Pedro Rodríguez Cubero (baptized July 29, 1656 – died 1704) was a Spanish

admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...

who served as the governor of

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 ...

between 1697 and 1703.

Biography

Early years

Pedro Rodríguez Cubero was born in

Huéscar Huéscar () is a municipality of the province of Granada, Spain. History When the Iberian Peninsula was conquered by Rome, Osca was a town of the Turdetani, and incorporated into the Roman province of Hispania Baetica. However, purportedly an ...

(

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

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 was baptized July 29, 1656 as the son of Antonio Rodríguez Cubero and María González Solá. On June 20, 1674, Cubero joined the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

at the infantry unit of the Armada de El Mar Oceano (Ocean Sea's Army), starting as a common soldier (i.e. a

musketman A musketeer ( ) was a type of soldier equipped with a musket. Musketeers were an important part of early modern warfare, particularly in Europe, as they normally comprised the majority of their infantry. The musketeer was a precursor to the riflem ...

). In a successful career, he was promoted to the rank of

. The same year he traveled to

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

(at that time possessed by the Spanish) to quell an insurgency at

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

. Curbero subsequently fought in three battles against the French

galleon Galleons were large, multi-decked sailing ships developed in Spain and Portugal. They were first used as armed cargo carriers by Europe, Europeans from the 16th to 18th centuries during the Age of Sail, and they were the principal vessels dr ...

s and founded the church of ''Nuestra Señora del Pilar'' of

Zaragoza Zaragoza (), traditionally known in English as Saragossa ( ), is the capital city of the province of Zaragoza and of the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Aragon, Spain. It lies by the Ebro river and its tributaries, the ...

. On June 17, 1689, Curbero obtained from King

Charles II of Spain Charles II (6 November 1661 – 1 November 1700) was King of Spain from 1665 to 1700. The last monarch from the House of Habsburg, which had ruled Spain since 1516, he died without an heir, leading to a European Great Power conflict over the succ ...

the office of governor and title of "Captain for Lifetime" of

San Salvador de la Punta Fortress Castillo San Salvador de la Punta is a fortress at the entrance to the bay in Havana, Cuba. History La Punta, like El Morro, was designed to protect access to Havana from frequent attack by corsairs. Initially, in 1559, lookouts were post ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...

.New Mexico Office of the State Historian : Pedro Rodríguez Cubero
Retrieved in Juny 21, 2014, to 15:18 pm.

Government of New Mexico

On June 6, 1692, Cubero was appointed as Captain General and Governor of

Santa Fe de Nuevo México Santa Fe de Nuevo México (; shortened as Nuevo México or Nuevo Méjico, and translated as New Mexico in English) was a province of the Spanish Empire and New Spain, and later a territory of independent Mexico. The first capital was San Juan d ...

by King

in place of

Diego de Vargas Diego de Vargas Zapata y Luján Ponce de León y Contreras (1643–1704), commonly known as Don Diego de Vargas, was a Spanish Governor of the New Spain territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (currently covering the modern US states of New Mex ...

. Initially Cubero rejected his appointment. He argued, based on information he was able to gather, that the climate of New Mexico was very cold and could harm his health. However his request was rejected. As such Cubero headed to New Mexico in 1697 to assume the governorship of that province, settling in Santa Fe and taking office on July 2, 1697. In the same year, Cubero participated in an expedition to Zuni lands. In 1699, Cubero visited several villages in the west. Two years later, in 1701, after the destruction of Aguatuvi by the Hopi Native Americans, Cubero fought against them, killing some and capturing others. Later, Cubero freed the captives. On the other hand, Cubero had news about corruption of Diego de Vargas, as well as of the imposed fines against him by Santa Fe council officials. However, initially, Cubero rejected the levied fines against his predecessor until the official formal charges convinced him that the former governor had embezzled money and impoverished the population through the poor economic management and maldistribution of food supplies among the population of colonial origin, causing famine between 1695 and 1696 (these offenses were punishable by a fine and the prison). These charges caused an hostility of the population against the government between 1694 and 1696. Vargas was subsequently convicted and forced to pay a fine of four thousand

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. All of his property was confiscated and he was imprisoned for almost three years. In 1703, Cubero granted lands to some people, per example Juana Baca.Ralph Emerson Twitchell (2008)
The Spanish Archives of New Mexico, Volumen 1
Page 139. In August 1703, Cubero heard the news that Vargas was in

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 headed to Santa Fe to take the charge of governor of New Mexico (Vargas had taken over the government of New Mexico for the second time at the end of 1703). Fearing that Vargas would exert revenge against him because of his imprisonment, penalty fee, and property seizure that Cubero had perpetrated against him, he decided to leave New Mexico and flee to Mexico City, on the excuse he was going to fight Amerindians. Although he was appointed Governor of

Maracaibo, Venezuela Maracaibo ( , ; ) is a city and municipality in northwestern Venezuela, on the western shore of the strait that connects Lake Maracaibo to the Gulf of Venezuela. It is the largest city in Venezuela and is the second-largest city proper in Venezu ...

, he died in Mexico city in 1704, before he could travel to travel to the South American city to assume the charge.

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cubero, Pedro Rodriguez Colonial governors of Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1656 births 1704 deaths Military personnel from New Spain Spanish admirals