The Spanish admiral Isidro de Atondo y Antillón (baptized 3 December 1639) is best known for his role in unsuccessful attempts to establish colonies on the Baja California peninsula in 1683–1685.
Atondo was born in Valtierra, in the
Navarra
Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...
region of Spain, to noble parents. Baptized in 1639, he began his military service in 1658, fighting in several European campaigns, both on land and at sea. After coming to the New World in 1669, Atondo was named governor and captain general of Sinaloa in northwestern New Spain in 1676. In 1678, he was charged with leading a well-financed effort to establish a Spanish presence on the Baja California peninsula, where intermittent attempts since the 1530s had uniformly ended in failure.
Accompanied by the
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
missionaries
Eusebio Francisco Kino
Eusebio Francisco Kino ( it, Eusebio Francesco Chini, es, Eusebio Francisco Kino; 10 August 1645 – 15 March 1711), often referred to as Father Kino, was a Tyrolean Jesuit, missionary, geographer, explorer, cartographer and astronomer born in ...
and Matías Goñi, Atondo sailed to La Paz in April 1683. Efforts to establish a settlement among the
Pericú and
Guaycura of the La Paz area ended with the Spanish soldiers becoming embroiled in hostilities with the natives. La Paz was abandoned, and the Spanish moved north to try again at
San Bruno
San Bruno (Spanish for " St. Bruno") is a city in San Mateo County, California, United States, incorporated in 1914. The population was 43,908 at the 2020 United States Census. The city is between South San Francisco and Millbrae, adjacent to Sa ...
among the
Cochimí
The Cochimí were the indigenous inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south. Information on Cochimí customs and beliefs has been preserved in the brief observati ...
north of Loreto in December 1683.
Atondo's second attempt at colonization was more peaceful, longer-lasting, and more fruitful in geographical exploration than the first. However, it, too, came to an unsuccessful conclusion when the settlement proved unable to sustain itself and had to be abandoned in May 1685. The consequences of the Atondo expeditions included a reluctance on the part of the Spanish government to be drawn again into the expensive and unproductive task of colonizing Baja California, but also an enthusiasm on the part of Kino and other Jesuits to develop this mission field.
Atondo subsequently served in
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya, officially the Province of Nueva Vizcaya ( ilo, Probinsia ti Nueva Vizcaya; gad, Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya; Pangasinan: ''Luyag/Probinsia na Nueva Vizcaya''; tl, Lalawigan ng Nueva Vizcaya ), is a landlocked province in the ...
and
Oaxaca
Oaxaca ( , also , , from nci, Huāxyacac ), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Oaxaca ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca), is one of the 32 states that compose the political divisions of Mexico, Federative Entities of Mexico. It is ...
, and he was received into the
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...
in 1689.
References
*
Mathes, W. Michael. 1971. "Datos biográficos sobre el almirante de las Californias, Isidro de Atondo y Antillón". ''Estudios de Historia Novohispana'' 4:105–111.
* Mathes, W. Michael. 1974. ''Californiana III: documentos para la historia de la transformación colonizadora de California, 1679–1686''. José Porrúa Turanzas, Madrid.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Atondo y Antillon, Isidro de
1639 births
1689 deaths
History of Baja California
17th-century Spanish people