After the Reconquest: 1591-1790After the reconquest, only San Cristobal and San Lazaro were occupied. All the other large Galisteo pueblos were abandoned. Many Tanos were impressed into service by the soldiers, and many others scattered to live with other pueblos elsewhere. In 1695, Don Juan de Vargas seized the remaining pueblo farms. The San Cristobal inhabitants were sent to Chimayo, and the San Lazaro inhabitants were sent to Yunque (San Juan Pueblo).
In 1709, Galisteo was resettled with genizaros, or Christianized Indians. Governor Francisco de Cuerbo y Valdes writes, 'I settled the old pueblo of Galisteo with one hundred and fifty Christian Indians of the Tano nation who were found dispersed since the year 1702 and living in other pueblos. very happy in their pueblo entitled Santa Maria de Gracia de Galisteo, and it has been completely rebuilt, and also the church and convento, but there is no minister, church bells, or ornaments.'
These genizaros engaged in raising livestock, hunting, and traditional farming. Traders, called 'comancheros,' and buffalo hunters, known as 'ciboleros,' continued the age-old commerce with the Plains tribes.
In 1728 a terrible epidemic killed many inhabitants. A smallpox epidemic struck in 1780, halving the population of the once-powerful Pecos pueblo and killing about 5000 Puebloans altogether. The devastation of disease, combined with continued attacks from the Comanches (particularly in 1749, 1751, and 1775), demoralized the remaining population enough that the resettled pueblo was totally abandoned, and the final Tanos relocated to Santo Domingo.
After Juan Bautista de Anza negotiated a peace treaty with the Comanche, the Galisteo Basin was eventually reinhabited with Spanish farmers, beginning with Juan Aragon in 1799. An additional 19 families settled there in 1816, and the current village of Galisteo was established.
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Burnt Corn Pueblo. Photo courtesy Bureau of Land Management.
San Lazaro Pueblo. Photo courtesy Bureau of Land Management.
San Marcos Pueblo. Photo courtesy Bureau of Land Management.
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