The Spanish empire fortified settlements known as presidios during their more-than three-century rule in North America.
These presidios were mostly in unknown territories and were utilized to protect the frontier, maintain peace, and protect inhabitants from Natives they deemed hostile.
The book Presidio: Soldiers of the King in New Mexico documents the movement north of Spanish explorers from Mexico through Texas and into New Mexico.
Author Jorge Luis García Ruiz — an archeologist, historian and researcher —said the Spanish who were making the journey through treacherous terrain were actually mestizos, or people of mixed ancestry.
“You need the people in the land. So, that requires the mestizo…mix between the Spaniards and the local population,” he said. “They were walking the banks of the Rio Grande … in the very cold north.”
Ruiz said some of the atrocities that were committed by Spanish explorers fed into the “Black Legend” — which portrayed Spaniards as cruel, corrupt, and murderous.
Ruiz said the “Black Legend” isn’t exclusive to colonial Spain and is still seen in modern times.
“Everybody has a Black Legend,” Ruiz said. “Here in the United States, we are sharing the idea that Mexicans, all of them are killers and robbers and this is a Black Legend.”
