Don Pedrote: An indigenous rebel captain in Jesuit missionary territory in northern New Spain (1673-1692)

Abstract

This work analyzes the causes of the rebellions led by the indigenous captain Don Pedrote, seeking to rescue part of his life from the past with the purpose of understanding the way in which he related to the Spanish and why they sought to annihilate him, as well as other captains who ordered their followers to assault roads and settlements hispanic. This work is a qualitative study that is based on the manuscripts written by the conquerors where reference is made to their activities. They are documents that correspond to the period from 1673 to 1692 and were prepared for very diverse purposes: war against the Indians, administration of justice, military orders, settlement and registration of sacraments. The analysis is complemented with other primary and secondary qualitative sources. The study highlights that the Spanish presence accentuated the ancestral dispute between the nomads over the territory where they obtained their subsistence and classified them as Indian friends or enemies, according to their forced or apparent submission to the king and God and highlights the importance of participation as auxiliary Indian troops for the occupation of the territory by the Spanish and the fight against the rebellious Indians.