The 19th century brought many changes to Mexico and its northern frontier. In 1821, Mexico gained its independence from Spain after 11 years of fighting. The Camino Real played an important part as a communication highway as travelers carried information about events in central Mexico to the pueblos and villas in the Provincias Internas. During the Independence movement, the Camino Real was used by both rebel and royal forces. For example, after Miguel Hidalgo de Costillas' rebellion, he fled up the Camino to Chihuahua were he was later captured and executed (Sánchez 1997: 86).

     With fighting and an unstable government during and after Mexico's independence, fewer and fewer resources moved into the Northern Provinces which opened options for alternate routes. As early as 1807, American traders and frontiersmen such as Zebelon Pike attempted to find routes into New Mexico and Chihuahua. Pike was subsequently captured by Spanish forces and taken down the Camino Real to Chihuahua. By 1822, the Santa Fé Trail connected the western territory of Missouri and Santa Fé, New Mexico. At first, these Anglo-American merchants were jailed for smuggling contraband into Mexican territory, but as a monetary crisis (1819) occurred in the northern Mexico, trade was more and more welcomed. In fact, the Santa Fé Trail increased the market for local New Mexico products such as wool and was also a source of manufactured items (Sebastian and Levine :107)

     The Santa Fé Trail traders also left important travel accounts of the Camino Real and Chihuahua Trails. These travel accounts include: Josiah Gregg, Susan Magoffin, James Webb, and George Rutledge Gibson (Roney 1993: 92). In addition, between 1826 and 1845, more New Mexico merchants traveled to Mexican cities. The majority went to Chihuahua, Durango, El Paso del Norte, and Mexico City (Boyle 1997: 303). By 1827, there was a lucrative commercial network between Missouri, New Mexico and Chihuahua (González de la Vara 2000: 193-194). From Santa Fé, U.S. merchants traveled down the Chihuahua Trail portion of the Camino to Alburquerque, El Paso del Norte, and Chihuahua City.

     In 1846, a dispute over the boundary of Texas between Mexico and the United States led to a subsequent invasion of Mexico by U.S. military forces and the U.S.-Mexico War. One of these forces, led by General Stephen Kearney, traveled over the Santa Fé Trail to capture the New Mexican capital (Sanchez 1997: 88). Another force led by Colonel Alexander Doniphan defeated a small Mexican contingent at the Camino Real paraje of Brazito south of present day Las Cruces, New Mexico a battle which was described in Susan Magoffin's journal. Doniphan's forces then captured El Paso del Norte and later Ciudad Chihuahua (Roney 1993: 93).

     During the 1846-1847 period, the Camino Real was a busy artery, with American forces using it to travel to the interior of Mexico. Along the way, many American soldiers kept journals and wrote home about what they saw as they marched. One such soldier estimated the population of several towns along the Camino. They include "Algodones with 1000, Bernalillo with 500, Sandia with 300 to 400, Albuquerque with an unknown number but stretching for seven or eight miles along the river, Placeras with 200 or 300, Tomé with 2000, Socorro a 'considerable town,' El Paso with 5000 to 6000, and Carrizal with 400" (Schroeder 1993: 178). Soldiers also kept records of supplies, prices, and animals found along the way.

     The 1848 signing of the Treaty of Guadalupe-Hidalgo officially ended the war with provisions that Mexico cede much of its northern territories including the present day states New Mexico, Colorado, Arizona, and California.

Map of Mexico's Territory in 1821

• Citations for this article
• Mexican Period Bibliography
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