Con la sierra a cuestas. Apaches y españoles en la frontera sonorense en el siglo XVIII

Abstract

This work focuses on four processes set in motion by Spanish attempts to control the Apache frontier in Sonora: a) congregation of Apache Indians in Spanish villages and presidios; b) formation of pluriethnic bands living outside the colonial society; c) creation of patterns of social mobility between the sierras and Spanish settlements by pluriethnic groups; d) raids on frontier settlements. This study aims to assess the ways in which the colonial experience in Sonora was shaped from the Spanish perspective and how this process was resisted and redesigned from the indigenous point of view. At the same time, it casts doubt on the idea of the permanent Apache threat on New Spain’s northern frontier.

Keywords

• frontiers
• Sonora
• Apache Indians
• Seri Indians
• pluriethnic bands