# The Chichimeca War: Mexico's Unconquered North

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/the-chichimeca-war-mexico-s-unconquered-north
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/the-chichimeca-war-mexico-s-unconquered-north.md
Podcast: [The Conquistadors: Exploration, Greed, and Destruction — Fexingo History](https://stenobird.com/podcast/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470)
Published: 2026-06-14T14:51:45+00:00
Episode link: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-conquistadors/episode-0095.mp3
Audio file: https://audio.fexingo.com/history/the-conquistadors/episode-0095.mp3
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JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/the-conquistadors-exploration-greed-and-destruction-fexingo-history-7864470/episodes/the-chichimeca-war-mexico-s-unconquered-north
Duration seconds: 476

## Resource

After the fall of Tenochtitlan and the Mixtón rebellion, the Spanish faced an even more intractable enemy: the Chichimeca of the northern deserts. Unlike the settled empires of central Mexico, these nomadic archers refused to be conquered, fought without a central leader, and turned the silver-rich Bajío region into a war zone for over forty years. In this episode, Lucas and Luna examine the Chichimeca War (1550–1590), exploring the brutal counter-insurgency tactics of Viceroy Mendoza, the devastating use of chichimeca archers against the Spanish, the role of the Otomí as frontier allies, and the eventual shift from war to peace through the purchase of food, clothing, and iron tools. They discuss the infamous 'peace by purchase' policy of Viceroy Villamanrique, the founding of Querétaro and San Miguel de Allende as fortified settlements, and the cultural legacy of the Chichimeca as the ancestors of today's northern Mexican identity. #ChichimecaWar #Chichimeca #Otomí #Querétaro #SanMigueldeAllende #Mixtón #NuevaGalicia #NewSpain #SilverRoads #Mesoamerica #Conquistadors #ViceroyMendoza #Bajío #NomadicArchers #PeaceByPurchase #FexingoHistory #History #ColonialMexico Keep every episode free: buymeacoffee.com/fexingo

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