Belen was founded in 1740 as Nuestra Señora de Belén (Our Lady of Bethlehem) by a group of colonists led by Diego Torres and Antonio Salazar, who had received permission to settle the tract of land known as the Belen Grant. The early settlers in the Belen grant included several genízaro families. The geníizaros, American Indians with origins as slaves and servants of the colonists, were important in the frontier defense of New Mexico. For the genízaros, relocation to Belen and other frontier settlements was a means of acquiring land. Their settlement in Belen was established to protect the southern border of the colony from Apache raiders. Belen was the first of what would be many genízaro settlements and, by 1744, 40 families were in residence. Spanish and mestizo families were also settled in Belen.