Since the earliest days of Spanish exploration and settlement, New Mexico has been known for lying off the beaten track. But this new history reminds readers that the world has been beating paths to New Mexico for hundreds of years, via the Camino Real, the Santa Fe Trail, several railroads, Route 66, the interstate highway system, and now the Internet.
This first complete history of New Mexico in more than thirty years begins with the prehistoric cultures of the earliest inhabitants. The authors then trace the state's growth from the arrival of Spanish explorers and colonizers in the sixteenth century to the centennial of statehood in 2012. Most historians have made the territory's admission to the Union in 1912 as the starting point for the state's modernization. As this book shows, however, the transformation from frontier province to modern state began with World War II. The technological advancements of the Atomic Era, spawned during wartime, propelled New Mexico to the forefront of scientific research and pointed it toward the twenty-first century.
The authors discuss the state's historical and cultural geography, the economics of mining and ranching, irrigation's crucial role in agriculture, and the impact of Native political activism and tribe-owned gambling casinos. "New Mexico: A History "will be a vital source for anyone seeking to understand the complex interactions of the indigenous inhabitants, Spanish settlers, immigrants, and their descendants who have created New Mexico and who shape its future.

"How an Hispano community maintained its identity over four centuries"

Located in Albuquerque's south valley, Atrisco is a vibrant community that predates the city, harking back to a land grant awarded in 1692. Joseph P. Sanchez explores the evolution of this parcel over the four centuries since the first Spanish settlers arrived. He tracks its transformation from an individual to a community grant, peeling away the layers of historical events that have made Atrisco the last piece of undeveloped real estate in a growing metropolitan area.

Sanchez examines the creation of Atrisco as a frontier community during the Spanish and Mexican periods and shows how it maintained its identity and land ownership into the American era. He describes the historical processes of colonization, land tenures and transfers, and social and economic activity. He also assesses the transfer of the land grant to a private corporation and its subsequent fate, and considers Atrisco's role in the future of Albuquerque.

Today more than 30,000 New Mexicans are descended from the early settlers of Atrisco; and because few places in the United States have retained their Spanish and Mexican influences as have the New Mexican land grants, the history of Atrisco offers a unique perspective. Sanchez's study preserves Atrisco's origins as part of that area's Hispano heritage, depicting people who learned to defend their culture against outside challenges and embedding local history in a larger regional saga.

The arrival of Spaniards in 1769 served as a defining moment for California's future. They described the First Peoples and their cultures and provided a window into the evolution of California's Camino Real. In an effort to establish the Camino Real de California as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joseph P. Sanchez explores the rich history of the path running from San Diego to San Francisco in this significant study. While records capture the stories and legends of the Camino Real there is little information on the exact ground route. Sanchez utilizes historical and archaeological literature and the documentation from Spanish and Mexican archives to begin the much-needed process of authentication of this braided corridor to further establish the Camino Real de California's integrity and valuable history, which is shared with Spain, Mexico, and Native American tribes. Their story is part of the patrimony of the Camino Real de California, which ought to be authenticated, preserved, and protected for future generations to enjoy.

The arrival of Spaniards in 1769 served as a defining moment for California's future. They described the First Peoples and their cultures and provided a window into the evolution of California's Camino Real. In an effort to establish the Camino Real de California as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, Joseph P. Sanchez explores the rich history of the path running from San Diego to San Francisco in this significant study. While records capture the stories and legends of the Camino Real there is little information on the exact ground route. Sanchez utilizes historical and archaeological literature and the documentation from Spanish and Mexican archives to begin the much-needed process of authentication of this braided corridor to further establish the Camino Real de California's integrity and valuable history, which is shared with Spain, Mexico, and Native American tribes. Their story is part of the patrimony of the Camino Real de California, which ought to be authenticated, preserved, and protected for future generations to enjoy.

The present administrative history of Coronado National Memorial reveals underlying trends, practices, and themes that have, since 1941, gained, at least, in venerability, and others, more ancillary, that have long since disappeared.

While the Spanish conquistadors have been stereotyped as rapacious treasure seekers, many firstcomers to the New World realized that its greatest wealth lay in the native populations whose labor could be harnessed to build a new Spain. Hence, the early arrivals in Mexico sought encomiendas--"a grant of the Indians of a prescribed indigenous polity, who were to provide the grantee (the encomendero) tribute in the form of commoditiesand service in return for protection and religious instruction."

This study profiles the 506 known encomenderos in New Spain (present-day Mexico) during the years 1521-1555, using their life histories to chart the rise, florescence, and decline of the encomienda system. The first part draws general conclusions about the actual workings of the encomienda system. The second part provides concise biographies of the encomenderos themselves.