Francisco de Ibarra (1539 –June 3, 1575) 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 ...

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

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 ...

, founder of the city of

Durango Durango, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Durango, is one of the 31 states which make up the Political divisions of Mexico, 32 Federal Entities of Mexico, situated in the northwest portion of the country. With a population of 1,832,650 ...

, and

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 the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya, in present-day

and Chihuahua.

Biography

Francisco de Ibarra was born about 1534 in Eibar,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa ( , ; ; ) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French department of Pyrénées-Atlantiqu ...

, in the Basque Country of

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 ...

. He went to

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 ...

as a young man, and upon the recommendation and financing of his uncle,

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

and wealthy mine owner Diego de Ibarra, Francisco was placed at the head of an expedition to explore northwest from

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

in 1554. The young Ibarra noted silver in the vicinity of present-day

Fresnillo Fresnillo () is a city in north central Mexico, founded in 1554 by Francisco de Ibarra. It is the second largest city in Zacatecas state and the seat of Fresnillo municipality. As a rail and highway junction, Fresnillo is the center of a rich ...

, but passed it by. He explored further and founded towns at San Martín and Avino, where the silver mines made him a mine owner in his own right. Ibarra's expedition to Zacatecas was later documented by Spanish historian Baltasar Obregón, who traveled with Ibarra in 1554. In 1562, Ibarra headed another expedition to push farther into northwest Mexico. In particular, he was searching for the fabled golden city of Copala. He did not find the mythical treasure, but explored and conquered what is now the Mexican state of

. Ibarra was appointed governor of the newly formed province of Nueva Vizcaya (New Biscay) in 1562, and the following year he founded the city of

to be its capital. In 1564, Ibarra, following rumors of rich mineral deposits, crossed the

Sierra Madre Occidental The Sierra Madre Occidental is a major mountain range system of the North American Cordillera, that runs northwest–southeast through northwestern and western Mexico, and along the Gulf of California. The Sierra Madre is part of the American C ...

to conquer what is now southern

Sinaloa Sinaloa (), officially the (), is one of the 31 states which, along with Mexico City, compose the Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided into 18 municipalities, and its capital city is Culiacán Rosales. It is located in northwest Mexic ...

. Prospectors discovered silver veins in the new territory, and in 1565, de Ibarra founded the towns of Copala and :es:Pánuco (Sinaloa). Soldiers under Ibarra's direction explored north from

in 1567, and founded the town of Santa Bárbara in present-day Chihuahua to mine the silver they found there. Francisco de Ibarra died on 3 June 1575 in Pánuco, Sinaloa, one of the silver-mining cities that he founded.José Ignacio Gallegos (1960) ''Durango Colonial, 1563–1821'', Mexico City: Editorial Jus, p. 78.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ibarra, Francisco de Spanish explorers of North America 16th-century Mexican people People from Eibar 16th-century Spanish people 1530s births 1575 deaths Explorers of Mexico City founders