The Witches of Abiquiu: The Governor, the Priest, the Genizaro Indians, and the Devil

The Witchcraft Outbreak at Abiquiu, New Mexico, occurred between 1756 and 1766, five decades after the witchcraft trials at Salem, Massachusetts. The Genizaro (hispanicized Indian) land grant of Abiquiu was the crown jewel of Governor Velez Cachupin’s plan to achieve peace for the benefit of the early New Mexican colonists. The governor’s strategy involved allowing the Pueblo Indians to retain their religious ceremonies. In opposition to the Governor’s plan, Father Juan Jose Toledo complained that the Genizaros had bewitched him. Governor Velez Cachupin convened a meeting of religious leaders who deliberated and forwarded the case to the Inquisition in Mexico City. In a strange twist of fate, the Inquisition eventually charged Father Toledo with heretical practices and removed him.