USA Arizona - The History : USA  

USA Arizona - The History - Travel guide

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USA Arizona - The History

The History

Arizona was the scene of some of the last and fiercest fighting of the Indian wars. Born near the headwaters of Arizona’s Gila River in the mid 1820s, Goyathlay ('One Who Yawns') was a peaceful man who was transformed into a warrior when his family was massacred by Mexicans. During a charge against his enemies, frightened Mexicans began to scream 'Geronimo!' the name of their patron saint (Jerome, in English). Goyathlay’s men began calling him Geronimo.

Cochise also developed a hatred of Americans after they killed members of his family. Cochise, Geronimo, and Mangas Coloradas became three of the most famous Indian warriors.

While the Civil War was beginning far away to the east, they were attacking travelers and soldiers and raiding stagecoaches, ranches, and small settlements in the Southwest and Mexico. After an unsuccessful attack on an army column (the Battle of Apache Pass, July 15, 1862), they relied on small raiding parties and guerilla warfare.

Pursued by thousands of U.S. and Mexican soldiers, Cochise finally surrendered in 1872, Geronimo in 1886. The great Indian wars had finally ended.

Today, Arizona is home to one of the largest Indian populations in the U.S., with twenty reservations hosting more than fourteen tribes, including Navaho, Mohave, Apache, Hopi, Paiute, Papago, Pima, Maricopa, Yavapa, Hualapai, and Havasupai.

1st Europeans: Cabeza de Vaca was probably the first Spanish explorer to enter Arizona, about 1536. A Spanish Franciscan friar named Marcos de Niza entered the region in 1539. He was followed by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado in 1540, whose search for the mythical Seven Cities of Gold took him as far as the Grand Canyon.

The region was ruled by Spain until Mexico won its independence in 1821. Mexico then ruled it until 1848 (see below).

Acquired by U.S.: The territory north of the Gila River (including much of present New Mexico) was ceded to the U.S. in 1848, when the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended the Mexican War. It became part of the Territory of New Mexico in 1850. Later, the U.S. wanted to build a railroad through the area south of the Gila River and purchased the area between the river and the southern boundary of Arizona from Mexico in the Gadsden Purchase in 1853. Arizona was made a separate territory in 1863, and more lands were acquired through the Gadsden Purchase in 1853.

Arizona was organized as a territory on February 4, 1864. This region was sometimes called Arizona before 1863, although it was still in the Territory of New Mexico.

Arizona became the 48th state on February 14, 1912.