What is Juan de Oñate best known for?
Juan de Oñate. Juan de Oñate y Salazar (Spanish pronunciation: [xwan de oˈɲate]; 1550–1626) was a conquistador from New Spain, explorer, and colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain.
Where did Juan de Oñate meet the Escanjaques?
After his dealings with the Pueblo peoples, Oñate traveled east and renewed Francisco Coronado’s search for the fictitious city of gold. He traveled along with the Canadian River and into modern-day Oklahoma where he ran into the Apache people. Juan de Oñate continued until he came upon a group of natives that were called the Escanjaques.
Why did Oñate decide to go back to New Mexico?
Outmanned and not wanting to cause any more conflict, Oñate decided to head back to New Mexico. Oñate had worried about the Rayados hurting or attacking his expedition party, but it was instead the Escanjaques who repelled his men on their return to New Mexico.
What did Francisco de Oñate do to the Pueblo?
Oñate granted land to colonists on the expedition, and empowered them to enslave and demand tribute from Native Americans. In October 1598, a skirmish erupted when a squad of Oñate's men stopped to trade for food supplies from the Acoma Pueblo. The Ácoma themselves needed their stored food to survive the coming winter.
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What was Oñate in search of?
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 did Oñate explore?
He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, encountering numerous indigenous tribes in their homelands there. Oñate founded settlements in the province, now in the Southwestern United States. Oñate is notorious for the 1599 Acoma Massacre.
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 explore?
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.
Where did Juan de Oñate explore in Oklahoma?
In 1601 Oñate himself led an exploration to find Quivira. In June his party followed the Canadian River eastward across the Texas Panhandle, entering present Oklahoma north of Cheyenne and passing through Woodward and Woods counties.
What did Francisco Coronado explore?
The expedition team of Francisco Vázquez de Coronado is credited with the discovery of the Grand Canyon and several other famous landmarks in the American Southwest while searching for the legendary Seven Golden Cities of Cíbola — which they never found.
What did Don Juan de Oñate believe Spanish rule would bring to Native Americans?
Onate believed that “Spanish rule of Native Americans would bring them peace, justice, salvation, orderliness, and protection.
What are 3 facts about Juan de Oñate?
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
Why did Juan de Oñate colonize NM?
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.
Who explored NM?
Francisco Vasquez de CoronadoFrancisco Vasquez de Coronado led the first Spanish army into New Mexico in 1540. The section of the Rio Grande Valley in which Albuquerque is situated was first visited by Europeans under Hernando Alvarado who was a lieutenant commander under Coronado.
Who was the first European to explore Texas?
In 1519, the explorer Alonso Álvarez de Piñeda became the first European to map the Texas Gulf Coast. However, it would be another nine years before any Spaniards explored the Texas interior. In 1528, another expedition, led by Pánfilo de Narváez, set sail from Spain to explore the North American interior.
What tribe did Juan de Onate live in?
Don Juan de Onate Facts: Escanjaques and Rayados. Juan de Oñate continued until he came upon a group of natives that were called the Escanjaques. The Escanjaques were a tribe of hunters that lived off the buffalo. Oñate noted that they were dressed in buffalo skins and they did not plant any crops.
Who detained Caratax?
Caratax was detained by Oñate but was treated very well for his services as a guide. Oñate came upon an abandoned village of the Rayados people and had to restrain the Escanjaques peoples from pillaging it. Afterward, he sent the Escanjaques and learned of possible military action by the Rayados people.
Who was the last Conquistador?
Russell Yost. Categories. Explorers and Pirates. Don Juan de Oñate (1550 – 3 June 1626), sometimes referred to as “The Last Conquistador”, was born in colonial Mexico, also known as New Spain. One of the interesting Don Juan de Oñate facts about his family was his father, Cristobal de Onate, who was a Spanish Conquistador and wealthy resident ...
How many houses did the Escanjaques have?
Oñate described the Escanjaques village as have close to 5,000 people living in 600 houses. When Oñate came upon the Rayados he was impressed with their society. They were well-organized, friendly, willing to trade, knew the landscape, and showed respect to their leader.
Early Life
Expedition to The Great Plains
- The newly acquired territory that Oñate set up to explore was the Great Plains and was inherited by the Pueblo Indians. When he arrived at the territory of the Pueblo peoples he entered into communications with them. These communications included trade that would help the Spanish with their expedition. However, the Pueblo people resisted the trade due to winter coming and th…
Don Juan de Onate Facts: Escanjaques and Rayados
- Juan de Oñate continued until he came upon a group of natives that were called the Escanjaques. The Escanjaques were a tribe of hunters that lived off the buffalo. Oñate noted that they were dressed in buffalo skins and they did not plant any crops. When they spoke to Oñate they referenced an enemy tribe called the Rayados and volunteered to guide ...
Later Years
- Oñate went on to found the colony of Sante Fe, but just before he could settle in he was recalled to Mexico in 1606 where he stood trial for his brutal act. He was found guilty but appealed and the charges were dropped. He eventually made it to Spain where the king appointed him head of all mining inspectors of Spain. Don Juan de Oñate’s expeditions set the stage for Spanish expansio…
Don Juan de Onate Facts: Online Resources
Overview
Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish conquistador from New Spain, explorer, and colonial governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México in the viceroyalty of New Spain. He led early Spanish expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, encountering numerous indigenous tribes in their homelands there. Oñate founded settlements in the province, now in the South…
Early years
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. Oñate's mother, Doña Catalina Salazar y de la Cadena, had among her ancestors Jewish-origin New Christians who "served in the royal court of Spanish monarchs from the late 1300s to the mid-1500s." She was of Spanish ancestry and descended from conversos, former Jews, on at least se…
Governorship and 1598 New Mexico expedition
In response to a bid by Juan Bautista de Lomas y Colmenares, and subsequently rejected by the King, on September 21, 1595 Philip II's Viceroy Luís de Velasco selected Oñate from two other candidates to organize the resources of the newly acquired territory.
The agreement with Viceroy Velasco tasked Oñate with two goals; the better-k…
Great Plains expedition
In 1601, Oñate undertook a large expedition east to the Great Plains region of central North America. The expedition party included 130 Spanish soldiers and 12 Franciscan priests—similar to the expedition of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire—and a retinue of 130 American Indian soldiers and servants. The expedition possessed 350 horses and mules. Oñate journeyed across the plains eastward from New Mexico in a renewed search for Quivira, the fabled "city of gold." A…
Colorado River expedition
Oñate's last major expedition went to the west, from New Mexico to the lower valley of the Colorado River. The party of about three dozen men set out from the Rio Grande valley in October 1604. They traveled by way of Zuñi, the Hopi pueblos, and the Bill Williams River to the Colorado River, and descended that river to its mouth in the Gulf of California in January 1605, before returning alon…
Later life
In 1606, Oñate was recalled to Mexico City for a hearing regarding his conduct. After finishing plans for the founding of the town of Santa Fe, he resigned his post and was tried and convicted of cruelty to both natives and colonists. He was banished from New Mexico for life and exiled from Mexico City for 5 years.
Eventually Oñate went to Spain, where the king appointed him head of all mining inspectors in Sp…
Legacy
Oñate is honored by some as an explorer but vilified by others for his cruelty to the Keres people of Acoma Pueblo.
Oñate High School in Las Cruces, New Mexico was named after Juan de Oñate. In 2021, the high school's name was changed to Organ Mountain High School. Juan de Oñate Elementary School in Gallup, New Mexico, was merged with ano…
See also
• Pueblo peoples
• Pueblo Revolt
• Spanish missions in New Mexico
• Colonial New Mexico
• Gaspar Castaño de Sosa