The Seri Indians of Sonora, Mexico: 1760-1790

Abstract

The Seri Indians of Sonora, Mexico, are noteworthy historically for their prolonged resistance to domination by the Hispanic culture of Sonora, Mexico. Although Seri-Spaniard contact began during the sixteenth century and became intimate after 1630, the Seris preserved their cultural independence and personal freedom into the twentieth century before they were finally overwhelmed by the modern world. Prior to the twentieth century several intensive efforts were made to reduce the Seris. One such attempt by Jesuit missionaries between 1679 and 1750 is the main subject of the author's 1973 master's thesis, "The Seri Indian Frontier of New Spain: 1617-1762." A second major effort to destroy the Seris' traditional way of life and incorporate them into Sonoran society was the Elizondo Expedition. The expedition came to Sonora in 1768 as a response to the Sonoran Indian crisis of the 1760s and succeeded in temporarily pacifying western Sonora by 1771. In its wake several hundred surrendered Seris were settled at Pitic (modern Hermosillo) under direct Spanish control. This dissertation explores the Sonoran Indian crisis of the 1760s, the Elizondo Expedition's resolution of that crisis, and the twenty years after the departure of the expedition during which the Seris regained their freedom. The period under consideration opened with the death of Sonoran Governor Mendoza at the hands of a Seri war party and ended when the small number of Seris still living at Pitic in 1790 revolted for the third time since surrendering in 1769-1771. The ultimate objective of the work is to gain the best possible understanding of the Seris' struggle to maintain an independent existence during the 1760-1790 period. Explanations developed for Seri success are based mainly on geography, Spanish strategic shortcomings, and the cultural characteristics of the Seris. The dissertation draws heavily on Spanish colonial documents preserved in the Archive General de la Nacion in Mexico City and the Archive General de Indias in Seville, Spain. Appropriate printed materials were also consulted.