Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from Fort Union National Monument, New Mexico
The Pike journals, published in 1810, gave Americans their first glimpse of the people and way of life behind the wall of secrecy Spain had erected on the frontiers of New Mexico. Missourians were quick to detect commercial opportunities in overland trade with Spanish settlers on the Rio Grande. All goods not produced locally in New Mexico had to be hauled from Vera Cruz, Mexico, across miles of Indian-infested desert. Only 800 miles of level prairie separated the Missouri River from Santa Fe. But Spanish authorities distrusted the aggressive Yankees and wanted none in New Mexico. A few who tested the possibilities suggested by Pike's narrative wound up in the calabozo adjacent to the ancient Palace of the Governors. Then in 1821 revolution broke out in Mexico. Spain lost her hold on the American colonies. The infant Mexican nation tore down the frontier barriers and welcomed American trad ers to Santa Fe.
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