by James J. Raciti (Author)
This brief review of the history of Santa Fe is designed to give visitors and residents alike an overview of the important events that created what we now call, "The City Different." For more than four hundred years, New Mexico has been a crossroad of religious and cultural influences. Santa Fe, as its capital, has not always grown painlessly but often as a result of revolt, bloodshed and war. The years are marked with brilliant surges of insight and compassion but also with intrigue, cruelty and the ever-present conflict between Church and State. The author traces the legacy the Spanish settlers enjoyed from the native populations, as well as that contributed by the conquerors to their new homeland. He emphasizes the development of religious and educational institutions, the constant struggle with the elements of nature and the hostile Indian tribes, the unique role New Mexico played in the Civil War and New Mexico's arduous quest for statehood.