Antonio Valverde y Cosío
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Antonio Valverde y Cosío (1670–February 1737) was the architect behind the disastrous
Villasur expedition The Villasur expedition of 1720 was a Spanish military expedition intended to check New France's growing influence on the North American Great Plains, led by Lieutenant-General Pedro de Villasur. Pawnee and Otoe Indians attacked the expedition ...
wherein the famous Spanish colonial scout José Naranjo perished. He was a prominent entrepreneur and Spanish soldier who served as acting governor of
Santa Fe de Nuevo México Santa Fe de Nuevo México ( en, Holy Faith of New Mexico; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a Kingdom of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The ...
in 1716 and as interim governor of this territory from 1718 to 1721. His politics were based, in large part, on stopping the French invasion of New Mexico.


Biography


Early life

Antonio Valverde y Cosío was born around 1670 in Villapresente, Cantabria, Spain.New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Antonio de Valverde Cosio
Posted by Richard Flint and Shirley Cushing Flint. Retrieved February 24, 2015.
He was attracted to
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
by various business interests that his family had in the region. He began working in Sombrerete (in modern Mexico) because minerals had been discovered there in 1646. Over time, he and his associates created an important business in the area. The success of their partnership grew over the next 24 years. In 1693, Diego de Vargas, governor of New Mexico, recruited settlers and soldiers from Sombrerete, and Valverde decided to join them. Eventually, he became Vargas' secretary. From June 1694 to July 1697, Valverde served as a soldier in New Mexico, fighting to impose Spanish authority in New Mexico and restore the region's Hispanic population. Over the next two years (1694–96), he and Vargas participated in the war against the Puebloan peoples, who had rebelled against Spanish sovereignty because of the maladministration of
Juan Francisco Treviño Juan Francisco Treviño was the Governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (New Mexico) from 1675 to 1679. As governor, he persecuted the Pueblo Native Americans, causing the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish settlers. Biography Treviño was appoin ...
. In December 1695, Valverde was promoted to captain of the local '' presidio''. He participated in many battles in 1696, including an assault on the mesa at Acoma. In early June, he began a military campaign against the Tewa people, who had promoted a Native American revolt along with the Tiwa, Keres, and Jemez people. That same year, Valverde suffered a serious illness, and Vargas gave him permission to travel to Mexico City for treatment. In July 1697,
Pedro Rodríguez Cubero Pedro Rodríguez Cubero (baptized July 29, 1656 – died 1704) was a Spanish admiral who served as the governor of New Mexico between 1697 and 1703. Biography Early years Pedro Rodríguez Cubero was born in Huéscar (Granada, Spain). He was ...
replaced Vargas as governor and presented complaints against Vargas and Valverde. Vargas was imprisoned for several years, but Valverde was unaffected because he was in Spain at the time. Valverde and Juan Bautista de Saldúa shared the captaincy of the presidio of El Paso, a position Valverde held for the remainder of his life. In 1699,Naylor, Thomas H.; Hadley, Diana; Mardith K. Schuetz-Miller (editors; 1997)
The Presidio And Militia On The Northern Frontier of New Spain, Volume 2; part 2. The Central Corridor and the Texas Corridor, 1570-1700
The University of Arizona Press. Page 242.
he was appointed ''
alcalde Alcalde (; ) is the traditional Spanish municipal magistrate, who had both judicial and administrative functions. An ''alcalde'' was, in the absence of a corregidor, the presiding officer of the Castilian '' cabildo'' (the municipal council) a ...
'' of El Paso. He had an estate, including a large farm, in San Antonio de Padua. In addition, he controlled much of the economy of El Paso, along with trade and business in many other parts of New Mexico. In 1705, he became a lieutenant general under Governor
Francisco Cuervo y Valdés Francisco Cuervo y Valdés (16 June 1651 – 1714) was a Spanish politician who governed Nuevo León (1687-1688), Nueva Extremadura (1698–1703), New Philippines (1698–1702), and Santa Fe de Nuevo México (1704–1707). Early years Cuervo y ...
. In 1708, he was named a councilman of Santa Fe. Two years later, in 1710, he got the rank of general. In 1712 and 1714, he fought against the
Suma Indians The Suma (also Zuma and Zumana) were an indigenous people who lived in northern part of the Mexican state of Chihuahua and western part of the U.S. state of Texas. They were nomadic hunter gatherers who practiced little or no agriculture. The Suma m ...
and Apaches, who had rebelled against the Spanish. In 1715 Valverde was interim governor of New Mexico.


Governorship

Valverde was appointed acting governor of New Mexico in 1716, replacing Félix Martínez. Later, he was replaced in the same year by Juan Paez Hurtado, but regained the position in 1718.Martínez Laínez, Fernando and Canales Torres, Carlos (Fourth edition: September 2009). Banderas lejanas: La exploración, conquista y defensa por parte de España del Territorio de los actuales Estados Unidos (In Spanish: Far flags. The exploration, conquest and defense by Spain of the Territory of the present United States). Edaf. Page 228-229. The viceroy
Baltasar de Zúñiga Baltasar de Zúñiga y Velasco (1561 – October 1622) was a Spanish royal favourite of Philip III, his son Philip IV and a key minister in two Spanish governments. In control of foreign policy from 1618 to 1622, he was responsible for Spain's ...
entrusted Valverde with the foundation of a mission in the Jicarilla land, in the modern
Cimarron, Kansas Cimarron is a city in and the county seat of Gray County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 1,981. History Cimarron was first settled in 1878. It took its name from a fork in the Chisholm Trail whic ...
, to evangelize this band, as well as a presidio in the Apache settlement of
El Cuartelejo El Cuartelejo, or El Quartelejo (from Spanish ''cuartelejo'', meaning ''old building'' or ''barracks''), is a region in eastern Colorado and western Kansas where Plains Apache cohabited with Puebloans. Subject to religious persecution, Puebloans ...
(located also in present-day western Kansas). However, Valverde temporarily dismissed this proposal and decided organize a military expedition to search for the Comanches, who were attacking Spanish and Pueblo settlements in New Mexico, to capture them. His force consisted of 60 Spanish soldiers, 45 Spanish settlers, and, as auxiliaries, 465 Pueblo and 165 Apache Amerindians. However, the troop did not succeed in capturing that people.Abbot, Carlos (2013)
Colorado: A History of the Centennial State
Fifth Edition. University Press of Colorado.
In September 1719 Valverde led a troop to Jicarilla and El Cuartelejo. The troop was make up of 100 Spanish soldiers and some 500 Amerindian
Pueblos The Puebloans or Pueblo peoples, are Native Americans in the Southwestern United States who share common agricultural, material, and religious practices. Currently 100 pueblos are actively inhabited, among which Taos Pueblo, Taos, San Ildefonso ...
. When Valverde and his troops arrived to the Arkansas River in Eastern Colorado, one of the Apaches of El Cuartelejo told him that the French had established five settlements in two villages on Pawnee lands west of the Missouri River, "as big as
Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos, Missouri, a city in Cole County, Missouri, United States * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colo ...
" in New Mexico. He also said that the French were arming the Native Americans to fight the Spanish. He did not encounter any Comanche or Utes during the expedition. On his return to Santa Fe, he sent a report to the viceroy explaining that the French were preparing to enter New Mexico and that they were bribing the native tribes with gifts, including firearms. On January 10, 1720, Viceroy Zúñiga ordered Valverde to establish a fortification in El Cuartelejo in order to prevent French expansion in the area. However, Valverde suggested to the viceroy that the Jicarilla land, just 40 miles from Santa Fe and with cultivated fields, would be a better choice. He noted that the Apaches of El Cuartelejo, allies of the Spanish, were much more distant from Santa Fe and had no supplies, so they could not adequately defend themselves from enemy attacks; Valverde argued that the Spanish should help defend them. Thus, in June 1720, Valverde directed the
Villasur expedition The Villasur expedition of 1720 was a Spanish military expedition intended to check New France's growing influence on the North American Great Plains, led by Lieutenant-General Pedro de Villasur. Pawnee and Otoe Indians attacked the expedition ...
to check the growing French influence in the Great Plains and capture French traders there. The expedition of 100 men, including many Pueblo Amerindians, traveled to the confluence of the Loup River and North Platte River in what is now Nebraska. In New Mexico, several hundred of Amerindians, particularly of the Pawnee and Otoe tribes, attacked with firearms, killing many of the explorers. Valverde finished his term in New Mexico in 1721, when the viceroy of
New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
appointed Juan Estrada de Austria as the new governor of the province.


Last years

Valverde was accused of facilitating the murder of explorers through the Villasur expedition. He was eventually prosecuted and fined 200
pesos The peso is the monetary unit of several countries in the Americas, and the Philippines. Originating in the Spanish Empire, the word translates to "weight". In most countries the peso uses the same sign, "$", as many currencies named "dollar" ...
, but the prosecution took place only after seven years of investigation. In the interim, Valverde had again become a rancher in El Paso. He lived there until his death in 1737. He was buried in the mission at Guadalupe del Paso.


Personal life

Valverde married Maria de Esparza, he had several children: Antonia and Juana.Valverde y Cosío. Genealogies
consulted in may 07, 2011, to 13:09 pm.
He was also the uncle of Juan Domingo Bustamante, who would become governor of Spanish New Mexico. He was one of the wealthiest men in New Mexico, with a
hacienda An ''hacienda'' ( or ; or ) is an estate (or ''finca''), similar to a Roman ''latifundium'', in Spain and the former Spanish Empire. With origins in Andalusia, ''haciendas'' were variously plantations (perhaps including animals or orchards), ...
that included large wheat fields, a flour mill, a vineyard, and a farm with sheep, cattle, horses, mules, hogs, and goats. He also had nine black and
mulatto (, ) is a racial classification to refer to people of mixed African and European ancestry. Its use is considered outdated and offensive in several languages, including English and Dutch, whereas in languages such as Spanish and Portuguese is ...
slaves and more than 30 farm laborers.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Valverde y Cosio, Antonio 1670 births 1728 deaths Military personnel from Cantabria Politicians from Cantabria People from the Saja and Nansa Valleys Colonial governors of Santa Fe de Nuevo México Colonial Mexico Neomexicano slave owners Tejano slave owners