The journals reveal that maintaining peace in New Mexico during Vargas' absence was a difficult task for Rodríguez Cubero. Hispanic colonists and Pueblo Indians were suspicious of one another, and partisans of the deposed Vargas made little effort to hide their loyalty. With the Reconqueror's return, the colony settled back into familiar routines. Not even don Diego's early death in 1704 undid the hard-won recolonization.

In a brief but suggestive Afterword, the editors contend that the era of Diego de Vargas lived on well after his death. Although never fully implemented, the Reconqueror's plan to reform the colony affected almost every aspect of life, from the social order and relations between Hispanic and Pueblo neighbors to land tenure. New Mexico after Vargas, they conclude, had a distinctly different face.

A Settling of Accounts contains a cumulative series index as well as a complete list of the documents presented in each of the six volumes.