by Max Baseman

Created on: April 24, 2009   Last Updated: April 28, 2009

Religion has had a major influence on New Mexico's history. The Vatican gave Spain and Portugal permission to colonize the "New World". Pop lead the Pueblo Revolt under religious commandments from the the spirit world. The modernization of New Mexico by the United States causes several historical religious changes. In order to see how religion has molded New Mexico's history, it is vitally important to examine the Vatican's influence on the colonization of the "new world".

In 1598 on the 26th of January, the "Royal Expedition" set off to colonize the new world (1). Oate, the leader of the exploration, had organized a crew of advisers, soldiers, colonists, and religious men to accompany him into the new world (2). The Vatican had granted the Spanish king the "the Royal Patronage", a power that allowed the Spanish to "exercise authority over church authorities in the New World" (3). This meant that the Spanish had control over the amount of churches to be built in the new world, where those churches would be built and how many priests they would have (4). On April 30th, Oate and his party stopped before entering New Mexico to perform the proper ritual, a makeshift chapel was created where "Father Martinez held high Mass and delivered a long sermon" (5). When Oate and his men reached the Rio Grande, they stopped to rest and search for food and water. A small church was built out of the "leafy wood" that they found, the church would serve both religious and entertainment purposes.

After the first Mass in the new church, a play was performed displaying the native Indians begging the Franciscan friars to baptize them, and ended with Oate overcoming all challenges he might face in colonizing New Mexico (6). The religious tension under Spanish colonization is what ultimately led to the pueblo revolt. The Spanish forbade the Native Americans from their traditional religious practices, outlawing public singing and dancing, and destroying and desecrating the religious arts and crafts (7).

In 1640, when small pox killed approximately 10% of the pueblos, it was translated by the Native Americans as nature punishing them because they had stopped practicing their religion and had become unbalanced with nature. It was believed that the only way to stop their illness was to go back to the native traditions and please nature. Once again, in 1667 to 1672, nature "punished" the Native Americans with a drought, the Spanish would not allow the proper rituals and rain dances to be performed,

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