 Mexico negotiated a contract with Anglo Americans to settle in the area, with the hope and expectation that they would do so in Comanche territory, the Comancheria.In the 1820s, when the United States began to exert influence over the region, New Mexico had already begun to question its loyalty to Mexico.By the time of the Mexican–American War, the Comanches had raided and pillaged large portions of northern Mexico, resulting in sustained impoverishment, political fragmentation, and general frustration at the inability—or unwillingness—of the Mexican government to discipline the Comanches.