During the 1600s and 1700s,  Apaches defended themselves against Spanish soldiers and their allies. Apaches also traded with and raided Spanish settlements. They needed cattle, horses, and guns to survive in the “New World.” Periods of peace and war alternated as foreigners sought control over Apache people and Apache resources.

After independence from Spain, Mexicans sought to exterminate the Apaches. They poisoned Chiricahuas who went to their towns. They encouraged Chiricahuas to drink alcohol and then attacked them. Mexicans officials sent mercenaries and troops to hunt Apaches down and paid bounty hunters for hundreds of Chiricahua scalps, mostly those of women and children.  Apaches retaliated for these acts; violence created violence.

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