The Apache Wars
American History Hit
History Hit
4.3 • 1.7K Ratings
🗓️ 29 January 2024
⏱️ 35 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
What were the Apache Wars? How did they begin? And how did the end of the Mexican-American War impact the indigenous people of that region?
In the 19th century, U.S. forces and Apache groups in areas that are now parts of New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas fought a series of conflicts over territory, power and resources.
In this episode, historian Doug Hocking gives us insight into the various turning points in the conflicts, notably the Bascom Affair, the role of figures like Cochise and Geronimo, and the degrading relationship between the U.S. forces and Apache tribes after the Mexican-American War.
Doug is a historian of the American South West and author of a number of books including 'Black Legend: George Bascom, Cochise, and the Start of the Apache Wars'.
Produced by Sophie Gee. Edited by Tomos Delargy. Senior Producer was Charlotte Long.
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | On a balmy September day in 1886, the desert horizon is ablaze with the setting sun. |
| 0:15.6 | A group of Apache fighters, led by Geronimo, a military leader of the Doncahay Band, |
| 0:21.4 | approaches a U.S. forces encampment. |
| 0:24.1 | Their heads held high despite their profound weariness. |
| 0:27.5 | A hero of indigenous resistance, Geronimo, has alluded to U.S. forces for years, but relentless pursuit and enduring hardships have taken |
| 0:35.3 | their toll. |
| 0:36.3 | Recognizing the futility of further resistance, Geronimo and his band have chosen to negotiate. It is time to start a new kind of existence. It's time for |
| 0:45.8 | a new life. Don Wildman here and this is American History Hit. Thanks for listening. Our |
| 1:05.9 | subject today is a series of military conflicts between US forces and indigenous |
| 1:11.7 | warriors whose native lands were located within a vast region of what |
| 1:16.1 | is today northern New Mexico to southeastern Arizona all the way east to Texas. |
| 1:20.9 | This was generally the realm of the Apache. A legendary name, one we will soon discuss, was |
| 1:26.5 | first attached to these native peoples by invading Spanish, inclusive of a number of indigenous |
| 1:32.0 | groups from the Hickorya to the Le Pan to the |
| 1:34.8 | Meskaleiro and many others. They were all by virtue of this general location |
| 1:39.9 | called Apache by the Spanish, then the Mexicans, |
| 1:43.4 | then settlers and military from the US. |
| 1:45.9 | And as with most Native American groups |
| 1:47.8 | across the continent, their relationships |
| 1:49.8 | with white people shifted and evolved over time. |
| 1:53.0 | But come the mid 1800s, after the Mexican-American War, |
| 1:57.0 | relations between the victorious U.S. and the Native tribes known as Apache |
... |
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