Chichimeca War The Chichimeca War ( 1550 – 1590 ) was a military conflict waged between Spanish colonizers and their Indian allies against a confederation of Chichimeca Indians . It was the longest and most expensive conflict between Spaniards and the indigenous peoples of New Spain in the history of the colony . The Chichimeca wars began eight years after the Mixtón Rebellion of 1540 – 1542 . It can be considered as a continuation of the rebellion as the fighting did not come to a halt in the intervening years . Unlike in the Mixtón rebellion , the Caxcan es were now allied with the Spanish . The war was fought in the Northern Mexico region known as La Gran Chichimeca , specifically in the Mexican state s of Zacatecas , Guanajuato , Aguascalientes , Jalisco , and San Luis Potosi . Prelude . On September 8 , 1546 Indians near the Cerro de la Bufa in what would become the city of Zacatecas showed the Spaniard Juan de Tolosa several pieces of silver - rich ore . News of the silver strike soon spread across Spanish Mexico . The dream of quick wealth triggered multitudes of people to migrate from southern Mexico to the city of Zacatecas in the heartland of La Gran Chichimeca . Soon the mines of San Martín , Chalchihuites , Avino , Sombrerete , Fresnillo , Mazapil , and Nieves were established . The Chichimeca nations resented the intrusions by the Spanish and their Indian laborers and allies on their ancestral lands . Disobeying the Viceroy , Spanish soldiers soon began raiding native settlements of both friendly and unfriendly Indians to acquire slaves for the mines . To supply and communicate with the mines in and near Zacatecas , new roads were built from Queretaro and Jalisco across Chichimeca lands . The slow - moving caravans of carts and wagons full of goods along the roads were a tempting target for Chichimeca raiders . The Chichimecas . The Chichimecas were nomadic and semi - nomadic people who occupied the large desert basin stretching from present day Saltillo and Durango in the north to Queretaro and Guadalajara in the south . Within this area of about the Chichimecas existed primarily by hunting and gathering , especially mesquite beans , the edible parts of the agave plants , and the fruit ( tunas ) and leaves of cactus . In favored areas some of the Chichimeca grew corn and other crops . Their numbers are difficult to estimate , although based on the average density of nomadic populations they probably numbered 30 , 000 to 60 , 000 . The Chichimecas lived in rancherias of crude shelters or caves , frequently moving from one area to another to take advantage of seasonal foods and hunting . The characteristics most noted about them by the Spanish was that both women and men wore few if any clothes , grew their hair long , and painted and tattooed their bodies . They were often accused of cannibalism . The Chichimecas were not a single tribe or a united nation , but consisted or four different ethnic groups : Guachichiles , Pames , Guamares , and Zacatecos . None of these groups were politically united but rather consisted of many different independent tribes and bands . Their territories overlapped and other Indian groups also joined one or another of the Chichimeca groups in raiding on occasion . The Guachichil es ’ territory centered on the area around what would become the city of San Luis Potosi . They seem to have been the most numerous of the four ethnic groups and the de facto leaders of the Chichimecas . Their name meant ‘ head colored red ” and they colored both their skin and clothing that color . Living in close proximity to the silver road between Queretaro and Zacatecas , they were the most feared of the Indian raiders . The Pame s lived north of Queretaro and south and east of the Guachichiles . They were the least warlike and dangerous of the Chichimecas – primarily raiders of livestock . They had absorbed some of the religious and cultural practices of the more urbanized Indian nations to their south . The Guamare s lived mostly in present day Guanajuato . They possibly had more political unity that the other Chichimecas and were considered by one writer as the most " treacherous and destructive of all the Chichimecas and the most astute . ” The Zacateco s lived in the present day states of Zacatecas and Durango . They had participated in the earlier Mixton War and thus were experienced fighters against the Spanish . Some of the Zacatecos grew maize ; others were nomadic . The nomadic lifestyle and dispersed settlements of the Chichimecas contributed to the difficulty the Spanish had in defeating them . The bow was their principal weapon and one experienced observer said the Zacatecos were “ the best archers in the world . ” Their bows were short , usually less than four feet long , their arrows were long and thin and made of reed and tipped with obsidian . Despite the apparent fragility of the arrows they had excellent penetrating qualities , even against Spanish armor which was " de rigueur " for soldiers fighting the Chichimeca . Many - layered buckskin armor was preferred to chain mail as arrows could penetrate the links of the mail . Chichimeca battle tactics were mostly ambushes of travelers and caravans , livestock raids , and attacks on isolated settlements of sedentary Indians and Spanish colonists . Although some of their raids were conducted by up to 200 men , groups of 40 to 50 warriors were more common . During the war , the Chichimecas learned to ride horses and use them in war . This was perhaps the first time that the Spanish in North America faced mounted Indian warriors . Course of the War . The conflict proved much more difficult and enduring than the Spanish anticipated . The Chichimecas seemed primitive and unorganized . But they proved to be a many - headed hydra . Although the Spanish often attacked and defeated bands of Chichimecas , Spanish military successes had little impact on other independent groups who continued the war . The first outbreak of hostilities was in late 1550 when Zacatecos attacked a supply caravan of Tarascan Indians en route to Zacatecas . A few days later they were attacking ranches less than south of Zacatecas . In 1551 the Guachichile and Guamares joined in , in one instance killing 14 people near the outpost of San Miguel de Allende and forcing its temporary abandonment . Other raids near Tlaltenango were reported to have killed 120 people , mostly Indians friendly to the Spanish , within a few months . The most damaging raids of the early years of the war took place in 1553 and 1554 when two large wagon trains on the road to Zacatecas were attacked , people killed , and the very substantial sums of 32 , 000 and 40 , 000 pesos in goods stolen or destroyed . ( By comparison , the annual salary of a Spanish soldier was only 300 pesos . ) By the end of 1561 it was estimated that more than 200 Spaniards and 2 , 000 Indian allies and traders had been killed by the Chichimecas . Prices for imported food and other commodities in Zacetacas had doubled or tripled due to the dangers of transporting the goods to the city . In the 1570s the rebellion spread as Pames began raiding near Queretaro . The Spanish government first attempted measures of both carrot and stick to attempt to damp down the war , but , those failing , in 1567 it adopted the policy of a “ war of fire and blood ” ( " fuego y sangre " ) – promising death , enslavement , or mutilation to the Chichimeca . The top priority of the Spaniards throughout the war was to keep the roads open to Zacatecas and the silver mines – especially the Camino Real from San Miguel de Allende . To do so they created a dozen new presidios ( forts ) , staffed by Spanish and Indian soldiers , and encouraged settlers in new areas , including what would be the nucleus of the future cities of Celaya , León , Aguascalientes , and San Luis Potosi . The increase in Spanish soldiers in the Gran Chichimeca was not entirely favorable to the war effort as the soldiers often supplemented their income by slaving , thus reinforcing the animosity of the Chichimeca . Moreover the Spanish were short of soldiers , often staffing their presidios with only three Spaniards . They relied heavily , as they had in the past , on Indian soldiers and auxiliaries , especially the Caxcan s ( whom they had defeated in the Mixton War ) , the Tarascan s , and the Otomi . The Indian allies were rewarded with lands and stipends and were allowed to ride horses and carry swords , formerly banned for use by Indians . Peace by Purchase . As the war continued unabated , it became clear that the Spanish policy of a war of fire and blood had failed . The royal treasury was being emptied by the demands of the war . Churchmen and others who had initially supported the war of fire and blood now questioned the policy . Mistreatment and enslavement of the Chichimeca by Spaniards increasingly came to be seen as the cause of the war . In 1574 , the Dominicans , contrary to the Augustinians and Franciscans , declared that the Chichimeca War was unjust and caused by Spanish aggression . Thus , to end the conflict , the Spanish began to work toward an effective counter insurgency policy which rewarded the Chichimeca for peaceful behavior while taking steps to assimilate them . In 1584 , the Bishop of Guadalajara made a proposal for a “ Christian remedy ” to the war : the establishment of new towns with priests , soldiers , and friendly Indians to gradually domesticate and Christianize the Chichimecas . The Viceroy , Alvaro Manrique de Zuniga , followed this idea in 1586 with a policy of removing many Spanish soldiers from the frontier as they were considered more a provocation than a remedy . The Viceroy opened negotiations with Chichimeca leaders and promised them food , clothing , land , priests , and tools to encourage them through “ gentle persuasion ” to settle down . He forbade military operations to seek out and capture and kill hostile Indians . One of the key people behind these negotiations was Miguel Caldera , a captain who was of both Spanish and Guachichile desecent . Beginning in 1590 and continuing for several decades the Spanish implemented the “ Peace by Purchase ” program by sending large quantities of goods northward to be distributed to the Chichimecas . In 1590 the Viceroy declared the program a success and the roads to Zacatecas safe for the first time in 40 years . The next step , in 1591 , was for a new Viceroy , Luis de Velasco , with help from others such as Caldera , to persuade 400 families of Tlaxcalan Indians , old allies of the Spanish , to establish eight settlements in Chichimeca areas . They served as Christian examples to the Chichimecas and taught animal husbandry and farming to them . In return for moving to the frontier , the Tlaxcalans extracted concessions from the Spanish , including land grants , freedom from taxes , the right to carry arms , and provisions for two years . The Spanish also took steps to curb slavery on Mexico ’ s northern frontier by ordering the arrest of members of the Carabajal family and Gaspar Castano de Sosa . An essential part of their strategy was conversion of the Chichimeca to Catholicism . The Franciscans sent priests to the frontier to aid in the pacification effort . The Peace by Purchase program worked . Hostilities died down and the majority of the Chichimecas gradually became sedentary , Catholic or nominally Catholic , and peaceful . Importance . The Spanish policy which evolved to pacify the Chichimecas had four components : negotiation of peace agreements , converting Indians to Christianity with missionaries , resettling Native Americans allies to the frontier to serve as examples and role models , and providing food , other commodities , and tools to potentially hostile Indians to encourage them to become sedentary . This established the pattern of Spanish policy for assimilating Native Americans on their northern frontier . The principal components of the policy of peace by purchase would continue for nearly three centuries and would not be uniformly successful , as later threats from hostile Indians such as Apaches and Comanches would demonstrate . Chichimecas today . Over time most of the Chichimeca people lost their ethnic identities and were absorbed into the mestizo population of Mexico . The Zacatecos and Guamares totally disappeared as distinct peoples . The Huichol es are believed to be the descendants of the Guachichiles . About 20 , 000 of them live in an isolated area on the borders of Jalisco and Nayarit . They are noted for being conservative , successfully preserving their language , religion , and culture . There are about 10 , 000 speakers of the Pame language s in Mexico , primarily in the municipality of Santa Maria Acapulco in an isolated region in southeastern San Luis Potosi province . They are conservative and nominal Catholics , but mostly still practicing their traditional religion and customs . Another group of about 1 , 500 Chichimeca Jonaz live in the state of Guanajuato .