![Ugarte](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/37/Ugarte.jpg)
Juan de Ugarte,
S.J., (1662–1730) was a
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
and explorer in
Baja California Sur
Baja California Sur (; 'South Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California Sur ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California Sur), is the least populated state and the 31st admitted state of the 32 federal ent ...
,
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 ...
, and the successor to
Juan María de Salvatierra
Juan María de Salvatierra, S.J., (November 15, 1648 – July 17, 1717) was a Catholic missionary to the Americas.
Life history
Salvatierra was born Gianmaria Salvatierra in Milan, then the capital of the Duchy of Milan, a part of the Holy Rom ...
as head of the peninsula's missions.
Ugarte was born in
Tegucigalpa
Tegucigalpa (, , ), formally Tegucigalpa, Municipality of the Central District ( es, Tegucigalpa, Municipio del Distrito Central or ''Tegucigalpa, M.D.C.''), and colloquially referred to as ''Tegus'' or ''Teguz'', is the capital and largest city ...
, then in the
Kingdom of Guatemala
The Captaincy General of Guatemala ( es, Capitanía General de Guatemala), also known as the Kingdom of Guatemala ( es, Reino de Guatemala), was an administrative division of the Spanish Empire, under the viceroyalty of New Spain in Central Am ...
, part 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 ...
, today Honduras. He went to Mexico to enter the
Society of Jesus
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, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
in 1679. His younger brother, Pedro de Ugarte, was also a Jesuit missionary in
Baja California
Baja California (; 'Lower California'), officially the Free and Sovereign State of Baja California ( es, Estado Libre y Soberano de Baja California), is a state in Mexico. It is the northernmost and westernmost of the 32 federal entities of Mex ...
. After his
ordination
Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...
, he was assigned to teach philosophy at the
Colegio Máximo de San Pedro y San Pablo in Mexico City. It was there that he came to know two fellow Jesuits coming from Europe who were headed to the missions on the frontier of the Spanish Empire, the Italian Salvatierra and the Italo-German
Eusebio 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 i ...
. Through conversing with them, Ugarte chose to commit his life to these missions as well.
Ugarte was initially the
procurator
Procurator (with procuracy or procuratorate referring to the office itself) may refer to:
* Procurator, one engaged in procuration, the action of taking care of, hence management, stewardship, agency
* ''Procurator'' (Ancient Rome), the title of ...
for the newly established missions of California in 1697–1700. As such, he was stationed in Mexico City, administering the
Pious Fund of the Californias
The Pious Fund of the Californias ( es, Fondo Piadoso de las Californias) is a fund, originating in 1697, to sponsor the Roman Catholic Jesuit Spanish missions in Baja California, and Franciscan Spanish missions in Alta California in the Vic ...
, a fund of private donations that supported the missions, and seeing to the logistical support necessary to sustain them.
In 1701, Ugarte went to the peninsula as its third missionary, following in the footsteps of Salvatierra and
Francisco María Piccolo
Francisco is the Spanish and Portuguese form of the masculine given name '' Franciscus''.
Nicknames
In Spanish, people with the name Francisco are sometimes nicknamed " Paco". San Francisco de Asís was known as ''Pater Comunitatis'' (father o ...
. Stopping first at
Mission Loreto, he proceeded to
Mission San Francisco Javier which had been abandoned the previous year due to threats from the native population, arriving there in 1702. It was there that he established his home for the rest of his life, 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 ...
Indians. Ugarte was an able and energetic leader in the expansion and development of the mission system. He served as ''visitador'' or
Visitator for the missions in Salvatierra's absence and after the latter's death in 1717.
Ugarte led several expeditions of overland exploration to seek out mission or ''visita'' sites in the region surrounding San Javier. More spectacularly, he oversaw the construction of a ship, "El Triunfo de la Cruz", from locally harvested lumber called ''gueribo'' found at La Sierra "La Giganta". In September 1720, Ugarte sailed his new ship from Loreto to
La Paz
La Paz (), officially known as Nuestra Señora de La Paz (Spanish pronunciation: ), is the seat of government of the Bolivia, Plurinational State of Bolivia. With an estimated 816,044 residents as of 2020, La Paz is the List of Bolivian cities ...
to help found a new mission there. In the following year, he sailed to the head of the
Gulf of California
The Gulf of California ( es, Golfo de California), also known as the Sea of Cortés (''Mar de Cortés'') or Sea of Cortez, or less commonly as the Vermilion Sea (''Mar Bermejo''), is a marginal sea of the Pacific Ocean that separates the Baja Ca ...
, trying to resolve the longstanding question of
whether California was an island or a peninsula.
He died at Mission San Francisco Javier in 1730.
[Baja California]
References
;Sources
* Crosby, Harry W. 1994. ''Antigua California: Mission and Colony on the Peninsular Frontier, 1697–1768''. University of New Mexico Press, Albuquerque.
* Dunne, Peter Masten. 1952. ''Black Robes in Lower California''. University of California Press, Berkeley.
* León-Portilla, Miguel. 1970. ''Testimonios sudcalifornianos: nueva entrada y establicimiento en el puerto de la Paz, 1720''. Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Mexico City.
* Ramos, Roberto. 1958. ''Tres documentos sobre el descubrimiento y exploración de Baja California por Francisco María Píccolo, Juan de Ugarte, y Guillermo Stratford''. Editorial Jus, Mexico City.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ugarte, Juan de
1662 births
People from Tegucigalpa
1730 deaths
17th-century Spanish Jesuits
Jesuit missionaries in Baja California
Priests of the Spanish missions in California