The Ximpece are an
Indigenous people of Mexico
Indigenous peoples of Mexico ( es, gente indígena de México, pueblos indígenas de México), Native Mexicans ( es, nativos mexicanos) or Mexican Native Americans ( es, pueblos originarios de México, lit=Original peoples of Mexico), are those ...
who were a semi-
nomad
A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...
ic ethnic group of
Chichimeca
Chichimeca () is the name that the Nahua peoples of Mexico generically applied to nomadic and semi-nomadic peoples who were established in present-day Bajio region of Mexico. Chichimeca carried the meaning as the Roman term "barbarian" that des ...
s who lived among the
Pame and the
Jonaz. The
National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People
The National Institute of Indigenous Peoples ( es, Instituto Nacional de los Pueblos Indígenas, INPI) is a decentralized agency of the Mexican Federal Public Administration. It was established on December 4, 2018, though the earliest Mexican g ...
s reported that "about 60,000
Amerindians
The Indigenous peoples of the Americas are the inhabitants of the Americas before the arrival of the European settlers in the 15th century, and the ethnic groups who now identify themselves with those peoples.
Many Indigenous peoples of the Ame ...
live in the state of
Querétaro
Querétaro (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Querétaro ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Querétaro, links=no; Otomi language, Otomi: ''Hyodi Ndämxei''), is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 federal entities of Mexico. I ...
, belonging to the Otomi, Chichimeca, Pame, Jonace and Ximpece peoples." It is unclear whether the Ximpece exist today as an intact cultural group due to minimal historical and contemporary sources.
History
Any sources which "provide descriptions about the way of life of the natives of the
Sierra Gorda
The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...
for the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries are very scarce." One of the most important sources on the Ximpece is by "a military man of the eighteenth century" Gerónimo de Labra. Designated as the "captain protector of the Indians of the Sierra Gorda," Labra's "Manifest of the precedent in the conquest, pacification and reduction of the chichimecos jonaces Indians of the Sierra Gorda" described the Ximpece, Pame, and Chichimeca Jonaz as follows: "The Ximpeces... of so docile nature that there is no tradition that persuades its conquest... the Pames are similar to the Ximpeces and more applied to the work and commerce with the Spanish and opposed to the Jonaces... the untameable rebellious Jonaces..."
The Ximpece inhabited the
Sierra Gorda
The Sierra Gorda () is an ecological region centered on the northern third of the Mexican state of Querétaro and extending into the neighboring states of Guanajuato, Hidalgo and San Luis Potosí. Within Querétaro, the ecosystem extends from ...
up until the nineteenth century. They were known for their fierce distrust of the Spanish and "entered the
exicanIndependence period with substantial confidence and solidarity" with the other Indigenous groups who lived in the Sierra Gorda, namely the Pame and Jonaz. As "merchants, miners, and hacendados," who were "lured to the region by commercial investments" increasingly encroached upon the remaining territory they had managed to hold onto after centuries of colonization, an internal conflict among these groups "escalated into a race war."
In August 1847, Francisco Chaire "deserted his
Guanajuato
Guanajuato (), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Guanajuato ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Guanajuato), is one of the 32 states that make up the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 46 municipalities and its capital city i ...
army post and returned to his Sierran village of
Xichú
Xichú is a Mexican city (and municipality) located in the Northeast region of the state of Guanajuato. The municipality is entirely within the Sierra Gorda range and has an area of 912.20 square kilometres (3.0% of the surface of the state). It ...
." As a result, he was arrested by the mayor, who disliked the Chaire family. However, Francisco was freed shortly after by his brother, and assisted by Eleuterio Quirós, a family servant. The mayor "called in the army to track down the escapee and his accomplices." The Chaire family surrendered and were pardoned. However, Quirós was determined to continue resisting, the reasons for which are unclear. Quirós had soon "ignited a caste war" and quickly gained support among the poor in the region by promising "no more government interference in Sierran affairs," as well as land distribution, guaranteed employment, and "the termination of Church intrusions." The rebellion was "brushed off" as "
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the e ...
," which was "used as a catchword by outsiders to characterize Indian anger and unity." However, the white population and "even many mestizos" quickly became deeply worried "about the possibility of a combined effort by the Indians to expel them from the country."
Quirós' rebels "ravaged the Sierra well into 1849." Many whites were driven from the region in the period, while others fled. Army battalions were called in and ordered by General
Anastasio Bustamante
Anastasio Bustamante y Oseguera (; 27 July 1780 – 6 February 1853) was a Mexican physician, general, and politician who served as president of Mexico three times. He participated in the Mexican War of Independence initially as a royalist befo ...
, "but it took a native son of the Sierra, General
Tomás Mejía Tomás may refer to:
* Tomás (given name)
* Tomás (surname) Tomás is a Spanish and Portuguese surname, equivalent of ''Thomas''.
It may refer to:
* Antonio Tomás (born 1985), professional Spanish footballer
* Belarmino Tomás (1892–1950), ...
to track down Quirós and in December 1849 to certify his execution." Although further solutions ranged from complete extermination to land distribution, a compromise was eventually reached, which guaranteed the Indigenous people "some land to farm, considerable tax relief, and a promise that they would not be force-drafted into the army." Additionally, "the federal government founded three colonies for the Indians and gave them provisions and cattle for subsistence there."
However, shortly after the French invaded Mexico, which drew the situation of the Ximpece and other Indigenous people in the region into complete disarray. General
Mejía "won the support of the Indians for the monarchists," yet was executed along with emperor
Maximilion I after the eventual retreat of the French, their defeat, and the consolidation of the military forces of the
Mexican Republic
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guate ...
. This left the Indigenous people in the Sierra Gorda entirely vulnerable, who "were enveloped, although not completely pacified, by the national economic development that followed."
References
{{Indigenous peoples of Mexico
Indigenous peoples in Mexico
Querétaro