Where did Juan de Oñate live in Mexico?
Juan de Oñate, explorer and founder of the first European settlements in the upper Rio Grande valley of New Mexico, son of Cristóbal de Oñate and Catalina de Salazar, was born around 1550, most likely in the frontier settlement of Zacatecas, Mexico. His father was a prominent Zacatecas mine owner and encomendero.
How did Hernando de Oñate claim the New World?
Oñate set out with a group of 600 to 700 people early in 1598. With guidance from the American Indians who lived in the region, Oñate crossed the Rio Grande, where the group encountered native settlements at El Paso del Norte. On April 30, Oñate issued a declaration claiming the territory as a Spanish possession, Nuevo Mexico.
Who was Francisco de Oñate?
Oñate was born in 1550, at Zacatecas in New Spain (colonial México), to the Spanish-Basque conquistador and silver baron Cristóbal de Oñate, a descendant of the noble house of Haro.
What land did Francisco de Oñate claim for Spain?
In an Ascension Day ceremony, Oñate led the party in prayer, as he claimed all of the territory across the river for the Spanish Empire. Oñate's original terms would have made this land a separate viceroyalty to the crown in New Spain; this move failed to stand after de Zúñiga reviewed the agreement.
See more
Where did Juan de Onate settle?
of New MexicoJuan de Oñate, (born 1550?, New Spain—died 1630), conquistador who established the colony of New Mexico for Spain. During his despotic governorship, he vainly sought the mythical riches of North America and succeeded instead in unlocking the geographical secrets of what is now the southwestern United States.
What was the purpose of Juan de Onate exploration?
Though Oñate's primary mission was to spread Roman Catholicism, the discovery of new sources of silver, with the potential for personal enrichment, was also a significant motive for him to participate in the expedition. Oñate set out with a group of 600 to 700 people early in 1598.
When did Juan de Onate colonize New Mexico?
In 1595 he was ordered by King Philip II to colonize the northern frontier of the Viceroyalty of New Spain. His stated objective was to spread Roman Catholicism by establishing new missions in Nuevo México. He began the expedition in 1598, fording the Rio Grande (Río del Norte) near present day El Paso in late April.
What is the Oñate expedition?
OÑ ATE EXPLORATIONS AND SETTLEMENTS. In 1598, the Spanish explorer Juan de Oñate left Chihuahua, Mexico, with an expeditionary force of almost five hundred soldiers and colonists to conquer and colonize a new Mexico along the Rio Grande.
What was Oñate known for?
Oñate is notorious for the 1599 Acoma Massacre. Following a dispute that led to the ambush and death of thirteen Spaniards at the hands of the Ácoma, including Oñate's nephew, Juan de Zaldívar, Oñate ordered a brutal retaliation against Acoma Pueblo. The Pueblo was destroyed. Around 800–1000 Ácoma were killed.
What is the meaning of Oñate?
Basque (Oñate): variant or Castilianized form of a habitational name from the town of Oñati (in Castilian: Oñate) in Gipuzkoa province Basque Country (Spain). The placename is of Basque origin but disputed etymology.
Who Found New Mexico?
Spanish explorers arrived in New Mexico in 1540, led by Francisco Vásquez de Coronado. The Spanish began building settlements in the 1590s, with the goals of converting Native Americans to Christianity and striking it rich by mining silver.
Why do they call New Mexico New Mexico?
New Mexico comes from the Spanish name of Nuevo Mexico; given to the region north of Mexico in the 1560s by Spanish explorers who hoped to find gold and wealth equal to Mexico's Aztec treasures. The current name is an anglicized version for this upper Rio Grande area.
Who established Santa Fe?
conquistador Don Pedro de PeraltaSanta Fe is the oldest capital city in United States and the oldest European community west of the Mississippi. While Santa Fe was inhabited on a very small scale in 1607, it was truly settled by the conquistador Don Pedro de Peralta in 1609-1610.
Where did the Spaniards make their first two settlements in New Mexico?
Peralta was told that San Gabriel, the capital, was too far removed from the centers of population so in 1610 he founded Villa Nueva de Santa Fe. This was the first Spanish settlement in New Mexico and it became the focus of most activity during the seventeenth century.
What are three facts about Juan de Onate?
Juan de Oñate Biography and FactsNameJuan de OñateReligionRoman CatholicismKnown ForColonial governor of the Santa Fe de Nuevo México provinceFamous Expedition(s)Led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, Great Plains ExpeditionSpouse(s)Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma8 more rows
When and how many settlers did Juan de Onate take to New Mexico?
Onate began the expedition in January 1598 with 400 settlers and soldiers and their livestock. The expedition crossed the Rio Grande at the present-day El Paso, Texas, and on April 30, 1598, he claimed all of New Mexico for Spain.
Who led 400 soldiers settlers and Mexico from New Mexico into 1598?
Terms in this set (9) 1598- Juan De Onate led 400 soldiers, colonists and missionaries north from Mexico to establish a settlement.
Who is the last Spanish conquistador?
Hernán CortésHernán CortésBornHernando Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano 1485 Medellín, CastileDiedDecember 2, 1547 (aged 61–62) Castilleja de la Cuesta, CastileNationalityCastilianSpouse(s)Catalina Suárez ( m. 1516; died 1522) Juana de Zúñiga ( m. 1529)17 more rows
What tribes were the Escanjaques?
Authorities have speculated that the Escanjaques were Apache, Tonkawa, Jumano, Quapaw, Kaw, or other tribes. Most likely they were Caddoan and spoke a Wichita dialect. We can be virtually certain that the Rayados were Caddoan Wichitas. Their grass houses, dispersed mode of settlement, a chief named Catarax, a Wichita title, the description of their granaries, and their location all are in accord with Coronado’s earlier description of the Quivirans. However, they were probably not the same people Coronado had met. Coronado found Quivira 120 miles north of Oñate’s Rayados . The Rayados spoke of large settlements called Tancoa—perhaps the real name of Quivira—in that area to the north. Thus, the Rayados were related culturally and linguistically to the Quivirans but not in the same political entity. The Wichita at this time were not unified, but rather a large number of related tribes scattered over most of Kansasand Oklahoma. That the Rayados and Escanjaques may have spoken the same language, but were nevertheless enemies is not implausible. Oñate’s 1605 “signature grafitti” on Inscription Rock, in El Morro National Monument.
What was the name of the Spanish colonist who demanded supplies from the Acoma Pueblo people?
Oñate soon gained a reputation as a stern ruler of both the Spanish colonists and the indigenous people. In October 1598, a skirmish erupted when Oñate ’s occupying Spanish military demanded supplies from the Acoma Pueblo people, demanding provisions that were essential for the Acoma to survive the oncoming winter.
What did the Escanjaques say about the tall grass prairie?
The Escanjaques guided Oñate to a large river a few miles away and he became the first European to describe the tallgrass prairie. He spoke of fertile land, much better than that through which he had previously passed, and pastures “so good that in many places the grass was high enough to conceal a horse.” He tasted and found of good flavor a fruit that sounds like the Pawpaw.
How many Spaniards died in the Acoma massacre?
The Acoma resisted and 11 Spaniards were killed, amongst them Don Juan Oñate’s nephew. The battle began and in January 1599, Oñate retaliated for the loss of his nephew with the Acoma Massacre. His soldiers massacred 800 villagers, including men, women, and children.
How many houses did the Escanjaques live in?
He estimated the population at more than 5,000 living in 600 houses. The Escanjaques lived in round houses as large as 90 feet (27 m) in diameter and covered with tanned buffalo hides. They were hunters, according to Oñate, depending upon the buffalo for their subsistence and planting no crops.
How many Spanish soldiers were needed to confront the Rayados?
Discretion seemed the better part of valor. Oñate estimated that three hundred Spanish soldiers would be needed to confront the Rayados, and he turned his soldiers around to return to New Mexico.
Where did the Escanjaques settle?
Caratax led Oñate and the Escanjaques across the river to a settlement on the eastern bank, one or two miles from the river. The settlement was deserted, the inhabitants having fled. It contained “about twelve hundred houses, all established along the bank of another good-sized river which flowed into the large one [the Arkansas]…. the settlement of the Rayados seemed typical of those seen by Coronado in Quivira sixty years before. The homesteads were dispersed; the houses round, thatched with grass, large enough to sleep ten persons each, and surrounded by large granaries to store the corn, beans, and squash they grew in their fields.” With difficulty Oñate restrained the Escanjaques from looting the town and sent them home.
What did the Encomienda promise?
For the colonists, encomienda promised the ability to require others to perform labor for them. By 1598 most of them recognized that New Mexico did not offer quick wealth—it was not another Aztec or Inca Empire as Antonio de Mendoza, Marcos de Niza, or Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (among many others) had imagined.
How many people were in the Entrada?
When the entrada finally set out from the small mining outpost in the spring of 1598 it was probably composed of about five hundred people (including women and children), but due to unclear documentation estimates vary. In the unknown north they hoped to gain status and wealth.
What was the purpose of the contract with Velasco?
Finally, in September of 1595, Oñate formalized a contract with Viceroy Velasco that authorized him to take control of New Mexico in the name of the King and the Catholic Church. The contract designated him as Governor and adelantado (a title left over from the Iberian Reconquista of an earlier generation). As was typically the case in such arrangements, Oñate agreed to bear the venture’s economic costs. In this way, Spanish Kings had expanded the size of their empire with minimal investment and risk. Oñate willingly took on the burden in exchange for the promised titles, concessions, and honors that would come with the governorship. Additionally, he agreed to lead exploration missions to locate coasts and ports, as well as the fabled Strait of Anián, rumored to be a water passage that connected the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. Such missions were intended to complete the geographic picture of North America and to discover whether New Mexico was near enough the Pacific to be a trade station for Asian spices. Success would enhance the prestige of Oñate’s yet-to-be-colonized province.
What was the King's decree for the settlement of New Mexico?
The King’s 1583 decree for the settlement of New Mexico was a call for a wealthy individual to step up and finance the enterprise. Juan de Oñate was not the only nobleman to put in a bid for the position of colonizer, but he was one of the best connected. By the 1580s, his family had a strong reputation in the northern frontier of New Spain.
How many Franciscans were in the Entrada?
In order to comply with the 1573 Colonization Laws, ten Franciscans were assigned to the entrada as well. Their presence highlighted the close ties between the Spanish government and the Catholic Church, as well as the idea that missionary work promoted pacification of indigenous peoples and that it prevented the violent excesses that had been a hallmark of the Coronado expedition, among others.
Was O'ate a conquistador?
Despite the realities of the far northern frontier, many of these settlers viewed Oñate as an old-time conquistador, cut from the mold of Cortés. Indeed, Oñate believed himself heir to the fame and honor that came with conquest. Yet, his was a different historical moment in which the Crown looked to temper the excesses of military conquest. Oñate’s mission pitted the Spanish culture of nobility and conquest against the impulse to abandon violence and instead pacify indigenous peoples. As one of his biographers has asserted, Oñate may well have been “the last conquistador.” 3 Unfortunately for him, during his lifetime the actions of conquistadores were no longer warranted. Instead, pacific colonization was the ideal. The existence of these two, conflicting ideals helps us in part to understand (although not justify) Oñate’s violent actions as governor. Cultural conflict and the fluidity of ethnic identity on both the European and native side of the equation are other pieces of the puzzle.
Who is the first governor of New Mexico?
Equestrian statue of Juan de Oñate, First Governor of New Mexico. Statues of Oñate in New Mexico and Texas have been a source of controversy in recent years due to his highly contested historical legacy. Courtesy of Advanced Source Productions.
What was the purpose of the expedition to Quivira?
On June 23, 1601, Oñate began an expedition to Quivira in search of wealth and an outlet to the sea. He followed the Canadian River across the Texas Panhandle and near the Oklahoma border headed northeast.
What were the problems that plagued the new colony?
Construction of the mission at San Francisco and a mission for the Indians of San Juan soon began. Mutiny, desertion, and dissent plagued the new colony when riches were not instantly found. Oñate dealt with these problems with a firm hand.
Why did conditions deteriorate in the New Mexico colony?
While Oñate was on this expedition, conditions deteriorated in the New Mexico colony because the land was poor, the Indians were troublesome, and there were no silver strikes. The colony was subsequently abandoned except for some of Oñate's most devoted followers.
What did the deserters do to spread the news of conditions in the colony?
The deserters spread the news of conditions in the colony when they returned to New Spain, and the government soon initiated an inquiry into the situation in New Mexico and Oñate's treatment of the Indians.
Who was the king of Mexico in 1613?
King Philip III decided to continue supporting the colony. A new governor was appointed, and Oñate was summoned to Mexico City in 1608. In 1613 he finally faced charges of using excessive force during the Acoma rebellion, hanging two Indians, executing mutineers and deserters, and adultery.
Where did the mining inspector go?
He spent much of the rest of his life trying to clear his name, with some evident success. Eventually he went to Spain, where the king gave him the position of mining inspector. He died in Spain on or around June 3, 1626.
Who wrote the book "Our Catholic Heritage in Texas"?
Herbert Eugene Bolton, ed., Spanish Exploration in the Southwest, 1542–1706 (New York: Scribner, 1908; rpt., New York: Barnes and Noble, 1959). Carlos E. Castañeda, Our Catholic Heritage in Texas (7 vols., Austin: Von Boeckmann-Jones, 1936–58; rpt., New York: Arno, 1976). George P. Hammond and Agapito Rey, eds., Don Juan de Oñate: Colonizer of New Mexico, 1595–1628 (Santa Fe: Patalacio, 1927; rpt., Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 1953). Marc Simmons, The Last Conquistador: Juan de Oñate and the Settling of the Far Southwest (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1991).
How many people died in the Acoma?
An altercation ensued, and the Acoma killed 13 Spaniards, including Oñate's nephew. Oñate ordered that the village be destroyed. There were only about 200 Acoma survivors out of a population of nearly 2,000. Indian men of fighting age were sentenced to foot amputation, followed by 20 years of servitude.
What was the name of the town in the 1690s that the Spanish reclaimed?
However, by the late 1690s the Spanish government had reclaimed New Mexico and established permanent settlements there. Acoma Pueblo Indians Today. Built atop a 370-foot sandstone bluff, Acoma Pueblo is the historic core of the Acoma community.
How much did the El Paso equestrian project cost?
Controversy over the statue of Juan de Oñate and delays in completion warranted additional fund-raising. Altogether, The Equestrian cost more than $2 million, with about 40 percent of the funds coming from the public, in the form of $713,000 granted by the El Paso City Council from airport revenue funds. About $1.25 million in private money was donated, including $400,000 from the McKee Foundation of El Paso, a foundation endowed by construction tycoon Robert E. McKee and his wife, Evelyn McKee, to encourage the arts in El Paso.
What did King Philip II of Spain do to help the Spanish?
In his 20s, he worked to defend and expand Spanish settlements in northern Mexico by helping subdue or conquer Indian communities. In 1595, King Philip II of Spain chose Oñate to lead an expedition north into what is now New Mexico.
Why were children sent to Mexico?
Children were sent to Mexico to be raised by missionaries, but some scholars believe they were eventually sold on the slave market. Years later, Oñate was tried in Mexico City and convicted on a dozen charges, including using excessive force against the Acoma.
What is El Paso known for?
In the past, El Paso thrived as a trading center, an entry point for goods brought from Mexico into the western United States and vice versa. Manufacturing, once a staple of the El Paso economy, has largely shifted across the border to Juárez, where more than 327 assembly plants employ more than a quarter of a million people. Mining was a key industry for centuries, and the local state university, the University of Texas at El Paso, was originally founded as the College of Mines; but little of the mining industry remains. Fort Bliss, a U.S. Air Defense Center, generates $1 billion for the local economy annually. Tourism has always been a significant industry, with El Paso providing a stopping point for American travelers headed to Mexico.
What were the laws of 1542?
Years earlier, in 1542, a series of new laws, called Leyes Nuevas, were put into effect, preventing colonizers from promoting feudalism by way of enslaving American Indians. Oñate was obliged to these laws, though they were often broken rather than observed.
