Miguel Caldera (1548–1597) was an important figure in the colonization of

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

's northern frontier immediately following the

Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, also known as the Conquest of Mexico or the Spanish-Aztec War (1519–21), was one of the primary events in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. There are multiple 16th-century narratives of the eve ...

Early life

Caldera was the illegitimate son of a Castilian soldier named Pedro Caldera and a

Guachichil The Guachichil, Cuauchichil, or Quauhchichitl, are an Indigenous people of Mexico. Pre-contact, they occupied the most extensive territory of all the indigenous Chichimeca Nations tribes in pre-Columbian Central Mexico. The Guachichiles roamed t ...

woman named Maria. He was born in 1548 in what later became the city of

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and was raised by

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friars in the city's monastery.

Military career

Caldera entered the

Chichimeca War The Chichimeca War (1550–90) was a military conflict between the Spanish Empire and the Chichimeca Confederation established in the territories today known as the Central Mexican Plateau, called by the Conquistadores La Gran Chichimeca. Th ...

in 1571 or 1572 at the age of 24 or 25 as a common soldier with the help of his brother-in-law Hernàn Gonzales. He obtained the rank of

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 ...

before 1580. He was impressed by cruelty and futility of the Spanish Crown's efforts to subdue the Chichimecas by brute force. He advocated the use of diplomacy and gift-giving instead. The success of his alternative policy led to his appointment as Chief Justice and District Mayor of the Valley of Tlaltenango and

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. In that role he was the principal implementor of the Spanish Crown's pacification program in the region of

, northern Jalisco and San Luis Potosí. Caldera was instrumental in the migration of 400

Tlaxcaltec The Tlaxcalans, or Tlaxcaltecs, are a Nahua people who live in the Mexican state of Tlaxcala. Pre-Columbian history The Tlaxcaltecs were originally a conglomeration of three distinct ethnic groups who spoke Nahuatl, Otomi, and Pinome that compr ...

families in 1591 to the newly pacified region to help

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the local indigenous populations and consolidate the peace. The consolidation of peace during his tenure facilitated settlement of the region and the eventual Spanish occupation of what would, two and a half centuries later, become the

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Career as Miner

In March 1592, Caldera sent a group of miners and soldiers from Mezquitic to the region of Cerro San Pedro to survey and register some newly discovered mines. Upon ascertaining the mines' potential the place was named Potosí after the famous mines in

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. As settlement of the mines began, the lack of water near the mines became problematic. The permanent settlement, which was initially populated by Tlaxcaltec families, was named San Luis Potosí. Miguel Caldera is considered one of the founders of this city.

Late life

Caldera acquired considerable wealth during his lifetime including claims on a number of newly discovered mines in the region that he administered. He was never married, but fathered an illegitimate daughter named Isabel. She married Juan de la Torre and was the mother of two sons: Marcos and Melchor. Research shows that Catarina Caldera, also called, Catarina Cid Caldera, as well as, Juana Caldera, are also, most likely, the illegitimate children of Miguel Caldera. Catarina, born around 1595, married Rodrigo Pinedo. Juana married Miguel de Olagüe Etulain. Miguel Caldera also had a sister (possibly half-sister) named Maria Cid Caldera, who was married to Hernán González, a close collaborator of Caldera in the administration of the town of

Colotlán The municipality of Colotlán is in the northern extremity of the Mexican state of Jalisco. The municipality covers an area of approximately 505 square kilometers. Colotlán is located at . It stands at above sea level. Colotlán is bordere ...

, one of the Tlaxcaltec frontier colonies he helped found. The son of this couple, Pedro Cid Caldera was the primary heir of Caldera upon his death in 1597.

Sources

*Philip Wayne Powell, Mexico's Miguel Caldera: The Taming of Ameríca's First Frontier (1548–1597). {{DEFAULTSORT:Caldera, Miguel Mexican soldiers Military history of Mexico Colonial Mexico 16th-century Spanish people 1548 births 1597 deaths Spanish conquests in the Americas