José de Urrutia (c. 1678 to 1741) was a

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

Spanish explorer and settler of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

, who became captain of San Antonio de Béjar

Presidio A presidio (''jail, fortification'') was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire mainly between the 16th and 18th centuries in areas under their control or influence. The term is derived from the Latin word ''praesidium'' meaning ''pr ...

and lived for seven years with several Native American tribes, leading campaigns against their enemies, the Apaches, in East Texas. He "was made" General Captain of all the Native American peoples that were enemies to the Apache people.

Early life

Urrutia was born in

Guipuzcoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantique ...

, Basque Country,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

around 1678. He became a soldier along his brother Toribio.

Career

Urrutia and his brother participated in the Domingo Teran de los Rios expedition. They settled in

sometime before 1691. During this time, Urrutia and his brother were part of the garrison settled in the vicinity the

Neches River The Neches River () begins in Van Zandt County west of Rhine Lake and flows for through the piney woods of east Texas, defining the boundaries of 14 counties on its way to its mouth on Sabine Lake near the Rainbow Bridge. Two major reservoirs ...

. Many of the soldiers who were exploring with Domingo Teran de los Rios left

in the winter of 1693, due to the increasing hostility of Texas

Amerindians In the Americas, Indigenous peoples comprise the two continents' pre-Columbian inhabitants, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with them in the 15th century, as well as the ethnic groups that identify with the pre-Columbian population of ...

. Shortly after, José de Urrutia had an accident on the

San Marcos River The San Marcos River rises from the San Marcos Springs, the location of the Meadows Center for Water and the Environment (formerly Aquarena Springs), in San Marcos, Texas. The springs are home to several threatened or endangered species, inclu ...

, (scholars now believe it was actually on the

Colorado River The Colorado River () is one of the principal rivers (along with the Rio Grande) in the Southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The river, the List of longest rivers of the United States (by main stem), 5th longest in the United St ...

). His injury, forced him to stay with the Native American tribes settled near of the place. Three soldiers chose to stay with him. Urrutia lived with several Amerindian peoples for seven years, particularly with the Kanohatinos, Xarames and Tohos tribes and established important links with them. He managed to learn quickly both their language and their customs, which earned him the respect of the tribes for him. He became "captain General" ''of all nations hostile to the

Apaches The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

'', and led several wars against the Apache tribes. In 1696, he returned to

Mexico Mexico, officially the United Mexican States, is a country in North America. It is the northernmost country in Latin America, and borders the United States to the north, and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast; while having maritime boundar ...

. There, he held a prominent position in the Spanish military. In 1700, after the founding of

Mission San Juan Bautista Mission San Juan Bautista is a Spanish mission in San Juan Bautista, San Benito County, California. Founded on June 24, 1797, by Fermín de Lasuén of the Franciscan order, the mission was the fifteenth of the Spanish missions established in ...

, he resumed his explorations in

. After settling in

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, Urrutia was named captain of

San Antonio de Bexar San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the U ...

on July 23, 1733. Over the next forty years, he established relationships with other indigenous peoples in Texas, as well as several in

Coahuila Coahuila, formally Coahuila de Zaragoza, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Coahuila de Zaragoza, is one of the 31 states of Mexico. The largest city and State Capital is the city of Saltillo; the second largest is Torreón and the thi ...

and

Nuevo Leon Nuevo is the Spanish word for "new". It may refer to: * Nuevology, California, a town in California, United States * Nuevo (band), featuring singer and musician Peter Godwin * Nuevo (Bayamón), a settlement in Puerto Rico * "Nuevo", Spanish-langu ...

. However, his hatred for the Apaches remained, and in the winter of 1739, Urrutia declared another war against them in San Saba. Urrutia died on July 16, 1741.

Personal life

On 7 January 1697, Urrutia married Antonia Ramon, with whom he had a daughter, Antonia. The couple were married in the parish church of Santiago Apostol,

Monclova Monclova (), is a city and the seat of the surrounding municipality of the same name in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. According to the 2015 census, the city had 231,107 inhabitants. Its metropolitan area has 381,432 inhabitants and ...

, in the state of

. After the death of his first wife during childbirth, Urrutia had a second wife, Rosa Flores, with whom he had ten children (six sons and four daughters), including Toribio de Urrutia, who also become captain of the Presidio de Bexar.

References

External links

Map of the Border of Spanish Dominion
is a map designed by Urrutia and Nicolas de la Fora in 1816 {{DEFAULTSORT:Urrutia, Jose de Spanish explorers of North America People of Spanish Texas Explorers of Texas 1670s births 1741 deaths People from San Antonio People from Gipuzkoa Spanish soldiers Tejano people

Early life

Career

Personal life

See also

References

External links