Cristóval María Larrañaga (1758–1851) was one of the first trained

physician A physician, medical practitioner (British English), medical doctor, or simply doctor is a health professional who practices medicine, which is concerned with promoting, maintaining or restoring health through the Medical education, study, Med ...

s in

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

. He served in the

Spanish military The Spanish Armed Forces are in charge of guaranteeing the sovereignty and independence of the Spain, Kingdom of Spain, defending its territorial integrity and the constitutional order, according to the functions entrusted to them by the Spanish ...

and engineered a successful

vaccination Vaccination is the administration of a vaccine to help the immune system develop immunity from a disease. Vaccines contain a microorganism or virus in a weakened, live or killed state, or proteins or toxins from the organism. In stimulating ...

program against

smallpox Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by Variola virus (often called Smallpox virus), which belongs to the genus '' Orthopoxvirus''. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (W ...

in 1804 and 1805.

Biography

Born in

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 ...

, Larrañaga immigrated through

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

to Northern

. He married María Gertrudiz Mestas and had seven sons and two daughters.Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period - Fray Angélico Chávez, page 29, page 204, In 1804, Larrañaga received a shipment of

cowpox Cowpox is an infectious disease caused by Cowpox virus (CPXV). It presents with large blisters in the skin, a fever and swollen glands, historically typically following contact with an infected cow, though in the last several decades more often ...

scabs from Mexico City and travelled north to

Chihuahua City The city of Chihuahua or Chihuahua City ( ; Lipan language, Lipan: ) is the state capital of the Mexican state of Chihuahua (state), Chihuahua. , the city of Chihuahua had a population of 925,762 inhabitants. while the metropolitan area had a popu ...

with children to pass the

smallpox vaccine The smallpox vaccine is used to prevent smallpox infection caused by the variola virus. It is the first vaccine to have been developed against a contagious disease. In 1796, British physician Edward Jenner demonstrated that an infection with th ...

from person to person. He continued his travels up north along the Camino Real to

Taos Taos or TAOS may refer to: Places * Taos County, New Mexico, United States ** Taos, New Mexico, a city, the county seat of Taos County, New Mexico *** Taos art colony, an art colony founded in Taos, New Mexico ** Taos Pueblo, a Native American ...

. His logs show he vaccinated 3,610 people. Larrañaga is credited with saving a generation. The children who traveled from Ciudad Chihuahua to Santa Fé with Larrañaga were children of soldiers, and were also labeled as heroes. New Mexico had been struggling against smallpox since the early 1780s; a 1781

outbreak In epidemiology, an outbreak is a sudden increase in occurrences of a disease when cases are in excess of normal expectancy for the location or season. It may affect a small and localized group or impact upon thousands of people across an entire ...

had killed 5,000 people, which is thought to have been more than a quarter of the population in New Mexico. In ''

Origins of New Mexico Families ''Origins of New Mexico Families: A Genealogy of the Spanish Colonial Period'' by Fray Angélico Chávez is an important work on the genealogy of Spanish New Mexican families. The first edition was published in 1954; a revised edition came out ...

'',

Fray Angélico Chávez Angelico Chavez, O.F.M. (April 10, 1910 – March 18, 1996), was a Hispanic American Friar Minor, priest, historian, author, poet and painter. "Angelico" was his pen name; he also dropped the accent marks from this name. Early life Born the fir ...

states extant orders given to Larrañaga to vaccinate the area until 1809. He also cites Larrañaga as a

notary A notary is a person authorised to perform acts in legal affairs, in particular witnessing signatures on documents. The form that the notarial profession takes varies with local legal systems. A notary, while a legal professional, is distin ...

for the state. In 1809, Larrañaga was vaccinating again after running out of

antigen In immunology, an antigen (Ag) is a molecule, moiety, foreign particulate matter, or an allergen, such as pollen, that can bind to a specific antibody or T-cell receptor. The presence of antigens in the body may trigger an immune response. ...

. In 1810, he is recorded as vaccinating 124 children up to age six. By the end of that year, he exhausted himself by providing serum to so many. In ''Saints & Seasons: A Guide to New Mexico's Most Popular Saints'', the authors state that " the annals of New Mexico medicine, Cristóval Larrañaga is both a pioneer and a hero." Historian

Marc Simmons Marc Simmons CYC (May 15, 1937 – September 14, 2023) was an American historian who specialized in the history of the U.S. state of New Mexico. As an independent scholar, he was credited by the University of New Mexico Press with publishing at ...

states that "Dr. Larrañaga deserves a biographer". He practiced in New Mexico from 1775 to 1811. Larrañaga was the only accredited and trained physician in the territory. The pioneer was responsible for caring for more than forty thousand people. In ''Tocante a monumentos de españoles'', author Jerry Padilla says that Larrañaga should be honored for his efforts of vaccinating so many. On page 106 of ''Land Claims in New Mexico, Congressional Edition, Volume 967'', Larrañaga signs as secretary of the Corporation (Capital) of Santa Fé. This was a

promotion Promotion may refer to: Marketing * Promotion (marketing), one of the four marketing mix elements, comprising any type of marketing communication used to inform or persuade target audiences of the relative merits of a product, service, brand or i ...

due to the notaries he facilitated. Larrañaga is mentioned as deserving a promotion due to his extensive knowledge of

medicine Medicine is the science and Praxis (process), practice of caring for patients, managing the Medical diagnosis, diagnosis, prognosis, Preventive medicine, prevention, therapy, treatment, Palliative care, palliation of their injury or disease, ...

. David H. Salazar provided the first

genealogical Genealogy () is the study of families, family history, and the tracing of their lineages. Genealogists use oral interviews, historical records, genetic analysis, and other records to obtain information about a family and to demonstrate kin ...

research on the Larrañaga family.Journal Winter 1989 - Volume 1 - Number 4, GSHA Nuestras Raices Journal Genealogical Society Of Hispanic America, LARRAÑAGA (A study of a New Mexico Family) by DAVID H. SALAZAR, The Descendants of Don Cristóval María Larrañaga, page 127-132 Descendants of Larrañaga served as doctors, in the military, and as notaries. Larry Larrañaga, a New Mexico State Representative, is a descendant of Cristóval María Larrañaga. Larrañaga's work with the smallpox vaccine in New Mexico was the basis for a

children's book Children's literature or juvenile literature includes stories, books, magazines, and poems that are created for children. In addition to conventional literary genres, modern children's literature is classified by the intended age of the reade ...

, ''Amadito and the Hero Children''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Larranaga, Cristoval Maria 1758 births 1851 deaths 18th-century American physicians Immigrants to New Spain Physicians from New Spain 19th-century American physicians 19th-century Mexican physicians