Cross of the Martyrs, Santa Fe

The Cross of the Martyrs stands on a hilltop a short walk northeast of Santa Fe Plaza. Dedicated to the 21 Franciscan friars killed during the Pueblo Revolt of 1680, the site offers panoramic views across the city. The climb is relatively short, although the paved walkway includes several stairways and switchbacks. Handrails and resting places make the ascent easier, while a series of plaques recounts episodes from Santa Fe’s history.

Spanish contact with the Pueblo peoples began with Francisco Vázquez de Coronado’s expedition in 1540, while permanent colonization followed in 1598. During the decades that followed, Pueblo communities endured demands for tribute and forced labor, the suppression of their religious traditions, and episodes of violence and enslavement. By the 1670s, severe drought, famine, disease, and raids by neighboring groups had intensified the region’s hardships.

Tensions reached a critical point in 1675, when Governor Juan Francisco Treviño ordered the arrest of 47 Pueblo religious leaders on charges of “sorcery.” Four were sentenced to death, while the others were publicly whipped and imprisoned. A large delegation of Pueblo warriors confronted the governor in Santa Fe and secured the release of the surviving prisoners. Among them was Po’pay, a religious leader from Ohkay Owingeh.

Po’pay later settled at Taos Pueblo, where he worked with leaders from numerous Pueblo communities to organize a coordinated uprising. In August 1680, Pueblo forces attacked Spanish settlements and besieged Santa Fe, eventually forcing the surviving colonists to retreat south to El Paso. The Spanish remained outside northern New Mexico for 12 years, returning under Diego de Vargas in 1692.