Unit II Scholarly Activity

in the drama that was played out in New Mexico during his life. Miera y Pacheco comes across as a sycophant who–because he was a Peninsular and a

paisano of several of the governors–was given opportunities that were beyond his abilities.

Although he had no experience for the position, he self-promoted himself with King Carlos

III, asking to be made “commandant general” (130). He begged Commandant Teodoro de

Croix to find him a position, “resorting to flattery that today seems excessive” (132). His

neighbors soon got his number, complaining that he had “undue influence…” (138). A renaissance man possesses knowledge and skills in a variety of fields. Aside from art

and cartography, in which he was capable, Miera y Pacheco had no other proficiencies. This

conclusion is clearly drawn from Kessell’s own account. Early in his career Miera y Pacheco tried his luck at being a miner but the silver mine

he purchased proved unproductive (12). He tried farming and failed. He tried being a debt

collector but “could not deliver” (30). He proved better as a debtor, having to spend a number

of days in jail for non-payment of merchandise (31-32). He volunteered to repair some can-

nons but “had to admit…the cannons wouldn’t work” (45). His experience as a municipal

administrator (alcalde mayor) met with disfavor with his constituents who complained “every

day he is planning things, all of them of great harm to the kingdom.” He volunteered as a

dam builder but the dam was washed away (147). While Kessell credits Miera y Pacheco with “unrivaled knowledge of the kingdom’s human

and physical geography,” he at the same time cites numerous instances where this knowledge

was lacking. On one occasion Pacheco had to apologize to Croix for “failing to discover a

more direct route” between El Paso and Sonora (152). On a number of occasions his maps

were several degrees off in longitude or latitude. His artwork was certainly noteworthy but he

was hardly the only artist in the province and Fray Andrés García was “best known and most

prolific” (75). In sum, Kessell’s central theme is unsupported by his own research. Still this work is an important contribution to the study of the Spanish influence in the

American Southwest. The author’s descriptions of the contributions of the various governors

and provincial leaders are both extensive and significant. His accounts of the various native

tribes and their activities vis-à-vis the Spanish interlopers is also a valuable addition to the

growing scholarship in this area of historical research. Finally, Kessell provides a worthwhile

narrative on the role the Church played in Spain’s efforts to colonize and convert the native

populations. Alfredo E. Cardenas

Corpus Christi, Texas

Matthew Liebmann. Revolt: An Archaeological History of Pueblo Resistance and Revitalization

in 17

th Century New Mexico. Tucson: University of Arizona Press, 2012. Pp. xv, 287. $30.00

paper.

In Revolt we have an effort to take the story of the Pueblo Indians’ 1680 rejection of

Spanish rule in a new direction, part of a recent effort to give indigenous peoples (which the

social science literature increasingly refers to as subalterns) increased agency. Unlike previous

studies, which essentially tell the story of the events of 1680 and then skip to the “reconquest”

of 1692, Matthew Liebmann attempts to fill in the missing story of what happened in the

Pueblo world in the decade in between and what it should mean for us today. He attempts

Book Reviews 82

to make the events more of a Pueblo and less of a Spanish story. The first part of the book does a solid job of explaining the causes and events of

the revolt. Drought led to famine, greed led to exploitation, and cultural chauvinism led to

frustration; and they all combined to result in a revolt. As explained by Liebmann, the Fran-

ciscans bore considerable responsibility for the uprising. Forced to renounce their ancient

religious and cultural practices, forced to labor for the missionaries, forced sometimes even to

relocate in new settlements for easier conversion, the Pueblos became increasingly resentful

of the Spaniards and their God. This new god did not seem to be doing them much good in

the face of crop losses, depredations from mounted Plains Indians, and the exploitation of

colonizers. Consequently, the author emphasizes the religious aspect of the revolt: the killing

of 23 missionaries, the desecration of churches and religious objects, and the mockery of

things Catholic. Although the allegiance of some Pueblos to individual friars is acknowledged,

little attention is paid to this aspect of the revolt. Where the book breaks new ground is in using the tools of post-NAGPRA archeology.

Liebmann relies on a non-invasive approach based on ground-penetrating radar and surface

remains (in order not to disturb human remains) to make a case for a new way of combining

archeological evidence with historical records with oral tradition. His findings, he claims, help

to explain some of the mysteries and seeming contradictions in the histo\

rical record. New

settlements established after the revolt recreated the pre-Spanish, moiety-based social patterns

of some of the Pueblo people. The adoption of certain ceramic types was part of an effort

to construct an indigenous material culture. The retention of Catholic symbols and Spanish

crops and animals was either an effort at inverting the colonial order or natural adaptations

that took on new meaning and value. During the revolt, Liebmann claims, the indigenes

created a Pan-Pueblo identity that, although it broke down by the late 1680s, nevertheless

changed the rules of the game when the Spaniards returned and remains an influence even to

today. Best of all, whether you accept everything he is saying or not, Liebmann does not allow

the considerable social theory (or jargon) he relies upon to obscure what he is trying to say. Catholic readers will be uncomfortable with a considerable amount of what Liebmann

offers up. On the other hand, when the Spaniards returned to New Mexico in the 1690s,

they knew enough not to repeat the mistakes of the first period of Spanish rule. Tellingly,

Liebmann quotes Fray Francisco de Jesús María Casañas’s comment on the abortive second

revolt of 1696, “I did not come to seek death but rather the lives of these miserable ones” (216). Jesús F. de la Teja

Texas State University

Timothy Matovina and Jesús F. de la Teja, eds., Justin Poché, collaborator. Recollections of a

Tejano Life: Antonio Menchaca in Texas History. Austin: University of Texas Press, 2013. Pp.

x, 190. $55.00.

This meticulously researched and annotated volume of José Antonio Menchaca’s remi-

niscences gives scholars new insights into the political and social world of Tejanos during the

tumultuous period surrounding the Texas Revolution. While a portion of Menchaca’s recol-

lections were published in the early twentieth century, Timothy Matovina and Jesús F. de la

Teja have uncovered a previously unknown section of the document. This new publication,

then, is the only complete version of San Jacinto veteran Menchaca’s reminiscences.

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