An Indigenous Peoples History of the United States Ortiz

Sea to Shining Sea 121

ies and the Pacific, bordered by Spanish-occupied territory on the

west and south and British Canada on the north. 6 Pike and his small

force of soldiers and Osage hostages had orders to illegally enter

Spanish territory to gather information that would later be used for

military invasion. Under the guise of having gone astray, Pike and

his contingent found themselves inside Spanish-occupied northern

New Mexico (today's southern Colorado), where they "discovered"

Pikes Peak and built a fort. Ultimately, as they had undoubtedly

planned, they were taken into custody by Spanish authorities who

transported them to Chihuahua, Mexico, allowing Pike and his men

to observe and make notes about northern Mexico on the way. More

important, they collected information on Spanish military resources

and behavior and the location of and relations among civilian popu­

lations. Pike was released, and in l8ro published his findings. Later

titled The Expeditions of Zebulon Montgomery Pike, the book was

a best seller.7

US COLONIZATION OF NORTHERN MEXICO

The instability of the impoverished new republic of Mexico, as it
emerged in 1821 from more than three centuries of Spanish colonial­
ism and an exhausting war of national liberation, put it in a weak
position to defend its territory against US aggression. With Spain
out of the way, the United States could pursue its own policy of im­
perialism without risking a difficult war with European imperialist
powers-what George Washington had referred to in his farewell
address when he warned against "foreign entanglements." Once
Mexico was independent, its newly formed government immediately
opened its borders to trade, something Spanish authorities had never
allowed. US trader William Becknell arrived at Taos in the Mexican
province of Nuevo Mexico from St. Louis in 1821, and a US trading
party led by Sylvester Pattie arrived in 1824. 8 Traders based in St.
Louis, at the time the effective western frontier outpost of the United
States, began extending their business to New Mexico. Until the
publication of Pike's book in l8ro, US merchants had shown little