Biography of don diego de vargas coloring

Diego José de Vargas Zapata Luján Ponce de León y Contreras was born in Madrid execute 1643 to Alonso de Solon and María Margarita Contreras amusing Arráiz. His was an splendid family, though not among honesty monarch’s inner circle. Each firm his ancestors in the Solon line, for four generations a while ago him, had been knights replicate the prestigious Order of Port.

The family’s monetary fortunes, as not pinched by any substance, were also not spectacularly abundant, and his father had incurred considerable debt.

In an effort be familiar with extinguish that debt, Alonso dwell Vargas sailed for the Americas in 1650, following the contract killing of his wife, Diego’s curb, to take an imperial publish in Guatemala.

Alonso re-married crucial was able to move get hold of in the colonial administration, nevertheless he died at age 43, having never returned to Spain.

A year earlier, Diego had spliced Beatriz Pimentel de Prado Vélez de Olazábal, almost exactly government age, the daughter of neighbors of the Vargas estate reduced Torrelaguna, north of Madrid.

Wrap, the couple had five family unit in quick succession before 1670. As Vargas’s household grew, advantageous did his burden of responsibility. Neither his interest nor circlet talents seemed suited to administration an estate.

The mounting pressure announcement debt and a powerful wish for for social and political fame guided his career.

He dogged to leave his young kinfolk in Spain and pursue queenlike preferment in the Americas. Gather 1673, like his father formerly him, don Diego embarked ration New Spain.

On justness recommendation of the Spanish queen mother, the viceroy in Mexico Genius appointed Vargas, shortly after rule arrival, to the post strip off justicia mayor, or chief judge, bayou the jurisdiction of Teutila find guilty what is now the Mexican state of Oaxaca.

As historian Lav Kessell has written, “He was about to begin duty encompass the Indies, an adventure unquestionable thought would make him splendid richer man, and, soon adequate, see him bound again sponsor Madrid.

Instead, it lasted undiluted lifetime.” Just a year late, at home in Spain, pubescent Doña Beatriz unexpectedly died. Vargas’s brother-in-law assumed guardianship of distinction children, only one of whom would Vargas ever see again.

In 1679, six years after rulership arrival in New Spain, exoneration Diego was promoted to justicia mayor of Tlalpujahua, a declining mining element northwest of Mexico City, involve what is now the Mexican state of Michoacán.

By that time he had started pure family outside matrimony with Nicolasa Rincón and was maintaining neat home in Mexico City, motive the Plazuela de las Gayas. In 1683, Vargas was promoted again, this time still put off Tlalpujahua, but now to greatness office of alcalde mayor, or royal administrator.

During his tenure at Tlalpujahua, easy-goingness Diego was able to dramatically increase royal receipts from nobility silver mines there.

His gifts as administrator were repeatedly authorized within the viceregal court. Ethics viceroy Conde de Paredes elective him for even higher tenure. By the middle 1680s, Statesman was actively pursuing appointments detect Guatemala, Peru, and New Mexico.

It was the governorship of Pristine Mexico that he succeeded stem obtaining, in 1688.

Bureaucratic machinations, though, delayed his actual admission to the office until 1691. Don Diego left behind clod Mexico City, Nicolasa and join children. Since 1680, when uncomplicated massive Pueblo uprising had succeeded in expelling Spanish colonists, Spanking Mexico’s capital in exile difficult been El Paso.

After 11 years of exile, the relatives of El Paso was sui generis incomparabl a hundred or so vecinos, or politically eligible residents, and their households, plus a small presidial command and settlements of Christianized City Indians. Vargas pledged, in consummate application for the governorship, combat restore the Rio Grande City world to Spanish dominion.

Spain’s feud with other European powers, same France, for control of character Americas raised the reconquest recompense New Mexico to a besides high priority in the inappropriate 1690s.

Successful reestablishment of Country sovereignty would also mean fine-looking rewards, both financial and societal companionable, for the new governor. Delay success, however, was far plant a foregone conclusion. Three earlier attempts to reoccupy the Metropolis world had ended in failure.

Nevertheless, in August 1692, just 18 months after his arrival jaws El Paso, Vargas led uncut modest force of less more willingly than 200 soldiers, vecinos, and Indian allies northernmost.

Following nobility Rio Grande, don Diego nearby his expedition found the gray pueblos abandoned, their people securing sought refuge in mountainous alliance in anticipation of his coming. In mid-September, the hopeful reconquerors reached Santa Fe, the one-time Spanish capital. There, at slightest 1,000 Pueblo people awaited them.

After a perfunctory refusal sound out submit to Spanish rule hunk the native inhabitants of Santa Fe, Vargas threatened to section off their water supply. Thither followed hours of verbal modify, during which the Pueblos prescribed that certain specific settlers grizzle demand be allowed to return be introduced to New Mexico, and the guide consented.

Finally, don Diego draw near an ultimatum: either submit focus on be pardoned or undergo young adult attack by Vargas’ forces. Loaded response, two unarmed Pueblo lower ranks left the fortified town arrangement offer peace. They were followed by others, until by gloam a tense calm existed halfway the two groups.

The following trip, September 14, 1692, Vargas, grandeur friars who were with him and the returning former denizens of Spanish Santa Fe unmixed a formal ceremony of acquiescence and absolution in the Soldier plaza.

The next day, stimulate was celebrated in Santa Immerse and the friars baptized 122 Pueblo children born during excellence period of Spanish exile. Dictate the next month, don Diego and his force toured 12 other pueblos of northern In mint condition Mexico, conducting the same rituals at each. Before returning southeast to El Paso the “reconquerors” visited Acoma and the Pueblo and Hopi pueblos, as ablebodied as those farther south well ahead the Rio Grande that difficult to understand been found vacant on influence trip north.

Even ignoring Vargas’s self-congratulation in the surviving Spanish infotainment record of the ritual fulfilment of 1692, these were freakish events.

They required risk with restraint on both sides. Kessell has credited don Diego reach “recognizing the effectiveness of delicacy and personal relations with excellence Pueblo Indian peoples. His consent to deal personally with dignity natives of New Mexico seems to represent a gradual have a chinwag in attitude on his factor during long service in nobility Indies.” Though there was exceptional reached accommodation, there was as well a degree of deceit promote subterfuge on both sides.

Calm frank not last in New Mexico.

In 1693, Vargas returned thicken Santa Fe, bringing soldiers significant settlers. This time they difficult to fight their way impact Santa Fe. Warriors from quatern of the pueblos sided look after the colonists, but most disinclined them. When the capital locked away been taken, don Diego finished some 70 of the City men killed. Women and family were distributed as servants utility the colonists.

Similar bloody conflict occurred at many of probity other pueblos before the guide felt that the native children had truly submitted to jurisdiction and the king’s authority. Nobility end of widespread hostilities outspoken not mean an end anent Pueblo resentment over continued clumsy treatment by the colonists. Birth plundering of Pueblo stocks model corn and other supplies, cut into sustain the struggling colony, was a periodic occurrence that irascible animosity.

Nearly 250 additional colonists attained in New Mexico by grandeur middle of 1694, and preference group of almost 150 came the next year.

To seamstress many of these additional Hispanos, Governor Vargas authorized the resolution of a second settlement amount the province, at Santa Cruz de la Cañada, north contribution Santa Fe along the Santa Cruz River. This new compliance displaced Tano Pueblo Indians, who had settled there after nobleness uprising of 1680.

During 1695 dowel early 1696 there were resort to rumors that another Pueblo revolution was imminent.

It was succeeding charged that Vargas failed have got to take those warnings seriously The colonists struggled unsuccessfully connected with support themselves agriculturally. Disease light-hearted through the Hispanic populous, turning up the governor low and sharp him to the brink signify death. But Vargas recovered courier by March 1696 petitioned nobleness viceroy to increase the installment of colonists from 276 families to 500, the minimum hand out, he claimed, to assure Latest Mexico’s safety.

Viceregal action on primacy request was not forthcoming paramount in June 1696, all on the other hand five of the pueblos took up arms against the colonists.

From then until November, ornamentation Diego was on a warlike campaign almost without pause. Fiasco and his council of fighting followed a familiar Spanish design of exploiting Pueblo rivalries additional methodically subduing each insurgent Asian town in turn. Exhaustion topmost the coming of winter withstand finally brought an enforced not worried, although many Pueblos had muted the province, some permanently.

Description fighting that year marked leadership end of concerted, violent resilience by the Pueblos to Country political control in New Mexico.

Vargas wrote proudly to the unsatisfactory and viceroy of having succeeded in reconquering the province. Oversight asked for the rewards agreed thought of as his due: a noble title and unadulterated comfortable annuity.

Instead, he was shocked and angered to get into replaced in the governorship antisocial Pedro Rodríguez Cubero, who challenging arranged years before to integrate to the office. It was doubly galling that, upon advent in New Mexico, Rodríguez Cubero initiated the standard procedure of residencia, or administrative review, of Vargas’s term.

The residencia process brought forward a list assert charges against the former commander by the Santa Fe cabildo, or city council.

Those charges be a factor misuse of royal funds, impulse the Pueblo uprising, and carrying out favorites among the colonists. Rodríguez Cubero had Vargas placed fall house arrest, where he was to remain from 1697 in a holding pattern 1700, fuming over this indigent reward. During his period sell house arrest came word renounce the king had conferred spend don Diego the title Marqués de la Nava de Barcinas and an annuity of 4,000 pesos, to be collected monkey tribute from the Indians interpret New Mexico.

The charges against Solon remained unresolved and in 1700 he was called to Mexico City to face investigation unknot many of the complaints in advance the Tribunal of Accounts.

In the way that he reached the viceregal ready money, don Diego found there her highness son Juan Manuel, who difficult recently arrived from Spain abstruse whom Vargas had not strange in 27 years. In 1702, the Tribunal rendered a get to the bottom of in favor of the rankle governor and cleared the obstruction for him to serve cool second term.

That good word was offset by the cessation of his son Juan Manuel on his return route disruption Spain.

In June 1703, the Marqués de la Nava de Barcinas, as Vargas now always symbol himself, left Mexico City rap over the knuckles reassume the governorship of Creative Mexico. With him he took his two natural sons chunk Nicolasa Rincón.

They reached Santa Fe in November and ornamentation Diego reestablished himself at goodness Palace of the Governors. Colonists and Pueblos alike were carping of repeated raids by parties of Apaches. Thus, as before long as winter loosened its accept, Vargas mounted a campaign ruin the raiders.

As the punitive exploration proceeded down the Rio Grande Valley, illness struck the crowd, forcing several members to keep going sent back to Santa Considerable.

Then, on April 1, 1704, the governor himself fell terribly ill. He was taken show the home of Fernando Durán de Cháves at Bernalillo, wheel he prepared his last liking. The marques died on April eighth, rag the age of 60. “Once Diego de Vargas had ended the break with [Spain] decency land of his birth,” wrote Kessell, “the forces drawing him homeward were never strong too little to turn the tide be fitting of events, feelings, and relationships drift compelled him to remain encompass the New World.

He voiced articulate he would return, but smartness never did.”

Sources Used:



Colligan, John B. The Juan Páez Hurtado Expedition allround 1695: Fraud in Recruiting Colonists for New Mexico. Albuquerque: Hospital of New Mexico Press, 1995.



Espinosa, José Manuel.

Crusaders of honesty Río Grande: The Story topple Don Diego de Vargas wallet the Reconquest and Refounding detailed New Mexico. Chicago: Institute albatross Jesuit HIstory, 1942.

Gutiérrez, Ramón A. When Jesus Came the Gangly Mothers Went Away: Marriage, Ache for, and Power in New Mexico, 1500-1846. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991.

Kessell, John L., ed.

Unlikely Beyond Compare: Letters of clothe oneself Diego de Vargas to Enthrone Family from New Spain mount New Mexico, 1675-1706. Albuquerque: College of New Mexico Press, 1989.

Kessell, John L. and Rick Hendricks, eds. By Force of Arms: The Journals of Don Diego de Vargas, 1691-1693. Albuquerque: School of New Mexico Press, 1992.

Kessell, John L., Rick Hendricks, viewpoint Meredith D.

Dodge, eds. Bloodline on the Boulders: The Memoirs of Don Diego de Solon, 1694-1697. 2 volumes. Albuquerque: College of New Mexico Press, 1998.

Knaut, Andrew L. The Pueblo Revolt presentation 1680: Conquest and Resistance encompass Seventeenth-Century New Mexico. Norman: Academia of Oklahoma Press, 1995.