Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

military officer and merchant who served as governor of colonial

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

between March 1632 and 1635.

Biography

Ceballos joined the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

in his youth, eventually becoming the

Captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

of the Army.

Government in New Mexico

Ceballos was appointed 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 1632, while Alonso Varela was appointed as his

lieutenant A lieutenant ( , ; abbreviated Lt., Lt, LT, Lieut and similar) is a commissioned officer rank in the armed forces of many nations. The meaning of lieutenant differs in different militaries (see comparative military ranks), but it is often sub ...

.Simmons, Marc; Esquivel, José (2012)
Juan Domínguez de Mendoza: Soldier and Frontiersman of the Spanish Southwest. 1627-1693
University of New Mexico Press. In addition, Father Perea, a priest, worked for the

Inquisition The Inquisition was a group of institutions within the Catholic Church whose aim was to combat heresy, conducting trials of suspected heretics. Studies of the records have found that the overwhelming majority of sentences consisted of penances, ...

, where served as Commissary, and at the Definitory of the custody. However, later, Perea began to collaborate at the

catholic mission Missionary work of the Catholic Church has often been undertaken outside the geographically defined parishes and dioceses by religious orders who have people and material resources to spare, and some of which specialized in missions. Eventually, p ...

of the Moqui Village, where he and other friars taught Christian doctrine to the indigenous population of the place to turn them into such faith. So, Fray Francisco de Porras was appointed Custodio of New Mexico, taking the place of Perea.

Trade relations

On his way to New Mexico, Ceballos tried to trade with the natives of some missions, using the friars as his agents. When the Franciscans opposed the trade with the Native Americans, Ceballos threatened them. Ceballos arrived in Santa Fe on 3 March 1632, after leaving

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

. He began his administration sanctioning the Zuni Amerindians, who had killed two of the friars who worked at the missions of the province. However, he tried to keep his job as a merchant, while holding the position of governor, in order to enrich himself "by enlisting the assistance of the friars". Thus, Ceballos sold numerous products from

in the Amerindian villages.New Mexico Office of the Historian: Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos
Retrieved on June 18, 2014.Weber, David J. (Third edition, 1982)
The Taos Trappers: The Fur Trade in the Far Southwest, 1540-1846
The University of Oklahoma Press. Page 19. According to Elizabeth Ann Harper John, he expropriated the belongings of the Spaniards and Native Americans of New Mexico. In addition, he traded in Santa Barbara "nine wagons load of loot" and most of the New Mexican livestock. Three years later, the population of New Mexico suffered hunger and disease.John, Elizabeth Ann Harper (Second edition, 1996)
Storms Brewed in Other Men's Worlds: The Confrontation of Indians, Spanish, and French in the Southwest, 1540-1795
University of Oklahoma Press. Page 84. In 1633, Ceballos issued laws that banned the workshops in the

encomiendas The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...

and the slavery of Native Americans. Ironically, the Franciscans accused Ceballos of using indigenous (particularly orphaned) and military labor. Both groups were employed on their personal ranches. The governor even raised cattle on the corn lands of several Amerindian tribes, so they were forced to abandon their crops and take care of Ceballo's livestock. In any case, the ecclesiastics' denunciation of Ceballos was not due, simply, to the labor exploitation of the indigenous people, but was due to the idea that a non-ecclesiastic should not dispose of them nor of their lands, since many friars had their own farmland in Amerindian villages and the missions had their own cattle, despite being located in Amerindian villages. In addition, Ceballos established the obligation to pay taxes to the Government of New Mexico on "wheat, corn, cassava, fish, cotton, vegetables, or anything else". In addition, it was asked that government officials in the province call a meeting of the royal officials, prelates, the bishop, and some "disinterested" persons to discuss the issue and decide the amount of money that people had to pay through tributes. The trustees were supposed to obey the decision by law, and their salary would be limited to the amount that had been set. However, the authorities and the church disobeyed those laws, due, respectively, to the "selfishness" and "jealousy" that they had. Francisco de la Mora y Ceballos was replaced by

Francisco Martínez de Baeza Francisco Martínez de Baeza was the colonial governor of New Mexico from November 1634 to 18 April 1637. He was heavily criticized for rejecting the participation of Franciscan missions in the territory, for impeding the conversion of indigenous ...

in 1635, returning (probably) to modern Mexico sometime in this year.

References

{{Spanish governors of New Mexico Colonial governors of Santa Fe de Nuevo México