Their dissatisfaction was exacerbated when, following Santa Anna's defeat in Texas, the Mexican government drafted a constitution that tightened administration and tax-collection and imposed property qualifications on political participation.
Opposition culminated in the summer of 1837, with the spark that set off the rebellion having to do with the alcalde (mayor) of Santa Cruz de la Cañada, Juan José Esquibel.
[3] On August 1, rebels from the northern New Mexican communities gathered at Santa Cruz de la Cañada (near Chimayó) with Indians from the surrounding pueblos.
On August 3, their twelve leaders, including Esquibel, issued the following declaration: When Pérez heard of the rebellion, he attempted to raise a militia of volunteers, but his call did not meet with an encouraging answer.
Unable to find security in the capital, Pérez attempted to flee the city by night, but a group of Santo Domingo Indians intercepted and killed him.
Secretary of the Department Jesús María Alarid, former interim governor Santiago Abreú (one of Ramón's brothers), and approximately 20 officials from the Pérez government were also killed, some by mutilation.
That same day, the rebels entered the capital and placed José Gonzales, a Genizaro (of Taos Pueblo and Pawnee ancestry) from Chimayo, in possession of the palace and as governor of the territory.
Initially the rebel government was widely popular in the Department, but it soon made enemies by committing atrocities in gaining power and confiscating the massacre victims' property (at the expense of not only their heirs but also their creditors).
Meanwhile, in Santa Cruz, the Cantón did not dissolve, instead continuing to imprison people and threaten them with death, outside the control of Gonzales's government (Lecompte 1985, pp. 40–46).
In January 1838, federal troops from Zacatecas and Chihuahua arrived in response to Armijo's request, bringing his official appointment to the governorship (Lecompte 1985, pp. 65–68).
The two armies met between Santa Cruz and Pojoaque, and Armijo's forces (commanded by Lt. Col. Cayetano Justiniani of the Veracruz dragoons) prevailed in the battle (Lecompte 1985, pp.