José Domingo Ramón (?-December 23, 1723) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. Militaries are typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with their members identifiable by a d ...

man and

explorer Exploration is the process of exploring, an activity which has some Expectation (epistemic), expectation of Discovery (observation), discovery. Organised exploration is largely a human activity, but exploratory activity is common to most organis ...

who founded several missions and a

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 ...

in East Texas to prevent French expansion in the area.

Biography

Domingo Ramón was born to Diego Ramón, a soldier who served as

commander Commander (commonly abbreviated as Cmdr.) is a common naval officer rank as well as a job title in many army, armies. Commander is also used as a rank or title in other formal organizations, including several police forces. In several countri ...

of the Presidio San Juan Bautista 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 ...

, in the modern

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 ...

. In 1715, Ramón was appointed commander of a Spanish expedition whose purpose was to go to

East Texas East Texas is a broadly defined cultural, geographic, and ecological region in the eastern part of the U.S. state of Texas that consists of approximately 38 counties. It is roughly divided into Northeast Texas, Northeast, Southeast Texas, Sout ...

. The objective of the expedition was the foundation of four religious missions, as well as a presidio to prevent French expansion from

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

. The expedition, led by the Quebecer official commander

Louis Juchereau de St. Denis Louis Antoine Juchereau de St. Denis (; September 17, 1676 – June 11, 1744) was a French-Canadian soldier and explorer best known for his exploration and development of the Louisiana (New France) and Spanish Texas regions. He commanded a smal ...

, began its journey in San Juan Bautista (present-day Guerrero, Coahuila) on April 12, 1716 and was made up by seventy-five members (among them twelve friars, including Isidro de Espinosa, and more than twenty civilians). Finally, Ramon's team arrived in the east of the territory in late June. Once there, the team went through a lot of places. The expedition toured Los Adaes, Nacogdoches (although the latter city had previously had a French settlement), and

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 ...

. In addition, the team passed through the vicinity of the

Sabine The Sabines (, , , ; ) were an Italic people who lived in the central Apennine Mountains (see Sabina) of the ancient Italian Peninsula, also inhabiting Latium north of the Anio before the founding of Rome. The Sabines divided int ...

, Brazos, Little,

, and San Gabriel rivers, and of

Onion An onion (''Allium cepa'' , from Latin ), also known as the bulb onion or common onion, is a vegetable that is the most widely cultivated species of the genus '' Allium''. The shallot is a botanical variety of the onion which was classifie ...

, Salado, Cibolo, and Rosillo creeks. In addition, the team also discovered the Comal Springs. The expedition team named almost all water places (rivers, creeks) with their modern names. Thus, Ramón named the San Antonio River after him because he discovered it on

Anthony of Padua Anthony of Padua, Order of Friars Minor, OFM, (; ; ) or Anthony of Lisbon (; ; ; born Fernando Martins de Bulhões; 15 August 1195 – 13 June 1231) was a Portuguese people, Portuguese Catholic priest and member of the Order of Friars Minor. ...

's Day (in Spanish: ''San Antonio de Padua''), while the Brazos, Little and San Gabriel rivers were originally named Brazos de Dios (Arms of God), San Andrés and San Javier respectively. Ramón included in his diary observations of certain indigenous tribes of the zone, such as the Nacono. It was in the middle of his expedition that New Philippines was first recorded as name for the territory he was exploring and settling, on a letter to the Marquess of Valero, written by Antonio Margil on July 20, 1716. The expedition successfully established the missions entrusted to it. Thus, the following were founded: Nuestro Padre San Francisco de los Tejas Mission (established near Weches, Texas on July 5. 1716), Nuestra Señora de la Purísima Concepción de Acuña (established by the group of Franciscans of the expedition in San Antonio), Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (in Nacogdoches), and San José de los Nazonis (near Cushing, in Nacogdoches). In early 1717, Denis and Ramon returned to East Texas, where they established the missions Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de los Ais (in San Augustine) and San Miguel de Linares de los Adaes. In 1719, coinciding with the outbreak of the Chicken War (the

War of the Quadruple Alliance The War of the Quadruple Alliance, 1718 to 1720, was a conflict between Spain and a coalition of Austria, Great Britain, France, and Savoy, joined in 1719 by the Dutch Republic. Most of the fighting took place in Sicily and Spain, with minor engag ...

faction that was developed in Texas), Ramon left East Texas to move to San Antonio along with the rest of the Spaniards who had been living there. After two years residing in that city, Ramon left for

Matagorda Bay Matagorda Bay () is a large Gulf of Mexico bay on the Texas coast, lying in Calhoun and Matagorda counties and located approximately northeast of Corpus Christi, east-southeast of San Antonio, south-southwest of Houston, and south-southea ...

with a group of forty men and he settled on the shores of the bay. In December 1723 Ramon was attacked by a

Karankawa The Karankawa were an Indigenous people concentrated in southern Texas along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico, largely in the lower Colorado River and Brazos River valleys."Karankawa." In ''Cassell's Peoples, Nations and Cultures,'' edited by Joh ...

man, whose tribe had rebelled against the Spaniards at La Bahia. The Karankawa attack caused his death.

Personal life

Ramón married Luisa Maldonado de Orandai. It is known they were parents of three sons, which were named as Diego, Juan Domingo, and Miguel. It is not known if they had more children.

References

{{Reflist Spanish explorers of North America Explorers of Texas 1723 deaths