Janet Lecompte undertook the study of the 1837 rebellion in Río Arriba partly to correct erroneous interpretations of events by contemporary Anglo-American merchants and chiefly to present a detailed account of the uprising from an Hispanic New Mexican perspective. Meticulously consulting primary sources in regional archives and libraries, complemented by the use of rare documentary volumes printed in Mexico, the author gleaned abundant data to reconstruct major and minor facets of an extremely complex event in New Mexico’s history. Interesting and extraneous information that did not fit the research design was relegated to a commentary or analysis in the endnotes.
Rebellion in Río Arriba-1837-is a thin volume replete with colorful drama, narrated with conviction yet flawed by occasional errors of fact or interpretation. For example, the author laments that Catholic priests were so scarce that “babies died unbaptized, unmarried couples lived in sin and raised families, . . .” [p. 8]. In fact, any lay Christian possessed authority to administer the baptismal sacrament to a dying infant. Later, should the child recover, the parents could arrange a formal ritual by a clergyman. Moreover, in isolated frontier environments without a resident pastor, it was not uncommon to find couples who united minus the benefit of sacerdotal witness or blessing. Years later, whenever a traveling priest visited their village, these couples willingly solemnized their marriage vows in the presence of their children, relatives, and friends. On such auspicious occasions, the entire family received the sacraments in full view of community residents and transients.
The author devoted nearly half of the contents of the book to a narrative of the rebellion in Río Arriba and the remainder to supporting documents plus notations. She expended a fair amount of effort in a worthwhile research enterprise, but missed the goal of hallmark distinction. Both the antagonists and protagonists emerged as shadowy silhouettes rather than as finely etched portraits of individuals who fought and died for their beliefs.
