One major incident in Acoma history was the Acoma massacre. Although the massacre itself happened in 1599, its roots can be traced back to 1598 when Acoma people had a minor revolt against Capt. Juan Zaldivar where they killed him and a dozen of his men. They claimed he ordered them to give his men excessive provisions, stole from them, and violated an Acoma woman. Juan's brother, Vicente de Zaldivar returns in 1599 with tremendous force, and in a three day battle fights his way up to the top of the mesa, burns the city, killing a significant number of Acoma people. Onate soon punished the Acoma men over 25 years old by sentencing them to 20 year of servitude and cutting off one foot to set an example to the rest of the Pueblos.
