Quautlatas
Encyclopedia
Quautlatas was a shaman who inspired the bloody Tepehuán Revolt
against the Spanish
in Mexico
in 1616.
on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental
. Early Spanish explorers described them as numerous but, apparently, a series of epidemics of introduced European diseases reduced their numbers by more than 80 percent. By the time of the revolt their numbers may have been only about 10,000
Spanish silver miners and ranchers began settling in the Tepehuan lands in the 1570s and Jesuit missionaries began work among them in 1596. The Tepehuán seemed relatively receptive to the misssionaries and by 1615 a Jesuit could declare that the Tepehuán “showed great progress and were in the things of our holy faith very Hispanic.
What the Jesuits and other Spaniards did not fully comprehend was that the Tepehuán were a people under enormous stress. The recurrent epidemics impoverished them and destroyed their faith in their traditional culture. The missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity by abolishing their religious practices, replacing their leaders with Christians, and introducing Spanish customs. Both missionaries and encomenderos demanded their labor in the mines and the missions and on the ranches. The missionaries perceived they were doing God’s work by baptizing Indians dying of disease; the Indians equated baptism with death.
Quautlatas message was typical of millennial
movements such as the Pueblo Revolt
led by another messianic figure, Popé
, in the same century, and much later events such as the Ghost Dance
and the Boxer Rebellion
in China
. Quautlatas promised divine intervention to return to an idealized past in which the plagues and suffering brought upon the Tepehuán by the Spanish would disappear.
The principal chronicler of the Tepehuán Revolt
, the Jesuit priest Andres Perez de Ribas
, cited the devil
as causing the revolt. It was not mistreatment by the Spanish which caused the revolt but rather “Satan
who intervened here, with a pure scheme and design, which was received by these blind people. It enraged their spirit to take up arms against the faith of Christ and all that was Christianity…..This was most clearly demonstrated by the diabolical shamans who had intimate dealings with the Devil and were the main force and instigators of the uprising.” Perez de Ribas compared Quautlatas with the anti-Christ.
) The Spanish counterattack in 1617 and 1618 was brutal. Many Tepehuán who were not killed or enslaved fled to the remotest part of the mountains where they avoided contact with the Spanish for more than 100 years. Cuautlatas was apparently killed by the Spanish or died shortly after the war began.
The revolt left the province “destroyed and devastated, almost depopulated of Spaniards. It was one of the three bloodiest and most destructive Indian attempts to throw off Spanish control in northwestern New Spain." (the other two being the Mixton War and the Chichimeca War
).
Tepehuán Revolt
The Tepehuán Revolt broke out in Mexico in 1616. The Tepehuán Indians attempted to break free from Spanish rule. The revolt was crushed by 1620 after a large loss of life on both sides.-The Tepehuán People:...
against the Spanish
Spanish Empire
The Spanish Empire comprised territories and colonies administered directly by Spain in Europe, in America, Africa, Asia and Oceania. It originated during the Age of Exploration and was therefore one of the first global empires. At the time of Habsburgs, Spain reached the peak of its world power....
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in 1616.
The Tepehuán and the Spanish
The Tepehuán were an agricultural people who lived primarily in the future Mexican state of DurangoDurango
Durango officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Durango is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is located in Northwest Mexico. With a population of 1,632,934, it has Mexico's second-lowest population density, after Baja...
on the eastern slopes of the Sierra Madre Occidental
Sierra Madre Occidental
The Sierra Madre Occidental is a mountain range in western Mexico.-Setting:The range runs north to south, from just south of the Sonora–Arizona border southeast through eastern Sonora, western Chihuahua, Sinaloa, Durango, Zacatecas, Nayarit, Jalisco, Aguascalientes to Guanajuato, where it joins...
. Early Spanish explorers described them as numerous but, apparently, a series of epidemics of introduced European diseases reduced their numbers by more than 80 percent. By the time of the revolt their numbers may have been only about 10,000
Spanish silver miners and ranchers began settling in the Tepehuan lands in the 1570s and Jesuit missionaries began work among them in 1596. The Tepehuán seemed relatively receptive to the misssionaries and by 1615 a Jesuit could declare that the Tepehuán “showed great progress and were in the things of our holy faith very Hispanic.
What the Jesuits and other Spaniards did not fully comprehend was that the Tepehuán were a people under enormous stress. The recurrent epidemics impoverished them and destroyed their faith in their traditional culture. The missionaries tried to convert them to Christianity by abolishing their religious practices, replacing their leaders with Christians, and introducing Spanish customs. Both missionaries and encomenderos demanded their labor in the mines and the missions and on the ranches. The missionaries perceived they were doing God’s work by baptizing Indians dying of disease; the Indians equated baptism with death.
The Messiah
In early 1616, an elderly shaman, Quautlatas, rose to leadership among the Tepehuán and promised to lead them out of bondage. Quautlatas had been baptized a Christian and his message to his people had Christian elements in it. He called himself a bishop and carried a broken cross as his idol. To placate the gods, he said, the Tepehuán “would have to cut the throats” of all Christians. “It they did not do this they would receive a terrible punishment in the form of illnesses, plagues, and famine. But it they obeyed him, he promised them…victory over the Spaniards. Even if some of them should die in battle, he promised them that within seven days they would be resurrected….God would create storms at seas, sinking the Spanish ships and thus preventing additional Spaniards from reaching these lands.”Quautlatas message was typical of millennial
Millenarianism
Millenarianism is the belief by a religious, social, or political group or movement in a coming major transformation of society, after which all things will be changed, based on a one-thousand-year cycle. The term is more generically used to refer to any belief centered around 1000 year intervals...
movements such as the Pueblo Revolt
Pueblo Revolt
The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, or Popé's Rebellion, was an uprising of several pueblos of the Pueblo people against Spanish colonization of the Americas in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México.-Background:...
led by another messianic figure, Popé
Popé
Popé or Po'pay was a Tewa religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh , who led the Pueblo Revolt against Spanish colonial rule in 1680.-Background:...
, in the same century, and much later events such as the Ghost Dance
Ghost Dance
The Ghost Dance was a new religious movement which was incorporated into numerous Native American belief systems. The traditional ritual used in the Ghost Dance, the circle dance, has been used by many Native Americans since prehistoric times...
and the Boxer Rebellion
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer Rebellion, also called the Boxer Uprising by some historians or the Righteous Harmony Society Movement in northern China, was a proto-nationalist movement by the "Righteous Harmony Society" , or "Righteous Fists of Harmony" or "Society of Righteous and Harmonious Fists" , in China between...
in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
. Quautlatas promised divine intervention to return to an idealized past in which the plagues and suffering brought upon the Tepehuán by the Spanish would disappear.
The principal chronicler of the Tepehuán Revolt
Tepehuán Revolt
The Tepehuán Revolt broke out in Mexico in 1616. The Tepehuán Indians attempted to break free from Spanish rule. The revolt was crushed by 1620 after a large loss of life on both sides.-The Tepehuán People:...
, the Jesuit priest Andres Perez de Ribas
Andrés Pérez de Ribas
Andrés Pérez De Ribas was a Spanish Jesuit missionary, and historian of north-western Mexico.-Life:...
, cited the devil
Devil
The Devil is believed in many religions and cultures to be a powerful, supernatural entity that is the personification of evil and the enemy of God and humankind. The nature of the role varies greatly...
as causing the revolt. It was not mistreatment by the Spanish which caused the revolt but rather “Satan
Satan
Satan , "the opposer", is the title of various entities, both human and divine, who challenge the faith of humans in the Hebrew Bible...
who intervened here, with a pure scheme and design, which was received by these blind people. It enraged their spirit to take up arms against the faith of Christ and all that was Christianity…..This was most clearly demonstrated by the diabolical shamans who had intimate dealings with the Devil and were the main force and instigators of the uprising.” Perez de Ribas compared Quautlatas with the anti-Christ.
The Revolt
Quautlatas did not lead the Tepehuán in the revolt which began in November 1616. Six war leaders carried out a series of coordinated attacks that left hundreds of Spaniards, including ten priests, and their Indian allies and African slaves dead. (See Tepehuán RevoltTepehuán Revolt
The Tepehuán Revolt broke out in Mexico in 1616. The Tepehuán Indians attempted to break free from Spanish rule. The revolt was crushed by 1620 after a large loss of life on both sides.-The Tepehuán People:...
) The Spanish counterattack in 1617 and 1618 was brutal. Many Tepehuán who were not killed or enslaved fled to the remotest part of the mountains where they avoided contact with the Spanish for more than 100 years. Cuautlatas was apparently killed by the Spanish or died shortly after the war began.
The revolt left the province “destroyed and devastated, almost depopulated of Spaniards. It was one of the three bloodiest and most destructive Indian attempts to throw off Spanish control in northwestern New Spain." (the other two being the Mixton War and the Chichimeca War
Chichimeca War
The Chichimeca War 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...
).