Apache Terror | The Comanche “War of Extermination” that DESTROYED the Apache

Native American history needs to be presented more. The 'noble savage' idea of NA's being this monolithic group who were peaceful, friendly and in tune with nature has done so much damage. They were people, human beings, capable of great valour and great evil like the rest of us, and like the rest of us, they fought and traded with each other, sometimes brutally.

I was in the Air Force with an Apache who grew up on a reservation in northern New Mexico....people talk about the Irish or us Southerners holding a grudge,,,he never missed a chance to knock the Comanche, the Spanish and the Mexicans...He and I hunted all over Wyoming and Colorado....he knew the Earth...This has been an excellent presentation....a little known bit of American history.

West Texas Comanche here - Fantastic channel and episode. Very informative. I'm familiar with the general topic, as many stories (this one, for sure) are passed down from generation to generation in our family. I think the only part I'd differ on would be on when the Comanche were introduced to the Spanish Mustang. Coronado and subsequent expeditions from 1540s to the 1580s came into contact with Comanche bands in Western Kansas. In the stories passed down, this is the time frame they were introduced. It took many years to master, though. And also - the Comanche took to breeding because they learned how (and why) from the Spaniards. Not saying every band of the tribe, but I can tell you that two bands for sure were very friendly with the Spaniards early on - one of them I descend from. Elders put their twists on history when it is passed down, but the 'meat' of it us very accurate. Over the next century and a half, the horsemanship and tactics would expand to all Comanche bands. Understand that the need for more resources only came as they became completely mobile, leaving all agrarian life behind.

One aspect to the Comanche I found interesting was their mastery of the horse, of course, and how they developed into the best fighters off the animal. It was how well they trained off the back of their horses and almost importantly was how they saved their warriors from succumbing to their enemy.They achieved this through their ability to swoop in during a battle and literally lift a wounded fellow warrior off the ground running at full speed, and swing the warrior up on the back of their horse. This took tremendous amounts of practice and strengthening exercises performing that feat. They learned to do this from young ages. I believe it gave the entire tribe a trust they wouldn't be left behind and that they would die for one another. Perhaps that is one of the reasons they fought so hard.

The warcraft of the Comanche in America appears very similar to the Mongols in Asia. The Mongols covered vastly more territory, of course.

The Apache gambit of convincing the Spanish to unknowingly build on Comanche land is deliciously clever, even though it didn't work. That kind of chess is rarely shown in pop culture history, because it flies so far in the face of either positive (noble savage) or negative stereotypes (regular savage).

I was raised in the San Francisco Bay Area. Everything in the east and south bay is named after Juan Bautista de Anza! He led an expedition there is 1776 to explore the area around the San Francisco bay. I had no idea he was involved in the Apache and Commanche conflicts. It's so cool to see connections in history!

I am part Apache (and Cherokee), still living in Texas. Thank you for putting together such a well laid out and detailed summary of the many events. Well done. You have a new sub off this 👍

Its amazing how different and similar we are. Largely we're a product of our geography. The Comanche's sound very similar to the mongols in the way they waged war.

I think this would make an epic series. You could show this story from all three sides, who else would binge-watch it?

Wow, 69 years old and I have never heard this level of detail about this history. Snippets about some of it but nothing this encompassing. Well done!

This is actually horrific. The idea of a group of people (or even anything for that matter!) who can at any moment at night show up, murder you and everybody close to you, and then disappear right away, impossible to find with nothing to do about it is definitely something that scratches our primal instincts of why we feel scared as an emotion in the first place. Nothing can compare to the horror of what humanity can do to itself.

Comanche v. Apache v. Spanish/Mexican v. American is easily one of the most colorful epochs in North America history. As a kid I grew up in Oklahoma, just miles away from Quanah Parker’s home. In High School I learned Oklahoma history and my teacher was a slightly militant Native American woman. She was great and she sparked a love of this I have had ever since. Great vid!

The beginning story of the Comanche is very similar to the beginning story of the Aztecs. Both were outcast tribes that found a source of power. The Comanche with the horse and the Aztec with their resoursefulness to where they ended up. And both were brutally vengeful people

A book that goes into a deep dive for this period is Pekka Hamalainen's "The Comanche Empire". One interesting thing I learned from that book that this lecture kind of touches on is that the Spanish engagement with Comanche were night and day between New Mexico (peaceful relations) and Texas (terrible relations full of conflict), especially as it got into the 19th Century (after the period of this video). One thing that this lecture suggests is that the role of the Apache played into that in this early stage.

Wait - I thought all the Indians just painted with all the colors of the wind in peace and harmony.

Once they entered the mountains, the Apache became one of the greatest guerilla fighters ever known.

Comanche vs Apache would make a great historical action movie. Even a series of movies.

im 13 from west texas and me and my father/grandpa are half Comanche and for the past three days or so i have been learning more about my culture this is really great content explaining comache and apache's history

I just subscribed to your channel. My son in Florida sent your link to me. I’m now seventy two and from my earliest recollections have had an intense respect and fascination with Native people. I grew up in Colorado and we would travel through states with wonderful history of Native people. I’m obsessed with the culture and history. You are a wonderful narrator. Thank you for bringing so much information to light. ❤