The Impending Insurrection in Conejos Colorado Territory, 1862

 I attended the lecture "The Impending Insurrection in Conejos Colorado Territory, 1862" as part of the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America virtual conference. Presenter and author Virginia Sanchez recently published a book on the topic called Pleas and Petitions: Hispano Culture and Legislative Conflict in Territorial Colorado. 

Colorado miners annexed part of northern New Mexico, using the already settled Hispano population to meet the population requirements for Colorado territory status. However, little to no effort was made to include this Spanish-speaking population in any of the legislative processes. There were big problems with interpretation and new tax laws that required cash payments the Hispano population was unable to meet. One Hispano representative was lynched. Anglos had fears the Hispanos were planning a rebellion, but it turns out the Hispanos were actually meeting to discuss petitioning the return of the land to New Mexico. The New Mexico legislature was bilingual and had material published in both English and Spanish; additionally, the Hispanos in the new Colorado were more culturally aligned with New Mexico. Unfortunately, it was not to be.

In the 1856 map below you can see a northern portion of New Mexico that juts up into modern-day Colorado. This was the section that was annexed into the Colorado territory.

JO