What is the Santa Fe Trail?
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri, with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe.
Who were the main traders on the Santa Fe Trail?
Beginning in 1826, prominent aristocratic families of New Mexicans, such as the Chávezes, Armijos, Pereas, and Oteros, entered into the commerce along the trail. By 1843, traders from New Mexico and Chihuahua had become the majority of traders involved in the traffic of goods over the Santa Fe Trail.
What happened on the Santa Fe Trail?
Local merchants and citizens at the U.S. end of the Santa Fe Trail demanded justice and a return to the stable commerce which their economy depended on. After the murder of Chávez, Warfield began limited military hostilities in the region using recruits from the southern Rockies.
Why did Stephen Watts Kearney take the Santa Fe Trail?
In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico and sent General Stephen Watts Kearney and his 1,600 men along the Santa Fe Trail to occupy New Mexico. Kearney took the Mountain Route, hoping its hazardous terrain would offer protection from Mexican troops.
What was the Santa Fe Trail?
Contents. The Santa Fe Trail was America’s first commercial highway. Traders established the trail—which connected Missouri to Santa Fe, New Mexico and covered some 900 miles of the Great Plains—in 1821. Before its demise due to the completion of the Santa Fe railroad, the Santa Fe Trail served as a thoroughfare for countless traders, ...
Where did the Santa Fe Trail take place?
For centuries prior to the Santa Fe Trail, trade took place between the Great Plains Indians and early settlers of the Texas panhandle. As trade routes expanded along the Rio Grande, commerce inevitably reached the Spanish colonists of New Mexico—but Spain had declared trade with Native Americans illegal.
What was the name of the track that Becknell took home?
His exact course there is disputed; however, the route he took home became known as the Cimarron Route and was the most popular track on the Santa Fe Trail.
What river did Becknell follow to Santa Fe?
Becknell’s initial path to Santa Fe became known as the Mountain Route. It followed the Arkansas River to the Colorado Plains to the Purgatoire River and across the narrow, treacherous Raton Mountain Pass into Santa Fe.
Why was the Santa Fe Trail important?
The trail also became an important route for stagecoach travel, stagecoach mail delivery and as a mail route for the famed Pony Express. As the Union Pacific Railroad expanded west, it was clear the Santa Fe Trail’s days were numbered.
Who was the General who fought on the Santa Fe Trail?
In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico and sent General Stephen Watts Kearney and his 1,600 men along the Santa Fe Trail to occupy New Mexico. Kearney took the Mountain Route, hoping its hazardous terrain would offer protection from Mexican troops.
Who was the trader who traveled to Mexico in 1812?
William Becknell. When Missouri trader and War of 1812 veteran William Becknell learned Mexico was open for business, he wasted no time heading for Santa Fe. Becknell left Franklin, Missouri, in September 1821 with a small group of men and a cargo of goods and arrived in Santa Fe on November 16.
Where was the Santa Fe Trail?
The Santa Fe Trail was a 19th-century route through central North America that connected Franklin, Missouri with Santa Fe, New Mexico. Pioneered in 1821 by William Becknell, who departed from the Boonslick region along the Missouri River, the trail served as a vital commercial highway until 1880, when the railroad arrived in Santa Fe.
Who were the main traders on the Santa Fe Trail?
By 1843, traders from New Mexico and Chihuahua had become the majority of traders involved in the traffic of goods over the Santa Fe Trail.
What were the challenges of the Santa Fe Trail?
The trail was a challenging 900 miles (1,400 km) of dangerous plains, hot deserts, and steep and rocky mountains. The natural weather was and is continental: very hot and dry summers, coupled with long and bitterly cold winters. Freshwater was scarce, and the high steppe-like plains are nearly treeless. Water flows in the Pecos, Arkansas, Cimarron, and Canadian rivers that drain the region vary by 90 or more percent in their flows during an average year. Also on this trail, unlike the Oregon trail, there was a serious danger of Indian attacks, for neither the Comanches nor the Apaches of the southern high plains tolerated trespassers. In 1825, Congress voted for federal protection for the Santa Fe Trail, even though much of it lay in the Mexican territory. Lack of food and water also made the trail very risky. Weather conditions, like huge lightning storms, gave the travelers even more difficulty. If a storm developed, there was often no place to take shelter and the livestock could get spooked. Rattlesnakes often posed a threat, and many people died due to snakebites. The caravan size increased later on to prevent Indian raids. The travelers also packed more oxen instead of mules because the Indians did not want to risk raiding the caravans only for some oxen.
Why did the Comanche raid New Mexico?
Comanche raiding farther south in Mexico isolated New Mexico, making it more dependent on the American trade. They raided to gain a steady supply of horses to sell.
Who intercepted Mexican caravans along the Santa Fe Trail?
After Warfield's men reached Bent's Fort on foot, they disbanded. In February 1843, Colonel Jacob Snively had received a commission to intercept Mexican caravans along the Santa Fe Trail, similar to that received by Warfield the year prior.
When was the Santa Fe Trail opened?
The Santa Fe Trail was a transportation route opened by the Spaniards at the end of the 18th century. It was later used extensively by people from the United States in the 19th century after the Louisiana Purchase.
Which country was the first to claim Santa Fe?
The Republic of Texas competed with Mexico in claiming Santa Fe, as part of the territory north and east of the Rio Grande which both nations claimed following Texas's secession from Mexico in 1836.
