Slavery in New Mexico was legal from 1850 with the Compromise of 1850 through 1862, when Congress banned slavery in the territories. Despite being illegal, it was widely and openly practiced under Spanish and Mexican rule, and under American rule until the Peonage Act of 1867. Today, slavery exists in the form of human trafficking.
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Spanish rule
When the Spanish arrived in New Mexico, they began exploiting the people, resulting in their conducting nearly continuous raids, reprisals and capturing of slaves on the nomadic Indian tribes on the borders. The slaves were referred to as genízaros. Most Genízaros were Navajo, Pawnee, Apache, Kiowa Apache, Ute, Comanche, and Paiute who had been purchased at a young age and worked as domestic servants and sheepherders. By the mid-1700s, the stronger Indian tribes would raid the weaker Indian tribes for slaves and bring the captured Indians to trade for Spanish commodities. By the mid-18th century, the Comanche dominated the weaker tribes in the eastern plains and sold children that they kidnapped from these tribes to Spanish villagers.
Contemporary scholars believe that the objective of Spanish rule of New Mexico (and all other northern lands) was the full exploitation of the native population and resources. As Frank McNitt writes,
"Governors were a greedy and rapacious lot whose single-minded interest was to wring as much personal wealth from the province as their terms allowed. They exploited Indian labor for transport, sold Indian slaves in New Spain, and sold Indian products...and other goods manufactured by Indian slave labor."
Although the slaves were protected by the Laws of the Indies, many of them complained of mistreatment. They were settled in land grants on the periphery of Spanish settlements according to a policy established by the Governors. These settlements became buffer communities for larger Spanish towns in the event of attack by enemy tribes surrounding the province.[6] The following description of the Tome-Valencia settlements by a Spanish Religious official (Fray Menchero) in the 1740s provides insight as the politics of the settlement of Genízaros on land grants:
They were baptized but often mistreated and sometimes left the church if they could escape from the Spanish. After the missionaries complained about mistreatment of the Indians to the governor, officials established a policy to settle the baptized Indians on land grants on the periphery of Spanish settlements. They generally supported slavery, believing the "redeemed" captives were better off after being educated and converted to Christianity. These settlements became buffer communities for larger Spanish towns in the event of attack by the enemy tribes surrounding the province.
The settlements of Tomé and Belén, just south of Albuquerque, were described by Juan Agustin Morfi as follows in 1778:
"In all the Spanish towns of New Mexico there exists a class of Indians called genizaros. These are made up of captive Comanches, Apaches, etc. who were taken as youngsters and raised among us, and who have married in the province…They are forced to live among the Spaniards, without lands or other means to subsist except the bow and arrow which serves them when they go into the back country to hunt deer for food… They are fine soldiers, very warlike… Expecting the genizaros to work for daily wages is a folly because of the abuses they have experienced, especially from the alcaldes mayores in the past… In two places, Belen and Tome, some sixty families of genizaros have congregated."
By the Mexican and early American period (1821–1880), almost all of the Genízaros were of Navajo ancestry. During negotiations with the United States military, Navajo spokesmen raised the issue of Navajos being held as servants in Spanish/Mexican households. When asked how many Navajos were among the Mexicans, they responded: "over half the tribe". Most of the captives never returned to the Navajo nation but remained as the lower classes in the Hispanic villages. Members of different tribes intermarried in these communities.
Mexican rule
After Mexico gained independence from Spain in 1821, Mexico enacted the Treaty of Córdoba, which decreed that indigenous tribes within its borders were citizens of Mexico. Officially, the newly independent Mexican government proclaimed a policy of social equality for all ethnic groups, and the genízaros were officially considered equals to their vecino (villagers of mainly mixed racial background) and Pueblo neighbors. This never was completely put into practice. The Mexican slave trade continued to flourish. The average price for a boy slave was $100, while girls brought $150 to $200. Girls demanded a higher price because they were thought to be excellent house keepers and they were frequently used as sex slaves.
New Mexico territory
After New Mexico territory passed to American rule following the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848, the issue of slavery in the new territory became a major issue, with the Whigs wanting to keep Mexico's ban on slavery and the Democrats wanting to introduce it. In the Compromise of 1850, it was decided that New Mexico Territory would be able to choose its own stance on slavery by popular sovereignty. In 1859, New Mexico passed the Act for the Protection of Slave Property. This was partially because Territorial Governor William Carr Lane and Chief Justice of the New Mexico Supreme Court Grafton Baker owned black slaves.
On June 19, 1862, Congress prohibited slavery in all US territories. New Mexico citizens petitioned the US Senate for compensation for 600 Indian slaves that were going to be set free. The Senate denied their request and sent federal agents to abolish slavery. However, when Special Indian Agent J.K. Graves visited in June 1866, he found that slavery was still widespread, and many of the federal agents had slaves. In his report, he estimated that there were 400 slaves in Santa Fe alone. On March 2, 1867, Congress passed the Peonage Act of 1867, which specifically targeted New Mexican slavery.
Human trafficking
Today, slavery in New Mexico continues in the form of human trafficking. In cooperation with New Mexico attorney general, Life Link has created the 505 Get Free initiative, which promotes a hotline to report trafficking. Santa Fe, New Mexico has also supported the initiative, both with funding and requirements for advertising the hotline. The Border Violence Unit has special training to combat human trafficking in the state. In 2015, New Mexico received a $1.5 million grant to combat human trafficking. On July 29, 2016, the city of Albuquerque held the New Mexico World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which included speakers, entertainers and participation of SOLD: The Human Trafficking Experience.