Chichimeca War

Chichimeca War
Part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas and Mexican Indian Wars
1580 Codex depicting a Battle at San Francisco Chamacuero in the Current State of Guanajuato
Date 1550–1590 (40 years) Location La Gran Chichimeca, New Spain (battlefields now parts of) Bajío Region, Mexico Result Chichimeca military victory Spanish sued for peace, ceasing hostilities Chichimeca conversion into sedentary, Catholic lifestyle Benefits gained by Spain's native allies, including Tlaxcalans Beginning of Spanish missionary tactics on northern colonial frontier Partial preservation of Chichemeca culture, identity, and language
Belligerents
Chichimeca Confederation Zacatecos Caxcanes Guachichiles Pames Guamares	Spain Allies & auxiliaries: Tlaxcalteca Otomí Mexica Purépecha
Commanders and leaders
Maxorro Çayne Yuac Martinillo Cacayas Macolia Acuaname Nachancayal Gualiname Francisco "the Lame" Copuz the Elder Nacoloname Quiatuiaya Paqualame Xale Bartolomillo Anton Rayado	Pedro de Anda Hernando Martel Miguel Caldera

The Chichimeca War (1550–90) was a military conflict between the Spanish Empire and the Chichimeca Confederation established in the territories today known as the Central Mexican Plateau, called by the Conquistadores La Gran Chichimeca. The epicenter of the hostilities was the region now called the Bajío. The Chichimeca War is recorded as the longest and most expensive military campaign confronting the Spanish Empire and indigenous people in Aridoamerica. The forty-year conflict was settled through several peace treaties driven by the Spaniards which led to the pacification and, ultimately, the streamlined integration of the native populations into the New Spain society.^[1][2]

The Chichimeca War (1550–1590) began eight years after the two-year Mixtón Rebellion. It can be considered a continuation of the rebellion as the fighting did not come to a halt in the intervening years. The war was fought in what are the present-day Mexican states of Zacatecas, Guanajuato, Aguascalientes, Jalisco, Queretaro, and San Luis Potosí.