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What's the Worst RPG or Setting That's Actually Popular?

Started by RPGPundit, May 16, 2017, 05:54:21 PM

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Baulderstone

Quote from: RPGPundit;966397Exactly. Which is why the "super-long never-ending wild west" is a stupid idea.

Unless it makes for a fun game at the table.

hedgehobbit

Quote from: darthfozzywig;966472The Civil War makes for an interesting time because the frontier effectively rolled back east for a few years as Federal troops were sent elsewhere.
Considering that western had its peak in the late 40s & 50s, I can see the audience appeal of setting westerns in a period immediately following a major war. However, some of the greatest western movies of all time take place outside the rather limited time range previously mentioned, including The Good The Bad & The Ugly, The Wild Bunch, Three Amigos, and The Outlaw Josey Wales. As well as the best western video game, Red Dead Redemption.

As mentioned, RPG setting tend to try and create a place where all of the stories of a particular genre can occur simultaneously. It's a contrivance to support game play.

fearsomepirate

Quote from: hedgehobbit;966495As well as the best western video game, Red Dead Redemption.

Weird way to spell "Outlaws."
Every time I think the Forgotten Realms can\'t be a dumber setting, I get proven to be an unimaginative idiot.

Dumarest

Quote from: RPGPundit;966396Custer's last stand (hell almost ALL the indian wars), Wyatt Earp in Dodge city, the great cattle drives, the lawless Deadwood, the death of Wild Bill Hickcok, Calamity Jane, the end of the buffalo trade, Bat Masterson, Doc Holliday, the Lincoln County War and Billy the Kid, the rise of the Cowboys, the Las Vegas gang, Tombstone and the Gunfight of the OK Corral, Wyatt Earp's revenge ride, the death of Billy the Kid, and the death of Jesse James all happened within a six year period from 1876-82.

I didn't realize that. Sounds like a good period to set a campaign.

S'mon

Quote from: hedgehobbit;966495However, some of the greatest western movies of all time take place outside the rather limited time range previously mentioned, including The Good The Bad & The Ugly

The Leone trilogy is set in a kind of Escher time loop - Fistful of Dollars is set both before and after The Good The Bad And The Ugly (it has a machine gun!), which is set in the Civil War.
Shadowdark Wilderlands (Fridays 6pm UK/1pm EST)  https://smons.blogspot.com/2024/08/shadowdark.html

Barghest

#245
Quote from: S'mon;966529The Leone trilogy is set in a kind of Escher time loop - Fistful of Dollars is set both before and after The Good The Bad And The Ugly (it has a machine gun!), which is set in the Civil War.

The Gatling gun was invented in 1862, and was actually used in service during the Civil War. It's authentically a Wild West weapon, not an anachronism.

Or were you referring to the Mitrailleuse in Fistful? That one was invented in 1851 and used in service by France.

The Old West is a really interesting time for weapons technology--advances were made in fits and starts, so that you can find some surprisingly sophisticated models of firearms in use right alongside guys who are still using cap-and-ball revolvers, depending on where and when you look.
"But I thought we were the good guys!"
"No, we\'re not the good guys. We\'re the pigs from Animal Farm."

GameDaddy

Quote from: hedgehobbit;966495As well as the best western video game, Red Dead Redemption.


Red Dead Redemption sucked. You couldn't play a Marshal or Lawman, and there were only missions to become a varmint or outlaw, or killer, or cold-blooded murderer. Rock Star's Games idea of Grand Theft Auto in the old west, I'm sure. I tried to play a Lawman, but I couldn't because the whole game was a railroad designed to make you a criminal. The real history of the Old West, especially what is the now U.S Southwest is much more interesting.

I have always thought of the Wild West as being from about 1519 to about 1871 or so. Having grown up out west in Colorado, I have had access to many local history books there that just are not available anywhere else in the United States. The first Spanish Expeditions into what is the U.S. Southwest occurred almost simultaneously as the Invasion of Mexico and the Conquest of the Aztecs in 1519... by the time the American War of Independence had begun, Santa Fe, New Mexico had already seen fifty-three Spanish Governors who had lived some or all of their lives in Santa Fe.. This is the true wild west. Check it out...

Espana Conquista
1494 - (La Nueva Isabelle) i.e. Santo Domingo (1498) founded in the Dominican Republic by Bartholomew Columbus (Crhistopher Columbus' brother)
1500 - Nueva Cadiz founded on the island of Cubagua, Venezuela - tributary to Santo Domingo
1502 - Santa Cruz founded in Columbia by Alonso De Ojedo
1504 - Santa Cruz abandoned.
1513 - Ponce de Leon explores Florida

1514 - Santa Marta founded on July 29, 1525 by the Spanish conquistador Rodrigo de Bastidas in Columbia
1508 - Alonso De Ojedo made Governor of New Andalusia, and Franscisco Pizarro (who conqured Peru) was in this expedition to Venezuela. Hernan Cortez was supposed to go to however became Ill right before the Journey to Venezuela.
1519 - Hernando Cortez invades Mexico and wrecks the Aztec Empire in just under two years.
1519-1697 - Spanish conquest of the Mayan empire in the Yucatan Peninsula (Cortez in 1519 but the Mayans rebelled in
1521 - Tampa founded by Ponce De Leon
1524 - Jesuits settle on a hill overlooking the Spanish Fort of Buenos Aires. Officially settled as a Spanish Colony in 1535.
1527 - Paraguay settled by the Spanish on the Parana river. Fort Spiritu Sanctu.
1532-1572 - Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire (Francisco Pizarro)
1533 - Cartagena founded in Columbia by Pedro De Heredia
1535 - Nueva Espana founded, Nueva Espana is everything North of the what was formerly the Aztec Empire in central Mexico. This includes California, Texas, and the U.S. Southwest.
1536 - Bogota captured by the Spanish Conquistador Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and resettled by the Spanish.
1537 - Asuncion founded in Paraguay by Pedro De Mendoza. Official Name: Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción
1537-1543 - Nuevo Reino de Granada founded from all of thea settlements in what is present day Columbia.
1539-1543 - Hernando De Soto with a Spanish military company of conquistadores explores Florida, Georgia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois,
1540-1542 - Francisco Vázquez de Coronado y Luján leads an ill-fated overland expedition from Mexico city to Kansas in search of cibola, the seven cities of gold, The expedition returns to Texas, makes it way to Alabama, and then to Pensacola, Florida, where the survivors are rescued.
1565 - St. Augustine founded by Spanish admiral Pedro Menéndez de Avilés, Florida's first governor


Spanish in the U.S. Southwest
1598-1610 - Town of San Juan de los Caballeros - Juan de Oñate y Salazar (1550–1626) was a conquistador from Nuevo Espana, explorer, and the first colonial governor of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México province in the Viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, encountering numerous indigenous tribes in their homelands there. In 1606, Oñate was recalled to Mexico City for a hearing regarding his conduct. After finishing plans for the founding of the town of Santa Fé, he resigned his post and was tried and convicted of cruelty to both natives and colonists. He was banished from New Mexico for life and exiled from Mexico City for 5 years.San Juan de los Caballeros
1610 - Santa Fe de Nuevo México established by the Spanish Conquistador Don Pedro De Peralta and Mexican Settlers that travelled North into this newly established Spanish Territory, ironically taken using force from the Commanche, many of whom had died of smallpox leaving an empty land. The Spanish Conquistadors found both silver and gold in New Mexico, and very quietly looted New Mexico, until it was taken over by a Spanish Military Governor in 1777. The never did find the Golden City of Cibola. Don Pedro formally founded the city of Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1610. In August 1613 he was arrested and jailed for almost a year by the Franciscan friar Isidro Ordóñez. Later, he was vindicated by the Mexican Inquisition and held a number of other senior posts in the Spanish imperial administration.
1614-1618 - Bernardino de Ceballos was the third Governor of New Mexico
1618-1625 - Juan Álvarez de Eulate y Ladrón de Cegama, Fourth Governor of New Mexico
1626-1629 - Felipe de Sotelo Osorio became the fifth governor of New Mexico. After becoming governor, Sotelo rejected the Roman Catholic Church that he viewed as a dictatorship, thus provoking clashes with the institution. he was convicted of Blasphemy against the Cbhurch, and removed from office.
1629-1632 - Captain Don Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto left Mexico City on 4 September 1628, reaching Santa Fe on 1 May 1629, when he took office as sixth Governor of New Mexico.
1632-1635 - Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos was a Spanish military officer and merchant who served as governor of colonial New Mexico between March 1632 and 1635.
1634-1637 - Francisco Martínez de Baeza was the colonial governor of New Mexico from November 1634 to 18 April 1637. He was heavily criticized for rejecting the participation of Franciscan missions in the territory, for impeding the conversion of indigenous people to Christianity, and for exploiting the labor of the local people, spanish, mexicans, and indians.
1637-1641 - Luis de Rosas (died January 25, 1642) was a soldier who served as the ninth Governor of New Mexico from 1637 until 1641, when he was then imprisoned and assassinated. During his administration, de Rosas clashed with the Franciscans, mainly because of his handling of the indigenous Americans, whom he forced to work as slaves. The Franciscans promoted a revolt of the citizens of New Mexico against him. de Rosas was imprisoned after an investigation relating to his position as governor. He was killed by soldiers while in prison.
1641 Juan Flores de Sierra - The fatigue caused by the long journey (he had traveled over 1,500 kilometers from Mexico City to Santa Fe made Valdes seriously ill. He appointed Sergeant Francisco Gomes lieutenant governor in order to continue the investigation of Luis de Rosas. Valdés died in autumn 1641 as the shortest-serving governor of New Mexico (from spring 1641 to autumn 1641)
1641-1642 Sargent Francisco Gomez (born 1576, died in either 1656 or 1657) was a prominent Portuguese military leader who held the charge of acting governor of New Mexico between 1641 and 1642. He was among the first permanent Spanish settlers of Santa Fe, New Mexico.
Alonso de Pacheco de Herédia
1643 - Alonso de Pacheco de Herédia, 12th Governor of New Mexico.
1644 - Fernando de Argüello was a Spanish soldier who served as the 13th Governor of New Mexico, between 1644 and 1647. He put down an Apache revolt but was Imprisoned for other offences against the Spanish Crown. Fernando De Arguello subsequently escaped, and forfeited his family estates and wealth.
1648-1649 - Luis de Guzmán y Figueroa  was a Spanish soldier who served as governor of New Mexico from 1647 to 1649. During his legislation, Figueroa apparently accepted a bribe from the previous governor of the province, Fernando de Arguello, related to the report and accounts of the residence, which was required for all administrative officials. The accusations against Figueroa and his important charges caused him to leave office as governor in 1649, before his term ended. Rumors suggest that Figueroa died in November, 1650, in a duel in Mexico.
Hernando de Ugarte y la Concha
1649-1652 - Hernando de Ugarte y la Concha was Governor of New Mexico from 1649 to 1653. In 1650, Ugarte put down an uprising among the Jemez Indians, allied with the Navajos and some of the Tigua villages, that was meant to include all the pueblos, although not all joined in. Nine of the Jemez Indians were hanged as traitors, and others were sold as slaves. Following Ugarte's governorship, the New Mexico Pueblo people became increasingly restless, resenting Spanish efforts to resettle them and convert them to Christianity, and eventually revolted and broke free of Spain in 1680
1652-1656 Juan de Samaniego y Xaca - better known just as Juan Samaniego y Jaca, was a prominent Spanish military who served as Governor of New Mexico between 1653 and 1656. He realized several expeditions against some Amerindian people who attacked, kidnapped and took as prisoners to people of other native peoples, in order of liberate these people.
1656-1659 - Juan Manso de Contreras, 17th Spanish Governor of New Mexico.
1659-1660 - Bernardo López de Mendizábal (1620–September 16, 1664) was a Spanish politician, soldier, religious scholar, and native of modern Mexico, who served as governor of New Mexico and as alcalde mayor (or royal administrator) in Guayacocotla (on the Sierra Madre Oriental, northeast of Mexico City). Among Lopez' dictates as governor of New Mexico, he prohibited the Franciscan priests to force the Native Americans to work if they were not paid a salary and he recognized their right to practice their religion. He also permitted the Pueblos Native Americans to perform their religious dances (thus endorsing religious practices that had been prohibited for 30 years). These acts caused disagreements with the Franciscan missionaries of New Mexico in their dealings with the Native Americans. He was indicted by the Inquisition on thirty-three counts of malfeasance and the practice of Judaism in 1660. He was replaced in the same year and his administration ended. He was arrested in 1663 and died a prisoner in 1664.
1661-1664 - Diego Dionisio de Peñalosa Briceño y Berdugo (1621–1687) was a Lima-born soldier who served governor of Spanish New Mexico in 1661–1664.When left New Spain, Peñalosa went to London to propose to Charles II of England an alliance between them in case England was planning an invasion by the Spanish America. However, his idea was rejected. Therefore, in 1678, he traveled to France. For several years, he proposed to the King of France, Louis XIV, to colonize different parts North of New Spain, such as Quivira (probably in Central Kansas) and Teguayo, through a collaboration between both. However, the king always declined his offer. Diego died in France in 1687.
1664 - Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza (1623 - After 1692) was a Spanish soldier (native of modern Mexico) who served as acting Governor of New Mexico in 1664. In Isleta, the Dominguez family settled to the west of El Cerro de Tomé, near Tome Hill (next to Rio Grande). However, when the Pueblo Revolt broke out in 1680, thirty-eight members of the Dominguez family were attacked and killed by the Pueblo Native Americans. In addition to his four sons who fought in the Pueblo Revolt of 1680 (among them Tome III), his other two sons, Juan and Diego, were seriously injured due to poisoned arrows. Other family members, such as grandchildren, son-in-laws, brothers and nephews may have also been killed in the war. For the most part, those who survived were forced to leave the place, emigrating south to El Paso del Norte (modern Ciudad Juarez, North of modern Mexico).So, in 1682, Don Pedro de Tomé y Chaves (brother of the first wife of Mendoza, Catalina López Mederos) got permission to migrate to modern-day Mexico with his family and the family of Mendoza. They never returned to New Mexico, even after the Spanish resettlement in New Mexico, which occurred in 1662. Thanks to the Peace Treaty between the Puebloans and the Spanish, Mendoza emigrated to Spain also never to return to New Mexico.
1664-1665 Durán de Miranda was appointed governor of New Mexico for in 1664. He was expelled and arrested in 1665. Despite this, he was appointed for a second term in New Mexico in 1671.
1665-1668 Fernando de Villanueva y Armendaris (died May 17, 1679) was a Spanish soldier, judge and politician who served as governor of Spanish New Mexico between 1665 and 1668. During his period in office, The Apache increased their raids against the Spaniards and the Puebloans. These raids affected especially the Piro Pueblos of the Salinas Basin, causing some to rebel. As a result, Villanueva hanged six Piros and sold others as slaves. The governor of Salinas Pueblo, the Amerindian Esteban Clemente, plotted a revolt against the Spanish throughout New Mexico on Holy Thursday. The Spanish authorities, though, discovered the plan and hanged governor Clemente.
1671-1674  Durán de Miranda was again appointed as governor for a second term.
1675-1679 Juan Francisco Treviño was the 25th Spanish Governor of New Mexico. As governor he persecuted the Pueblo Native Americans, causing the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish settlers.
1679 Antonio de Otermin was the 26th Spanish Governor of the northern New Spain province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, today the U.S. states of New Mexico and Arizona, from 1678 to 1682. He was governor at the time of the Pueblo Revolt, during which the religious leader Popé led the Pueblo people in a military ouster of the Spanish colonists. Otermin had to cope with the revolt with help of the settlers and their descendants in New Mexico, fighting against the Pueblo in some military campaigns and establishing a refuge for the surviving settlers and loyal native Pueblo in the vicinity of the modern Ciudad Juarez.
1680-1692 Nueva México had no governor as the Pueblo Indians revolted and massacred any Spanish they could find, temporarily driving them out of their missions as well as Santa Fe, and Bernalilo, and Las Cruces.
1683 -Misión de San Bruno founded on the east coast of the Baja Peninsula (abandoned) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misi%C3%B3n_San_Bruno

1691-1697 - Diego de Vargas (titular 1688 – 1691, effective 1691 – 1697) He is most famous for leading the reconquest of the territory in 1692 following the Pueblo Revolt of 1680. This reconquest is commemorated annually during the Fiestas de Santa Fe in the city of Santa Fe.  In July 1692, de Vargas and a small contingent of soldiers returned to Santa Fe. They surrounded the city and called on the Pueblo people to surrender, promising clemency if they would swear allegiance to the King of Spain and return to the Christian faith. After meeting with de Vargas, the Pueblo leaders agreed to peace, and on September 12, 1692 de Vargas proclaimed a formal act of repossession.

De Vargas' repossession of New Mexico is often called a bloodless reconquest, since the territory was initially retaken without any use of force. Later, when de Vargas returned to Mexico in early 1693 to retrieve a group of settlers, they had to fight their way into Santa Fe. Warriors from four of the pueblos sided with the colonists, but most opposed them. When the capital had been taken, Don Diego ordered some 70 of the Pueblo men killed. Women and children were distributed as servants to the colonists. Similar bloody fighting occurred at many of the other pueblos before the governor felt that the native people had truly submitted to his and the king's authority. The end of widespread hostilities did not mean an end to Pueblo resentment over continued heavy-handed treatment by the colonists. The plundering of Pueblo stocks of corn and other supplies, to sustain the struggling colony, was a periodic occurrence that inflamed animosity. By the end of the century the Spanish colonization was essentially solidified.

1697 - Misión de Nuestra Señora de Loreto Conchó - Loreto Baja. The Jesuits went on to found more eighteen more missions on the Baja Peninsula which were taken over by the Dominican Friars in 1767.

1697-1703 - Pedro Rodríguez Cubero (baptized July 29, 1656 – died 1704) was a Spanish admiral who served as the 31st Spanish governor of New Mexico between 1697 and 1703.
1703-1704 - Diego de Vargas (Yes, for a second time).
1704-1705 Juan Páez Hurtado (born near December 22, 1668 – May 5, 1724) was a Spanish official. He was Captain General, Governor and Mayor of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico.
1705-1707 - Francisco Cuervo y Valdés  (also 3rd Governor of Spanish Texas from 1702-1705, and a Knight of the Order of Santiago. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Order_of_Santiago  Arriving in the province, Cuervo y Valdés found that social and political conditions in the area were very poor. The continuing war between the Apaches and Navajos against the settlers and Pueblos (who were allies of the Spanish), as well as their common assault on the peoples of the province had created those problems.Cuervo y Valdes led troops against Apaches, but the number of soldiers was very small to defend the whole New Mexico territory. So, he sent a letter to the Viceroy asking for reinforcements, but the Viceroy did not attend to the request. Shortly after, he asked for help from the Puebloans, who accepted and joined with his troops. The soldiers needed clothing and supplies. The governor asked the viceroy for weapons, ammunition and clothing. However, the viceroy sent only a small amount of weapons and ammunition to New Mexico. On April 23, 1706, Cuervo y Valdés founded La Villa Real de San Francisco de Albuquerque  (formally Albuquerque) and named the town in honor of the Viceroy. Cuervo y Valdés ordered that a Spanish garrison be established in the city, and it was inhabited by thirty or thirty-five families. The families settled in a piece of land located along the Rio Grande.
1707-1712 José Chacón Medina Salazar y Villaseñor (1668 - ??), also a Knight of the Order of Santiago was a Spanish official who served as the 35th Spanish Governor of New Mexico. Chacon rebuilt the chapel at San Miguel, Santa Fe, which had been destroyed in the Pueblo Revolt uprising of 1680. Under his orders, Hurtado made a military campaign against the Navajo peoples.
1712-1715 - Juan Ignacio Flores Mogollon was a Spanish military officer who served as governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico. Mogollon was commissioned governor of New Mexico by Felipe V at Madrid and, having reached Santa Fe, assumed the office on October 5, 1712. His salary, which had been fixed by the king, was two thousand dollars per annum. Within the first year of the new governor's term, he had to cope with a rebellion of the Suma Indians against the Spaniards in El Paso. He was accused of malfeasance in office and was relieved of his position by royal order on October 5, 1715, being replaced by Felix Martínez de Torrelaguna. The trial was finally held in Santa Fe, New Mexico in 1721, long after Mogollon had left the province. The finding of the court was sent to the viceroy of New Spain for confirmation, the costs having been adjudged against Mogollon. However, the officer charged with collecting the costs reported that neither the accused nor any of his property could be found.

1715-1716 - Félix Martínez de Torrelaguna was acting Governor of New Mexico from 1715 to 1716.
1716-1717 - Juan Páez Hurtado (again). Under his governance, The Faraones Apaches had stolen the horses and mules of the Spanish (...all of the horses and mules). In 1714, Hurtado had been assigned to punish this tribe. He led an unsuccessful expedition to search for them.
1718-1721 - Antonio Valverde y Cosío (Interim Governor)
1721-1723 - Juan Estrada de Austria Hmmm John Estrada from Austria.... really???
1723-1731 Juan Domingo de Bustamante ...hmmm John Domingo, the busy, ....really???? - This entry seems like it was made up by a priest who tells bad lies... because their is absolutely no information on this dude in the Spanish Archives.
1731-1736 - Gervasio Cruzat y Góngora was Governor of New Mexico. Records from Cruzat's term as governor include many cases dealing with questions of cattle and land, indicating that the economy of New Mexico was prospering. Cruzat authorized construction of an acequia, or irrigation channel, through Albuquerque, overruling the objections of some landowners. Cruzat reluctantly permitted Fray José de Irigoyen of San Ildefonso to build a new church in Santa Cruz, using Indian laborers, as a public works project for the benefit of the colony. Cruzat followed the formal approach of writing to the viceroy in Mexico City. His letter of 14 July 1732 was answered by a letter dated 31 October 1732. The license to build was received in Santa Cruz in June 1733. He heard various cases against local officials involving abuses against the Pueblo Indians such as extortion and forced labor, generally ruling in favor of the Indians. Officials who were dismissed in 1733 included the alcalde of Bernalillo and the alcalde mayor of Laguna and Acoma. In 1735 the lieutenant alcalde of Chama was found guilty of trading illegally with the Comanches, dismissed and fined.

1736-1738 - Enrique de Olavide y Michelena -  Michelena, accepting a petition of Alferez Juan Josh Moreno, designated seven grazing lands (Cara Del Rio, Santa Cruz or San Marcos), to be exclusively used to graze herds of horses. Owners of herds of cattle and flocks of sheep were notified that these lands would now be designated for horse grazing only. They were ordered to move from these newly-designated lands in fifty days or pay a fine of fifty pesos. Toward the end of his term of appointment, in 1738, Olavide y Michelina visited Albuquerque. Nicolas Duran De Chavez Grant asked him for a grant that would allow him to maintain his large family (9 children) and to graze non-equine livestock on the newly designated lands. Michelina refused, but gave him permission to use the lands temporarily, until a new governor was appointed to New Mexico to officially grant the request.

1739-1743 Gaspar Domingo de Mendoza y Delgado was a Spanish soldier in the War of the Spanish Succession. He later served as the 45th Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México province (present day New Mexico) from 1739 to 1743. In 1741, Mendoza issued laws to protect and defend women and children in Taos. So, he punished all men who wounded, killed or mistreating to "infidel" woman and boys, fining them with three-hundred silver pesos and six years in exile. However, this law was impossible to carry out, especially due to the distance between Santa Fe (capital of New Mexico), and Taos. During Mendoza's administration, many children were captured, especially children who belonged to the Navajo, Utes, Comanche and Apache tribes.

Later, a group of seven Comanches traveled to Taos Pueblo to trade tobacco and they explained that his tribe would be visit the valley when the snows abandoned the mountains. However, they also indicated the French had armed him with muskets and then they traveled to some unknown direction beyond their lands (colonial New France). However, they indicated also that two French traders would go to visit New Mexico in the spring. When the news reached Mendoza, he decided to establish a presidio (fort) in the north to protect the population of Taos from the possible French invasion, and did so in the Jicarilla Apache's abandoned settlement. The presidio would use many shelters that had been built in the place.

Despite this, for some reason, when the French traders visited Santa Fe, Mendoza accepted them and gave them a map showing the Spanish settlements in Santa Fe de Nuevo México. The traders later brought the map back to the French Louisiana colony in New France where they were based, causing the repentance of Mendoza for having given them the map. The trade with the French did allow the Spanish obtain French guns

1743-1749 - Joaquín Codallos y Rabal was a Spanish soldier who served as the Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México during this time. After assuming the charge of governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, Codallos started to issue new laws. They included banning illegal trade and gambling, and the posting of notices for caravans that came from elsewhere in New Spain. Residents in Albuquerque presented a petition to the governor, asking for permission to sell wool locally and as an export and was granted a license. During the tenure of Codallos, crime increased slightly. A major case of crime in the Codallos government was instigated by Manuel Sanz de Garvisu, who caused an insurrection and disobeyed the governor. As a result, Sanz de Garvisu was seized and sent to Chihuahua with an armed escort. He was then sent to Mexico City to be tried before the viceroy.  Early in the governor's term, Codallos proposed a campaign against the Native American people. He forbade the mistreatment of women and children, but only while campaigns were ongoing. Codallos often fought the Utes and Comanches. In October, 1747, Codallos (according to the historian L. Bradford Prince) "killed 107, captured 206, and secured about 1000 horses".[1] In 1748, he ordered that all persons who had left the presidio of El Paso del Norte return there at once. The purpose of this decree was to increase the number of people available for a campaign against the Indians who, following the Gila Campaign of 1747, had attacked Spanish settlements. In that same year, a Genízaro sent a statement to Codallos regarding the conditions of Navajo lands. He noted that the Navajos were being attacked by the people of the Ute lands (From Colorado), though they (The Navajo)  were loyal to the Spanish. However, the governor could not help the Navajo, and they continued to be attacked by the Ute people. In 1748, under his administration, the Franciscan Menchero re-established the Sandia Pueblo.


1749-1754 Tomás Vélez Cachupín was a colonial judge, and the Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México province (present day New Mexico), located in the northern Viceroyalty of New Spain (colonial México), from 1749 to 1754 and 1762 to 1767. Cachupín's courage and compassion during the War of San Diego Pond won him great respect among the Comanches, Utes, and Apaches. Because of this, he was able to maintain peaceful relations with nomadic tribes in the province. He created practical solutions for keeping the peace between the Amerindians and the Spanish. He also protected the right to the possession of lands by the people of New Mexico, including the Amerindians, fining and imprisoning those who occupied the lands of others under the theory that these lands were property of their inhabitants.

1754-1760 - Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle (born near July 12, 1722 - ??) was Governor and Captain General of New Mexico. In 1754, he commissioned Spanish engineer and cartographer Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco to make the new map of El Paso, where he had lived since 1743. His work was the first accurate and detailed map of southern New Mexico, in El Paso. As the Spanish had no churches in New Mexico, Marin del Valle ordered the construction of one church for the 1000 men living there with their wives. He named the church as Nuestra Señora de la Luz.

1760 - Mateo Antonio de Mendoza Díaz de Arce was a military leader and the governor of Nueva Vizcaya and Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico in 1760. He was the interim governor between Francisco Antonio Marin del Valle and Manuel Portillo Urrisola.

1760-1762 - Manuel de Portillo y Urrisola, was a judge who served as the acting Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. In 1761, the Apaches violently attacked the Pueblo of Taos, New Mexico. To punish them for this, Portillo y Urrizola sent a military expedition against the Apaches, which ended with the murder of 400 Apaches.

1762-1767 -  Tomás Vélez Cachupín  After completing his first term in 1754, Vélez Cachupin returned to Spain. He requested a new term as governor of New Mexico, and King Charles III granted his wish on 14 March 1761. He was appointed for another six years. However, when he returned to New Mexico, he again faced many of the problems he had solved during his previous term, as his successor had not followed his advice on to how to interact peacefully with the native peoples.

When he began his second term as governor, Vélez Capuchin freed six Comanche female prisoners as a gesture of good will to the Comanches. Because of this, nine warriors and six female Comanches traveled to Taos to negotiate with the Spanish governor and verify that he had returned to the province. The governor banned the sale and purchase of Comanche genízaros because he knew the importance of trading captives when negotiating peace with the Comanches. He also ordered Comanche captives be held near Santa Fe, in case they were needed for prisoner exchange with the Comanches. Another era of lasting peace with the Amerindian nomads began.

In addition to his military duties, the governor also attended to the economic and judicial affairs of the people of the province including the Spanish, Creoles, and mestizos as well as the indigenous community. The governor was the highest ranking civil and criminal judge of New Mexico and he was also the judge of some serious municipal cases.

In November 1750, French traders, Paul and Pierre Mallet, visited New Mexico from New France. They had previously visited New Mexico in 1739 and, on this second visit, the Governor gave them a cool reception. This was because the French had started a trade war with New Mexico and were trying to occupy most of northern Spanish Texas, making France one of its main rivals. The governor seized the French traders' possessions and auctioned them to raise funds to pay four guards who escorted them to Mexico City.

In 1762, after learning that an Ute had been found in possession of a silver ingot, Vélez Capuchin ordered Spanish explorer Juan Maria Antonio de Rivera Joaquín Laín, Gregorio Sandoval and Pedro Mora, to Colorado to locate where the ingot had come from.[Locating gold and silver was a priority in order to replenish the royal coffers. The expedition traveled through southwestern Colorado and southeastern Utah (which belonged to Spain at this time),[4] establishing sections of future Old Spanish Trail.

In 1764, Vélez Cachupin gave land to the Amerindians and later convinced the Suma Amerindians to settle in San Lorenzo[disambiguation needed], on land near to that he had given the Amerindians in 1764, promising to protect them. He also banned inhabitants from El Paso (which was by this time a city) from entering Amerindian land for any reason including grazing sheep, or gathering firewood. In addition, any person who cut trees on the Sumas lands would be punished with a fine of 40 pesos or imprisonment for two years. Additionally, he would confiscated their carts and oxen. These fines were to be used to purchase agricultural tools for the Sumas. In 1766, he banned the inhabitants of Atrisco from occupying land in San Fernando, because they were to be used only by the native inhabitants. Whoever broke the ban would have to pay a fine of 30 pesos for each infraction. He also protected the lands of the Genizaros of Belen and of Santa Clara, and San Ildefonso Pueblo.

In November 1765, a viceregal ban was issued implementing a tobacco monopoly that forbid growing tobacco in New Mexico. However, the governor tried to prevent enforcement of the law, because it could disrupt the local economy and adversely affect the good relations with the province's nomadic tribes who got their snuff from New Mexican farmers. In January 1766, the governor outlined in a report to the viceroy the negative effects that would result from the ban. However, in the end, he was obliged to enforce the law in the spring. His predictions proved true.

1767-1777 - Pedro Fermín de Mendinueta was the 53rd Spanish colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México province. Mendinueta became governor and captain-general of Santa Fe de Nuevo México province in 1767. In October 1767, the rising Santa Fe River caused a flood in the town. Mendinueta called on the residents to build retaining walls between the riverbed and the pueblo to protect public buildings. Afterwards, the Palace of the Governors remained unharmed in subsequent floods. In November 1767, Mendinueta established a law to regulate the hardest crimes in order to set an example. In addition, In early 1768 Mendinueta sent orders to Francisco Trebol Navarro (alcalde mayor of the city of Albuquerque) and Felipe Tafoya (alcalde mayor of Santa Fe) that they punish crimes taking place in their cities (gambling, concubinage, theft, prostitution, etc.) or else be fired. Indeed, Mendinueta considered Albuquerque to be one of the most dangerous places in New Mexico. In January 1768, Mendinueta was named a captain, so he led the Spanish troops that would participate in a military campaign against indigenous peoples. However, Mendinueta did not support all the requests from the residents of New Mexico. For example, he refused the citizens' request to replace Trebol as mayor of Albuquerque because they felt Trebol was incompetent. Indeed, during his administration, the crime rate increased in Albuquerque. He also fought with the Commanches.

1768 - January 28th - Las Californias, was established by a joint dispatch to the King from Viceroy de Croix and visitador José de Gálvez
Alto California Sur, what you tards call NoCal included everything North of Los Angeles and the capitol was San Francisco (Named of course, after the Franciscan mission at the Presidio at Monterrey that had been established their earlier at Yerba Buena. Juan Bautista de Anza officially settled San Francisco (Yerba Buena) for the King of Spain in 1774.
Baja California Sur (SoCal) included Los Angeles, and everything south to Mexico, and east to Texas. Spanish caballeros settled California and built these ginormous cattle ranches. Some of these ranches were so large they spanned across several modern states. Little known fact: By

1777 - Francisco Trevre  Acting Governor of  Santa Fe de Nuevo México province.

1778-1788 - Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (July 6/7, 1736 – December 19, 1788) was a New-Spanish explorer of Basque descent, and Governor of New Mexico for the Spanish Empire. On his return from a successful exploration expedition to Colorado in 1777 he journeyed to Mexico City with the chief of the lower Colorado River area Quechan (Yuma) Native American tribe who requested the establishment of a mission. On August 24, 1777, the Viceroy of New Spain appointed Anza as the Governor of the Province of Nuevo México, the present day U.S. state of New Mexico.

Governor Anza led a punitive expedition against the Comanche group of Native Americans, who had been repeatedly raiding Taos during 1779. With his Ute and Apache Native American allies, and around 800 Spanish soldiers, Anza went north through the San Luis Valley, entering the Great Plains at what is now Manitou Springs, Colorado. Circling "El Capitan" (current day Pikes Peak), he surprised a small force of the Comanche near present-day Colorado Springs. Pursuing them south down Fountain Creek, he crossed the Arkansas River near present-day Pueblo, Colorado. He found the main body of the Comanche on Greenhorn Creek, returning from a raid in Nuevo México, and won a decisive victory. Chief Cuerno Verde, for whom Greenhorn Creek is named, and many other leaders of the Comanche were killed.

1789-1794 Fernando de la Concha was the Governor of New Mexico. He opened a trade route in Santa Fe from the East. In 1792, on orders of the viceroy Revillagigedo, Concha sent Pedro Vial, Vicente Villanueva, and Vicente Espinosa to Saint Louis, Missouri, from Santa Fe, establishing a trade route. This route would become in the trade Santa Fe - Missouri of Santa Fe Trail.

1794-1804 - Fernando Chacón was a Spanish soldier, and a Knight of the Order of Santiago who served as a governor of what is now New Mexico. By decree of Salsedo, on May 3, 1804, Chacón sent an expedition to Northern New Mexico in order to find Lewis and Clark, who had begun their exploratory trip four months earlier. The expedition, consisting of 52 soldiers, Spanish settlers, and Native Americans, was led by Pedro Vial and José Jarvet and was named the expedition of Captain Merri. The expedition left Santa Fe, New Mexico, on August 1.

1800 California and New Mexico were the largest beef exporter in the world, and Spain was the largest Beef importer in Europe. The capitol of Baja California Sur was San Diego and it was officially settled in 1769 by Juan Bautista de Anza Bezerra Nieto (who was also the first governor of what is now New Mexico. The Apache, Commanche, the Navajo and the Yuma indians held the mountains of Eastern California and Arizona in between San Diego and Santa Fe, New Mexico and they pissed on the Spanish, hard... for more than a century!!!

1804-1807 - Joaquín del Real Alencaster was a Spanish soldier who served as the governor of New Mexico.



1804-1806 - Lewis & Clark Expedition West to survey lands ceded by the French to the United States.
1804-1807 Joaquín del Real Alencaster, Second Mexican Governor of New Mexico
1806 - Zebulon Pike survey expedition to Colorado ( General Pike was detained by Facundo Melgares , the last Spanish Governor and the third Mexican Governor of New Mexico at the request of the Second Governor of New Mexico, the two explorers became lifelong friends)
1807-1808 - Alberto Maynez was a lieutenant colonel who served as Governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico. During his administration in New Mexico, he allowed the Neomexicanos to trade with pagans and the province of Nueva Vizcaya. This meant the merchants needed only government approval and passports to trade with them (the passports were required to confirm that the number of armed men in the transactions was enough). In 1808, he was replaced by José Manrique. Several years later, in 1850 he was appointed acting Governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México and city councilman in Santa Fe after Santa Fe was a United States Territory.
1808-1814 - José Manrique was the Governor of New Mexico from 1808 to 1814 during the period just before the Republic of Mexico gained independence from Spain.
1810-1821 Mexican Rebellion against Spain
1814-1816  Alberto Maynez Second Term. In October 1815, Maynez issued a law that defended the Indigenous rights of New Mexico. In 1816, during the final year of his government in New Mexico, 280 Spanish colonists protested the new 5% tax (which had been set by the Alcalde Mayor of Taos, Pedro Martin). The complaint was delivered to Maynez who represented them. Alcalde Mayor Pedro Martin resigned.
1816-1818 - Pedro María de Allande served as the Spanish Governer of New Mexico.
1819-1821 - Facundo Melgares (1775, Caravaca, Murcia, Spain - unknown) was a Spanish military officer who served as both the last (63rd) Spanish Governor of New Mexico and the first Mexican Governor of New Mexico. Melgares was, like most of the officials of the Spanish crown in his time, a member of the Spanish upper class. He is described as a "portly man of military demeanour" and as "a gentleman and gallant soldier". Melgares' post as Governor of New Mexico was held under the scrutiny of the commanding general of Chihuahua and the viceroy in Mexico City. His responsibilities included administration of civilian activities; defence of the province from local Indian hostilities and foreign invaders in the north; and control of the prison troops and civilian militia.

In the first month of Melgares' office, there were hostilities by Navajo against villages in the north. The governor issued a call to all the citizens of New Mexico, for contributions of grain and other supplies (such as metals for weapons) to aid his forces stationed in Santa Fe. Melgares himself, made a personal donation of cereals, metal and sheep. A local priest donated his local church bell to be cast into munitions. The Presidio of Santa Fe had only 167 soldiers to battle the Navajo and so Melgares sent troops from Chihuahua and some 60 soldiers from San Eleazario (near El Paso).

In late October 1818, Melgares tasked Captain Andrés Gómez Sanudo, chief of the military second in Taos, with marching to Jemez and attacking no later than 7 November 1818. Melgares determined that the Navajo should yield or be driven to the Deserts of California.

Two months before the New Mexico viceroy's alert about an imminent attack by the United States, Melgares had ordered a reconnaissance of the Arkansas Valley to verify rumours of a US presence among the Pawnees. Melgares source was Sergeant José Cayetano Hernández, who said that while he was in captivity, a US army officer visited the Pawnees to propose a plan of unification with the Kiowas in an effort to invade the Spanish territory. The officer, according to Hernández, promised to arm the Indians in exchange for their allegiance. Both tribes were to meet in the fall, in the Gerbidora (Colorado Springs, Colorado), to finalize plans for an attack on New Mexico. While admitting that he never really saw the US officer, he estimated more than 300 Indians were trained and armed.

Although Melgara did not believe the sergeant, he notified General Garcia Conde and sent Lieutenant Jose Maria de Arce north of the New Mexico border to confirm the intelligence. On 1 September 1818, Arce left Taos with 120 men. Shortly after his departure from northern New Mexico, 400 men under the command of Juan de Dios Peña, the mayor of Taos, joined the expedition. Arce crossed the Blood of Christ in the Huerfano Valley and proceeded to the Platte River but did not find any invading force. Arce confirmed that the Amerindians were loyal to Spain and would alert New Mexico of any planned invasion by the US. Despite the reassurances, Melgares requested a reinforcement of 500 soldiers, half as infantry, armed with rifles and bayonets, to strengthen the outposts of the north. Melgares also resumed war against the Navajo. He sent 600 soldiers to Taos, and 400 to El Vado. 800 men were held in reserve to deal with the Navajo. Melgares fought ongoing difficulties related to unrealistic demands of his distant commanders.

In February 1819, when it seemed the US-Mexico border was safe, the commander, General Antonio Cordero, tasked Melgares to make peace with the Native Americans in every way he could. However, Melgares continued to fight under the unlikely mandate of the Hopi requesting Spanish protection against the Navajo. Despite the objections of Viceroy Ruiz de Apodaca and General Cordero, Melgares succeeded and on 21 August 1819, imposed a formal peace agreement between Spain and the Navajo. The next three years in New Mexico were peaceful.

In 1821, Thomas James, an American trader commented that Melgares' troops in Santa Fe were a bedraggled, motley lot and said of Malgares himself,

"The doughty Governor Facundo Melgares, on foot, in his cloak and chapeau de bras, was reviewing this noble army....he was five feet wide, as thick as he was long, and as he waddled from one end of the line to the other, I thought of Alexander, and Hannibal, and Caesar, and how their glories would soon be eclipsed by this hero of Santa Fe."

Melgares remained a staunch monarchist despite the strong likelihood of Mexican independence. Following Agustín de Iturbide's Plan of Iguala, Melgares reluctantly supported the new republic. On 26 December 1821, Melgares received official word that he should swear allegiance to the new New Mexico government.[ In 1821, after independence, Melgares welcomed the first US trade delegation (under William Backnell) to Santa Fe. On 6 January 1822, a local celebration of independence was made.

On 5 July 1822, Melgares was dismissed from his post. He continued as a soldier under the command of his replacement, Francisco Xavier Chávez. The charges leading to Melgares demotion are not known but may have involved the priest of Abiquiu who tried to appropriate town property for his church. In August 1823, Melgares was cleared of all charges. After that, at age 58, Melgares falls from the pages of history.
 

Americans in the Spanish Southwest

1811-1840 - Oregon Trail established by Fur Traders, Trappers, and Traders (horses only. Until 1836 the wagons could only go as far west to Fort Hall, Idaho before the trail became too wild even for a six-oxen pulled Wagon. From 1846-1869 some 400,000 settlers, farmers, miners, ranchers, and business owners and their families joined a Wagon Train and resettled in the West. Many died of starvation, disease, from Indian raids (Mostly Ute, Piutes, Commanche, Lakota, Yuma) , died of thirst (Especially in Utah and Idaho), and from dysentery.

1821-1823 First Mexican Empire - was a short-lived monarchy and the first independent post-colonial state in Mexico. It was the only former colony of the Spanish Empire to establish a monarchy after independence and for a short time, together with the Empire of Brazil, it was one of two empires in the Americas. The First Mexican Empire was short-lived, lasting less than two years. Ruled by General Augustin I, of Mexico until he abdicated and fled from Mexico in 1823 after a rebellion than began in Veracruz under General Antonio López de Santa Anna.

1822 - Mexican Governors of New Mexico - There were seventeen more Governors of New Mexico from 1822-1848. They are all listed here for brevity, and becuase I'm tired of typing... https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Mexican_governors_of_New_Mexico
1824 -  Estados Unidos Mexicanos, also known as the First Federal Republic formed in Mexico

1829  - Kit Carson joins American trappers and fur traders in a company under Ewing Young as a trader, trapper, and trail guide and travels from Franklin, Missouri to Taos, New Mexico, and then onward to California.  From Kit Carson's autobiography: We left Taos in August of 1829. In those days licenses were not granted to citizens of the United States to trap within the limits of Mexico. To avoid all mistrust on the part of (mexican) Government Officers, we traveled North fifty miles, and then changed our course to the Southwest. Traveling through country occupied by the Navajo Indians, we passed the village of Zuni, on on to the head of the Salt River, one of the tributaries of the Rio Gila (near the Eastern Border of Arizona). Here we met the same Indians that had defeated the former party. Young directed the Greater part of his men to hide themselves, which was done, the men concealing themsleves under blankets, pack saddles, as best they could. The hills were covered with Indians, and seeing so few of us they concluded to make an attack and drive us from our position. Our commander allowed them to enter our camp, and then ordered us to fire on them, which was done, the indians having fifteen or twenty warriors killed and a great number wounded. They were routed, and we continued our march, trapping down the Salt river to the mouth of the San Francisco River, and up to the head of the latter stream. We were nightly harassed by the Indians, who would frequently crawl into our camp, steal a trap or two, kill a mule or horse, and do whatever damage they could.

On the head of the San Francisco River the party was divided, one section, of which I was a member, to proceed to the valley of Sacramento in California, and the other, to return to Taos for traps to replace those that had been stolen, and to dispose of the beaver we had caught. Young took charge of the party for California, consisting of eighteen men. We remained where we were for a few days after the departure of the party for Taos, for the purpose of procuring meat and making necessary arrangements for a journey through a country that had never been explored (from the headwaters of the Verde River to the Mohave River of California). Game was very scarce. After remaining three days continually on the hunt to procure the necessary supplies we found we had killed only three deer, the skins of which we took off in such a manner as to make tanks for the purpose of carrying water. We then started on our expedition in the best of spirits, having heard from the Indians that the streams of the valley to which we were going were full of beaver, but that the country over which we were to travel were very barren, and that we would suffer very much for want of water; the truth of which we were very soon to know.

The first four days' march was over a country sandy and burned up, and without a drop of water. Each night we received a small quantity of water from the tanks we had been foresighted enough to provide. A guard was placed over them to prohibit anyone from making use of more than his due allowance.After four days' travel we found water. Before we reached it, the pack mules were strung along the road for several miles. They smelled water long before we had any hopes of finding any,and all made the best use of their strength left to them after their severe suffering to reach it as soon as they could. We remained here two days. It would have been impractical to continue the march without giving the men and animals the rest which they so much required.

After remaining in camp for two days we resumed our expedition and for four days traveled over a country similar to that which we had traversed before our arrival at the last water. There was no water to be found during this time, and we suffered extremely on account of it. On the fourth day we arrived at the Colorado of the west below the great Canon. (this is actually on the Colorado River at the California/Arizona border close to Havasu, Arizona). Our joy when we discovered the stream can better be imagined than described. We had also suffered greatly for want of food. We met a party of Mohave Indians and purchased from them a Mare, heavy with foal. The Mare was killed and eaten by the party with great gusto, even the foal was devoured. We encamped on the bank of the colorado for three days, recruiting our animals, and trading for provisions with the Indians, from whom we procured a few beans and some corn. Then we took a  Southwestern course and in three days march struck the bed of a stream running Northeast, which rises in the Coast range and si lost in the sands of the Great Basin. We proceeded up this stream for six days, and two days after our arrival on it, we found water. We then left the stream and traveled in a Westerly direction, and in four days arrived at the Mission of San Gabriel (close to Los Angeles).

At the mission was one priest, fifteen (spanish) soldiers, and about one thousand Indians. They had eighty thousand head of stock, fine fields and vineyards, in fact, it was a paradise on earth. We remained one day at the mission, receiving good treatment from the inhabitants, and purchasing from them what beef we required. We had nothing but Butcher knives to trade and four for of these they would give us a beef.

In one days' travel from this mission, we reached the mission of San Fernando, having about the same number of inhabitants, but not conducted on as large a scale as the one at San Gabriel. We then took a Northwest course and passed over the mountains into the valley of the Sacramento. We had plenty to east and found grass in abundance for our animals. We found signs of trappers on the San Joaquin, we followed their trail and in a few days overtook the party and found them to belong to the Hudson's Bay Company. They were sixty men strong, commanded by Peter Ogden. We trapped down thh San Joaquin and found but little beaver, but plenty of other game, elk, deer, and antelope in thousands. We traveled near each other until we came to the Sacramento, where we parted, Ogden going up the Sacramento bound for the Columbia River. We remained on the Sacramento during the summer (of 1830), and since it was not the season for trapping, we passed our time hunting...

 
1836- California is unified as one province in Nuevo Espana by The Spanish Viceroyal.
1840 Republic of the Rio Grande - After a decade of strife, Mexico had won its independence from the Kingdom of Spain in 1821. After a failed attempt at a monarchy, Mexico adopted a new constitution, the 1824 Constitution. This new constitution established los Estados Unidos Mexicanos, or "the United Mexican States," as a federal republic. During the war for independence, many rebels were driven to Coahuila and Nuevo León, where this revolutionary mentality won the hearts and minds of the people.[1]
In 1833, General Antonio López de Santa Anna was elected to his first term as president and was, at the time of his election, in support of the federal republic. However, after some members of government angered Santa Anna's political allies, Santa Anna decided to start a centralized government. Santa Anna suspended the constitution, disbanded Congress and made himself the center of power in Mexico. States were converted into departments without political or fiscal autonomy by replacing elected governors with appointed ones and substituting state assemblies for juntas under Santa Anna's policies. Dismayed by these policies and the perception that the government was deaf to the complaints and plight of the villagers in the North, republic leaders aimed to expel the government-appointed centralist officials and restore the Constitution of 1824. On November 3, 1838, one of the republic leaders, Antonio Canales, issued a pronunciamiento against the government and in favor of federalism and succeeded from Mexico. Now this rebellion was crushed by Santa Anna. He might have been able to easily crush the Republic of Texas in 1840, but didn't, because he was too busy dealing with this.

The American Southwest
1835-1847 - Mexican-American War.
1846 - American Governors of New Mexico - Listed here for Brevity - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Governors_of_New_Mexico
1847 -Callifornia (all of it), Utah, Colorado, Arizona, New Mexico and and Texas ceded to the United States after the Mexican American war of 1847 in 1848.
1848 - Gold discovered up near Sacramento, kicking off the largest ever migration of Europeans to the new world, and the largest ever migration west of miners, pilgrims, and settlers. U.S. Cavalry Regiments dispatched west to protect settlers.
1849 - California Gold Rush.
1850 - California Territory becomes the first State in the United States west of Illinois.
1860 - April 3, Pony Express founded. Stations setup every forty miles from Chicago to San Francisco and from Santa Fe to Los Angeles.
1866 - Railroad from Chicago to San Francisco completed. Pony Express dies. Oregon Trail dies as people take train west (much faster) instead of a oxen driven wagon.
1866-1868 - red Cloud's War (Lakota in Wyoming & Nebraska)
1869 - End of the Oregon Trail as a pilgrims route.
1874 - Custers Last Stand at the Battle of Little Bighorn.
1875-1877 - Black Hills War.
1890 - Wounded Knee Massacre
1898 Last Indian (Chippewa) Uprising at Sugar Point, Minnesota
1912 - New Mexico Admitted into the Union and becomes a part of the United States.
1924 - Last uprising of the Apache ends.

There were more than 1,800,000 spaniards that had already emigrated to the New World before the first boat load of English under Sir Walter Raleigh colonized Roanoke, Virginia in 1585.


1564 map of New Andalusia where Alonso De Ojedo was Governor until 1515.


Buenos Aires in 1628


1550 Map of Cartagena
Sacked, burned, and looted by Sir Francis Drake with 23 ships and over 3,000 men in 1586.


The Oregon Trail 1811-1869


Pueblos of the Northern Rio Grande Valley
Blackmoor grew from a single Castle to include, first, several adjacent Castles (with the forces of Evil lying just off the edge of the world to an entire Northern Province of the Castle and Crusade Society's Great Kingdom.

~ Dave Arneson

Voros

Red Dead Redemption suffered from typical Rockstar bloat. I lost interest long before the end.

Dumarest

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mission_San_Diego_de_Alcal%C3%A1

This is just a few miles from where I was born and predates the existence of the United States, so I'm well aware of what was going on out here well before the Civil War, but when people refer to the Old West or the Wild West they usually mean Cowboys and Indians,  not Conquistadores y Aztecas.

WanderingMonster

Holy crap GameDaddy, that is an impressive chunk of information. Any good books on the subject that you would recommend?

Omega

Quote from: 3rik;966466The notion that the invention and proliferation of barbed wire was what truly tamed the Wild West IMHO makes sense as well.

ooh barbed wire! Mean stuff. One of my brothers accidentally ran full tilt into some concealed by tall grass and ow! that wasnt fun!

Back on topic. Sometimes it feels like the "steampunk" theme itself is losing, ahem, steam. Ive talked to a few now who are getting tired of the over-use of the theme, and a few who are more than tired of the term being slapped onto things its obviously not.

RPGPundit

Quote from: Omega;966403Except a-lot of action takes place in towns, settled areas, or between town A and town B. It is possibly not so much the encroachment of civilization as it is the advancing wave of law enforcement?. It is one thing when you've got just a sheriff. But it is another when you've hot multiple marshals on your trail. And some kept moving as they wore out their welcome in one town after another.

So perhaps the west can persist to a point but eventually you run out of places the law cant reach you?

So perhaps the end of the West was that point when lawlessness couldn't outrun the law anymore?

That's one part of it, for sure. But not all of it.  Another part already mentioned here was that the increase in ranchers and later farmers settling in the west closed off land.

But in towns, the increase in law and order was a consequence of the phenomenon of business and industry moving west first.  You'd see towns like Dodge City, which started as a big drinking hole for buffalo hunters in 1872, becoming a boomtown specifically because the Eastern half of Kansas closed off their towns to cattle drives on the behest of "respectable people" and businessmen, and for a while being essentially run by the Saloon owners and semi-crooks, only to end up being usurped by the "Better People" (that was literally the name of the political cabal of respectable business owners, judges, politicians, churchmen and other 'respectables' that banded together as a political machine to oust the saloon-owners from local government!) by around 1881.

So as regions became more settled they also became more controlled and there wasn't room for the eccentrics and outlaws and fly-by-night profiteers that characterized the West.
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RPGPundit

Quote from: Baulderstone;966473Unless it makes for a fun game at the table.

I already covered that.  If all you want is to run a game in Fictional Wild-West Themepark Land, more power to you. Just don't pretend your alt-history meant to make the west last forever "makes sense". Shit, just don't even try to explain it, just admit that you're running a game with no historical coherence and be done with it.
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RPGPundit

Quote from: Dumarest;966507I didn't realize that. Sounds like a good period to set a campaign.

There's a reason my current Wild West campaign started in 1875 and will likely finish around 1883.

The PCs are currently in late 1878, and they're already realizing that Dodge has hit its peak and is starting its transition into being Not The West Anymore.
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Quote from: RPGPundit;966392If you don't capture that in the setting, you're not doing the Wild West. You're doing some kind of Buffalo Bill wild-west show, and then you might as well set it in FakeName County, Southwestern America because what you're creating is a pantomime.

Quote from: RPGPundit;966394Agreed. Alt-history can sometimes be a fun little exercise. Fantasy can be good for escape. But I've never, for example, seen any Wild West Tv Show or movie that was as amazing as the real story of what happened. And the ones that got the closest, shows like Deadwood or Tombstone, were the ones that tried to get closer to real historical events than most.


It's the same in fantasy. Game of Thrones is awesome, and has great characters. But it wasn't as awesome a story or had characters as interesting as the War of the Roses.

Quote from: RPGPundit;966860I already covered that.  If all you want is to run a game in Fictional Wild-West Themepark Land, more power to you. Just don't pretend your alt-history meant to make the west last forever "makes sense". Shit, just don't even try to explain it, just admit that you're running a game with no historical coherence and be done with it.
And now Pundit, of all people, expressed how I feel about lots of commercially successful settings:D!
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"Life is not fair. If the campaign setting is somewhat like life then the setting also is sometimes not fair." - Bren