Equestrian statue of Don Francisco Cuervo Y Valdes at Old Town Albuquerque

Francisco Cuervo y Valdés (16 June 1651 – 1714) was a Spanish

politician A politician is a person who participates in Public policy, policy-making processes, usually holding an elective position in government. Politicians represent the people, make decisions, and influence the formulation of public policy. The roles ...

who governed

Nuevo León Nuevo León, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Nuevo León, is a Administrative divisions of Mexico, state in northeastern Mexico. The state borders the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Coahuila, Zacatecas, and San Luis Potosí, San Luis ...

(1687-1688), Nueva Extremadura (1698–1703), New Philippines (1698–1702), and Santa Fe de Nuevo México (1704–1707).

Early years

Cuervo y Valdés was born on June 16, 1651, in Santa María de Grado (in

Asturias Asturias (; ; ) officially the Principality of Asturias, is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensive with the provinces of Spain, province of Asturias and contains some of the territory t ...

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 ...

). His family was of noble background. Marc Simmons (2003)
Hispanic Albuquerque, 1706-1846
University of New Mexico Press, pages 53 - 55. Cuervo y Valdes was a Knight of Santiago and a

Treasury A treasury is either *A government department related to finance and taxation, a finance ministry; in a business context, corporate treasury. *A place or location where treasure, such as currency or precious items are kept. These can be ...

official in

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

.New Mexico Office of the State Historian: Cuervo y Valdes, Francisco
. Publisher in New Mexico State Record Center and Archives. Consulted between December 24, 2011 and July 28, 2012. In 1678, he emigrated to New Spain, in what is now Mexico.

Career

Upon arrival to New Spain, he served as an infantry captain and later he was appointed lieutenant governor of

Sonora Sonora (), officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Sonora (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, comprise the Administrative divisions of Mexico, Federal Entities of Mexico. The state is divided into Municipalities of Sonora, 72 ...

. In 1698, Cuervo y Valdés served as lieutenant governor of Nuevo Leon and

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 what is now modern Mexico). From 1698 to 1702, he served as the third

governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

of Spanish Texas. Under his administration, a series of missions were founded: San Antonio Galindo Moctezuma (founded by Cuervo y Valdés and Friar Francisco Portoles on October 26, 1698), Mission San Felipe Valladares (November, 1698), the mission of Valle de San Bartolome de Jesus later renamed "Santísimo Nombre de Jesus de los Peyotes" (founded by Sergeant Mayor Diego Ramón on December 18, 1698), the mission of San Juan Bautista and the Valle of Santo Domingo (1699), the Mission of San Francisco de Solano (by Antonio de Olivares in 1700), Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe and Santo Cristo (1701), and the mission of San Bernardo (1703). Piñera Ramirez, David (1994).
Visión histórica de la frontera norte de México
(in Spanish: Historical view of the northern border of Mexico), Volume 2. Universidad Autónoma de Baja California. Page 108. In 1704, Cuervo y Valdés was appointed acting

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 ...

by the

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

, Francisco Fernández de la Cueva Enríquez, Duke of Alburquerque. Thus, Cuervo y Valdés had to leave the government of Coahuila, taking office on March 10, 1705. Upon arrival in the province, Cuervo y Valdés found that social and political conditions were quite poor. This being a result of the continuing war between 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 the Navajos against the Spanish settlers and Pueblos, who were allied with the Spanish. Cuervo y Valdés led troops against the Apaches, but the number of soldiers was too small to effectively defend the territory. This led him to send a letter to the Viceroy of New Spain requesting reinforcements but the viceroy did not attend the request. Shortly after, he asked the Puebloans for assistance, who agreed to join his troops. With the soldiers in need of supplies, Cuervo y Valdés again requested assistance from the viceroy in securing weapons, ammunition, and clothing. However, only a small amount of weapons and ammunition was sent to New Mexico. On April 23, 1706, Cuervo y Valdés founded ''La Villa Real de San Francisco de Alburquerque''Treib, Marc (1993)
Sanctuaries of Spanish New Mexico
University of California Press. Page 250. (now Albuquerque), naming the town in honour of the Viceroy of New Spain, Francisco Fernández de la Cueva Enríquez, Duke of Alburquerque. Cuervo y Valdés ordered that a Spanish garrison be stationed in the town. At the time, Albuquerque was inhabited by thirty to thirty-five families who had settled along the banks of the Rio Grande. Cuervo y Valdés refounded several other towns in New Mexico, including Santa Maria de Galisteo (formerly known as Santa Cruz), which was populated by about eighteen families from Tanos. He left office in 1707. Cuervo y Valdés eventually returned to

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 ...

and died in 1714.

Personal life

Valdés married María Francisca and they had two children: Francisco Antonio Cuervo and Ana María Cuervo.

References

External links

New Mexico State Record Center and Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Valdes, Francisco Cuervo y Governors of Coahuila Governors of Spanish Texas Colonial governors of Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1651 births 1714 deaths People from Asturias 1690s in Mexico 1700s in Mexico 1690s in Texas 1700s in Texas