Figure 1.--Horses helped Spanish Conquistadires defeat large Amer-Indian armies in Meso-Ameica and South America. Ovrtime, domesticated horses esaped and wild herds became established. This enabled eastern Native Americans being driven west to establish a new way of life on the Great Planes based on horses and hunting buffalo. And no tribe mastered the horse to the same extent as the Comanche which came to dominate the Southern Plains. As a result of the rise of the Comanche abd other Plains tribes, the Spanish and the the the Mexicans did not physically control the northern areas that they claimed. The Plains tribes and other factors that very few Mexicans lived in northerm Mexico. There were only handful of villages, missions and presidios. The need to control the area was one reason why the Mexicans permitted American to settle in Texas. This Howaed Terpning painying was ebtitled, "Coffee Coolers meet the Hostiles" meaning a meeting between reservation and hostile Indians. It bwa painted in 2014.

The Comanche were a Native Americans tribe which came to dominate the Southern Plains after arrival of the Spanish and wild horses became established. The Comanche were known for their impressive horsemanship and fierce warrior tradition. The Comanche began their modern history as a small tribal group living along the northern boundary of the Spanish colony of New Spain (Mexico). They lived north of the Rio Grande River the current American-Mexican border. This was an area with few Spanish settlers and only loosely controlled by the Spanish. They had been driven into this desolate, poorly watered area by warfare on the Great Plains among the various tribes vying for control of the most productive areas. Even here they faced competition from the Apache and other tribes. From modest beginnings the Comanche forged perhaps the largest empire of any North American tribal group. Comanche lands would come to include much of the modern state of Texas and Oklahoma, but raided far beyond that area. This was a vast area. Like other Plains tribes, Comanche society was based on the horse, which gave then ability to hunt the buffalo which roamed the grasslands in huge herds. The Comanche were the most successful tribe at opposing European encroachments. The Comanche were empire builders that included slavery in their trade-based economic system. Those authors who promote the uncritical view of native Americans as victims should study the Comanche for a more nuance perspective. The Comanche sought to spread their language and culture across the vast region they controlled. Important developments in Comanche history include their origin from the Shoshone people, the reappearance of horses in North America, their territorial homeland --Comancheria, conflicts with the Spanish, Mexican, and United States, finally forced relocation to reservations. The Spanish/Mexicans had been unable to control them. Of course both Spain and later Mexico could have controlled them.. But it would have been very expensive and both Spain and Mexico saw the northern regions of their territory worth the vast and very expensive effort it would have taken to defeat the Comanche and other tribes. It is why so few Spaniards or Mexicans settled in Texas or the southwest where other tribes prevailed. What is now western and southern Texas and the southern plains was known as Comancheria. Most of the area except for scattered pueblos, missiones, and presidios was controlled by the Comanche. This was an area outside the control of the great Amer-Indian civilizations of Meso-America which the Spanish had been able to effectively control. The nomadic tribes to the north, especially after they acquired horses were more of a problem than the large Aztec and other tribal armies of Meso-America. The Comanche power only peaked after the Mexican-American War (1846-48). Unlike the Spanish and Mexicans, American control of the Southwest brought large numbers of settlers and the rapid undermining of Comanche power as a result of European diseases and modern repeating arms. The Comanche were superb horsemen, but could not compete with the Americans following the development of the revolver and repeating rifle. The Civil War resulted in a temporary respite, but after the War, the Comanche and 20 other Plains tribes were defeated and forced on to reservations. For the Comanche, defeat came in the canyon lands of the Texas Panhandle. [Hämäläinen] Today, the Comanche are mostly found in Oklahoma. There the Comanche Nation continues to celebrate their vibrant culture.

Sources

Hämäläinen, Pekka. Comanche Empire.

Navigate the CIH ethnic pages:
[Return to the Main Plains Tribes page]
[Return to the Nain North Americn tribl page]
[Return to the Main ethnic page]
[German] [Greek][Irish][Scottish]

Navigate the CIH Native American pages:
[Return to the Main Native American cultural area page]
[Return to the Main Native American ethnic page]
[Return to the Main Native American page]
[Ethnic][Dance]

Created: 1:18 PM 6/16/2017
Last updated: 1:18 PM 6/16/2017