Southwestern Regional Cookery: Spanish Colonial New Mexico (1598–1821)

Following the conquest of the Aztec empire between 1519 and 1522, Spanish explorers moved north in search of other wealthy civilizations. Six expeditions had visited Indian villages in New Mexico by 1595. Although they failed to find gold, silver, or precious jewels, Spanish chroniclers described the sedentary agricultural people as “Pueblos” (town dwellers), likely candidates for conversion to Christianity. In 1598 Juan de Oñate established New Mexico as a missionary outpost, and Franciscan friars and Hispanic colonists headed north.