Apache, and especially Comanche inhibited the growth and prosperity of the New Mexico. The region's harsh environment and remoteness, surrounded by hostile Native Americans, fostered a greater degree of self-reliance, as well as pragmatic cooperation, between the Pueblo peoples and colonists. Many indigenous communities enjoyed a large measure of autonomy well into the late 19th century due to the improved governance.

By 1800, the population of New Mexico had reached 25,000 (not including indigenous inhabitants), far exceeding the territories of California and Texas.

Mexican territorial period

As part of New Spain, the province of New Mexico became part of the First Mexican Empire in 1821 following the Mexican War of Independence. Upon its secession from Mexico in 1836, the Republic of Texas claimed the portion east of the Rio Grande, based on the erroneous assumption that the older Hispanic settlements of the upper Rio Grande were the same as the newly established Mexican settlements of Texas. The Texan Santa Fe Expedition was launched to seize the contested territory but failed with the capture and imprisonment of the entire army by the Hispanic New Mexico militia.

At the turn of the 19th century, France still claimed northeastern New Mexico—the area north of the Canadian River and east of the Sangre de Cristos—before selling it in the 1803 Louisiana Purchase. In 1812, the U.S. reclassified the land as part of the Missouri Territory. This region of New Mexico (along with territory comprising present-day southeastern Colorado, the Texas and Oklahoma Panhandles, and southwestern Kansas) was ceded to Spain under the Adams-Onis Treaty in 1819.

When the First Mexican Republic began to transition into the Centralist Republic of Mexico, they began to centralize power ignoring the sovereignty of Santa Fe and disregarding Pueblo land rights. The end of Spanish protectionism led to New Mexico becoming financially and politically tied to the U.S., and preferring trade along the Santa Fe Trail. This led to the Río Arriba Rebellion in 1837, which established the Cantón de Nuevo México led by Taos Pueblo members José María González and Pablo Montoya. The rebellion began with the assassination of Centralist governor Albino Pérez and ended with the execution of González was executed by governor Manuel Armijo. Subsequent governor Juan Bautista Vigil y Alarid agreed with some of the underlying sentiment.

Initial American territorial period

Following the victory of the United States in the Mexican–American War (1846–48), Mexico ceded its northern territories to the U.S., including California, Texas, and New Mexico. The Americans were initially heavy-handed in their treatment of former Mexican citizens, triggering the Taos Revolt in 1847 by Hispanos and their Pueblo allies; the insurrection led to the death of territorial governor Charles Bent and the collapse of the civilian government established by Stephen W. Kearny. In response, the U.S. government appointed local Donaciano Vigil as governor to better represent New Mexico, and also vowed to accept the land rights of Hispanos and grant them citizenship. In 1864, President Abraham Lincoln symbolized the recognition of Native land rights with the Lincoln Canes, sceptres of office gifted to each of the Pueblos, a tradition dating back to Spanish and Mexican eras.

After the Republic of Texas was admitted as a state in 1846, it attempted to claim the eastern portion of New Mexico east of the Rio Grande, while the California Republic and State of Deseret each claimed parts of western New Mexico. Under the Compromise of 1850, these regions were forced by the U.S. government to drop their claims, Texas received $10 million in federal funds, California was granted statehood, and officially establishing the Utah Territory; therein recognizing most of New Mexico's historically established land claims. Pursuant to the compromise, Congress established the New Mexico Territory in September of that year; it included most of present-day Arizona and New Mexico, along with the Las Vegas Valley and what would later become Clark County in Nevada.

In 1853 the U.S. acquired the mostly desert southwestern bootheel of the state, along with Arizona's land south of the Gila River, in the Gadsden Purchase, which was needed for the right-of-way to encourage construction of a transcontinental railroad.

Postwar American territorial period

The end of the Civil War saw rapid economic development and settlement in New Mexico, which attracted homesteaders, ranchers, cowboys, businessmen, and outlaws; many of the folklore characters of the Western genre had their origins in New Mexico, most notably businesswoman Maria Gertrudis Barceló, outlaw Billy the Kid, and lawmen Pat Garrett and Elfego Baca. The influx of "Anglo Americans" from the eastern U.S. (which include African Americans and recent European immigrants) reshaped the state's economy, culture, and politics. Into the late 19th century, the majority of New Mexicans remained ethnic mestizos of mixed Spanish and Native American ancestry (primarily Pueblo, Navajo, Apache, Genízaro, and Comanche), many of whom had roots going back to Spanish settlement in the 16th century; this distinctly New Mexican ethnic group became known as Hispanos and developed a more pronounced identity vis-a-vis the newer Anglo arrivals. Politically, they still controlled most town and county offices through local elections, and wealthy ranching families commanded considerable influence, preferring business, legislative, and judicial relations with fellow indigenous New Mexican groups. By contrast, Anglo Americans, who were "outnumbered, but well-organized and growing" tended to have more ties to the territorial government, whose officials were appointed by the U.S. federal government; subsequently, newer residents of New Mexico generally favored maintaining territorial status, which they saw as a check on Native and Hispano influence.

A consequence of the civil war was intensifying conflict with indigenous peoples, which was part of the broader American Indian Wars along the frontier. The withdrawal of troops and material for the war effort had prompted raids by hostile tribes, and the federal government moved to subdue the many native communities that had been effectively autonomous throughout the colonial period. Following the elimination of the Confederate threat, Brigadier General James Carleton, who had assumed command of the Military Department of New Mexico in 1862, led what he described as a "merciless war against all hostile tribes" that aimed to "force them to their knees, and then confine them to reservations where they could be Christianized and instructed in agriculture." With famed frontiersman Kit Carson placed in charge of troops in the field, powerful indigenous groups such as the Navajo, Mescalero Apache, Kiowa, and Comanche were brutally pacified through a scorched earth policy, and thereafter forced into barren and remote reservations. Sporadic conflicts continued into the late 1880s, most notably the guerilla campaigns led by Apache chiefs Victorio and his son-in-law Nana.

The political and cultural clashes between these competing ethnic groups sometimes culminated in mob violence, including lynchings of Native, Hispanic, and Mexican peoples, as was attempted at the Frisco shootout in 1884. Nevertheless, prominent figures from across these communities, and from both the Democratic and Republican parties, attempted to fight this prejudice and forge a more cohesive, multiethnic New Mexican identity; they include lawmen Baca and Garrett, and governors Curry, Hagerman, and Otero. Indeed, some territorial governors, like Lew Wallace, had served in both the Mexican and American militaries.

In the early to mid-20th century, the art presence in Santa Fe grew, and it became known as one of the world's great art centers. The presence of artists such as Georgia O'Keeffe attracted many others, including those along Canyon Road. In the late 20th century, Native Americans were authorized by federal law to establish gaming casinos on their reservations under certain conditions, in states which had authorized such gaming. Such facilities have helped tribes close to population centers generate revenues for reinvestment in the economic development and welfare of their peoples. The Albuquerque metropolitan area is home to several casinos as a result.

Statehood

The United States Congress admitted New Mexico as the 47th state on January 6, 1912. It had been eligible for statehood 60 years earlier, but was delayed due to the perception that its majority Hispanic population was "alien" to U.S. culture and political values. When the U.S. entered the First World War roughly five years later, New Mexicans volunteered in significant numbers, in part to prove their loyalty as full-fledged citizens of the U.S. The state ranked fifth in the nation for military service, enlisting more than 17,000 recruits from all 33 counties; over 500 New Mexicans were killed in the war.

Indigenous-Hispanic families had long been established since the Spanish and Mexican era, but most American settlers in the state had an uneasy relationship with the large Native American tribes. Most indigenous New Mexicans lived on reservations and near old placitas and villas. In 1924, Congress passed a law granting all Native Americans U.S. citizenship and the right to vote in federal and state elections. However, Anglo-American arrivals into New Mexico enacted Jim Crow laws against Hispanos, Hispanic Americans, and those who did not pay taxes, targeting indigenous affiliated individuals; because Hispanics often had interpersonal relationships with indigenous peoples, they were often subject to segregation, social inequality, and employment discrimination.

During the fight for women's suffrage in the United States, New Mexico's Hispano and Mexican women at the forefront included Trinidad Cabeza de Baca, Dolores "Lola" Armijo, Mrs. James Chavez, Aurora Lucero, Anita "Mrs. Secundino" Romero, Arabella "Mrs. Cleofas" Romero and her daughter, Marie.

A major oil discovery in 1928 near the town of Hobbs brought greater wealth to the state, especially in surrounding Lea County. The New Mexico Bureau of Mines and Mineral Resources called it "the most important single discovery of oil in New Mexico's history". Nevertheless, agriculture and cattle ranching remained the primary economic activities.

World War II and aftermath

New Mexico was greatly transformed by the U.S. entry into the Second World War in December 1941. As in the First World War, patriotism ran high among New Mexicans, including among marginalized Hispanic and indigenous communities; on a per capita basis, New Mexico produced more volunteers, and suffered more casualties, than any other state. The war also spurred economic development, particularly in extractive industries, with the state becoming a leading supplier of several strategic resources. New Mexico's rough terrain and geographic isolation made it an attractive location for several sensitive military and scientific installations; the most famous was Los Alamos, one of the central facilities of the Manhattan Project, where the first atomic bombs were designed and manufactured. The first bomb was tested at Trinity site in the desert between Socorro and Alamogordo, which is today part of the White Sands Missile Range.

As a legacy of the Second World War, New Mexico continues to receive large amounts of federal government spending on major military and research institutions that continue to this day. In addition to the White Sands Missile Range, the state hosts three U.S. Air Force bases that were established or expanded during the war. While the high military presence brought considerable investment, it has also been the center of controversy; on May 22, 1957, a B-36 accidentally dropped a nuclear bomb 4.5 miles from the control tower while landing at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque; only its conventional "trigger" detonated. The Los Alamos National Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratories, two of the nation's leading federal scientific research facilities, originated from the Manhattan Project. The focus on high technology is still a top priority of the state, to the extent that it became a center for unidentified flying objects, especially following the 1947 Roswell incident.

New Mexico's population nearly doubled from roughly 532,000 in 1940 to over 954,000 by 1960. In addition to federal personnel and agencies, many residents and businesses moved to the state, particularly from the northeast, often drawn by its warm climate and low taxes. The pattern continues into the 21st century, with New Mexico adding over 400,000 residents between 2000 and 2020.

Native Americans from New Mexico fought for the United States in both world wars. Returning veterans were disappointed to find their civil rights limited by state discrimination. In Arizona and New Mexico, veterans challenged state laws or practices prohibiting them from voting. In 1948, after veteran Miguel Trujillo Sr. of Isleta Pueblo was told by the county registrar that he could not register to vote, he filed suit against the county in federal district court. A three-judge panel overturned as unconstitutional New Mexico's provisions that Native Americans who did not pay taxes (and could not document if they had paid taxes) could not vote.

21st century

In the 21st century, employment growth areas in New Mexico include electronic circuitry, scientific research, information technology, casinos, art of the American Southwest, food, film, and media, particularly in Albuquerque. The state was the founding location of Micro Instrumentation and Telemetry Systems, which led to the founding of Microsoft in Albuquerque. Intel maintains their F11X in Rio Rancho, which also hosts an IT center for HP Inc. New Mexico's culinary scene became recognized and is now a source of revenue for the state. Albuquerque Studios has become a filming hub for Netflix, and it was brought international media production companies to the state like NBCUniversal.

The COVID-19 pandemic was confirmed to have reached the U.S. state of New Mexico on March 11, 2020. On December 23, 2020, the New Mexico Department of Health reported 1,174 new COVID-19 cases and 40 deaths, bringing the cumulative statewide totals to 133,242 cases and 2,243 deaths since the start of the pandemic.