Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza (1623 – after 1692) was a Mexican born Spanish General, Field Marshal and 20th Colonial Spanish Governor of

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Biography

Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza was born in Mexico City, into an ancient and noble family, the son of Tomé Domínguez, the elder, and Elena de la Cruz, also know as, Elena Ramírez de Mendoza. The younger Tomé was baptized on February 19, 1623,Simmons, Marc; Esquibel, José (2012)
Juan Domínguez de Mendoza: Soldier and Frontiersman of the Spanish Southwest, 1627-1696
The University of New Mexico Press. 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 ...

.Tomé Domínguez III de Mendoza - Nancy's Home Page
Retrieved in June 19, 2014, to 00:30 pm. His father, the elder Tomé Domínguez, was a Spanish officer and former wine merchant who lived in Mexico City for a time before emigrating to New Mexico with his wife and at least 7 children.New Mexico Genealogical
Posted by Margaret Espinosa McDonald, Ph.D, November, 1998. New Mexico Genealogical Society. Prior to emigrating north to New Mexico, the elder Tomé requested proof of his wife's noble lineage. On August 8, 1625, when the younger Tomé was just two years old, his parents Tomé Domínguez, "merchant ndcitizen of the City of Mexico," and his mother, Elena de la Cruz, gave power of attorney to Francisco Franco authorizing him to go to Vera Cruz to obtain legal proof of the lineage of Elena de la Cruz. Between, August 30-September 10, a formal inquiry was made in the usual form. Six witnesses were examined who testified: (1) that Elena de la Cruz was the daughter of Benito París and Leonor Francisca (de Mendoza), deceased citizens of Vera Cruz; (2) that her paternal grandparents were Juan Gonzales and Isabel Gallega, former residents of Vera Cruz; (3) that her maternal grandparents were Francisco de Mendoza and Leonor de Grimaldos, citizens of Puerto de Santa María in Spain; and (4) that the said parents and grandparents were "old Christians," unstained by any mixture of blood with Moors, Jews, conversos, or persons who had been tried and punished by the Holy Office of the Inquisition."Biblioteca Nacional de Madrid, MS 19258 (photos 106-12);">Researcher: France V. Scholes, Ph.D. Following in the footsteps of his father, the younger Tomé, joined the Spanish Army.El Cerro de Tomé, Valencia County, New Mexico

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. U.S. Department of the Interior. By 1656, the younger Tomé held the position of alcalde mayor and

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the Rio Abajo region. Sometime after 1659, Tomé was promoted to the rank of sargento mayor of the Spanish army. By 1662 Tomé held several key positions in the New Mexico government, including, Lieutenant General, perpetual

regidor A regidor (plural: ''regidores'') is a member of a council of municipalities in Spain and Latin America. Portugal also used to have the same office of ''regedor''. Mexico In Mexico, an ayuntamiento (municipal council) is composed of a municipa ...

and treasurer of the Santa Cruzada. In 1663 he led a faction against the sitting colonial governor of New Mexico Juan Durán de Miranda accusing him of "grave charges," which led to a brief imprisonment for Durán de Miranda and the seizure of all his goods. Following the arrest of Durán de Miranda, Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza was appointed the new Colonial Governor of New Mexico in 1664. However, his government only lasted until Durán de Miranda was released from prison, after presenting satisfactory arguments rebutting the charges issued against him. The following year Durán de Miranda successfully recovered his government and deposed Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza as Colonial Governor. In 1676, Tomé was again appointed Lieutenant Governor of the province by

Juan Francisco Treviño Juan Francisco Treviño was the Governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (New Mexico) from 1675 to 1679. As governor, he persecuted the Pueblo people, Pueblo Native Americans, causing the Pueblo Revolt against the Spanish settlers. Biography Trevi ...

. In June of that same year, Tome formed an army against the Apaches who were attacking Socorro and Senecú. In 1677 and 1680, he joined the cabildo of Santa Fe, the capital of New Mexico. During his final decade, Tomé continued to participate in political and military functions throughout the province of New Mexico. In August 1680, Tomé and his family moved to El Paso del Norte (Ciudad Juarez, in modern Mexico), along with other residents of Rio Abajo, New Mexico. There, he held several positions, including, '' Maestre de campo'' "with full complement of arms." In 1681, Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza, at sixty-one years old, died from

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and a stomach disease.

Personal life

Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza married twice: his first marriage was to Catalina López Mederos, with whom he had 6 children: Tome III, Antonio, Juana and Francisco (all who died in the war against the indigenous of Pueblo), and, Juan and Diego (who were both injured with poisoned arrows in the same war). His second wife was Ana Velásquez, with whom he had two additional children: José and Juana Domínguez. About 1659, Governor Bernardo López de Mendizábal gave Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza an

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

to the south of Isleta. When the encomienda passed into his hands, so too did the Native American population who resided there. Tomé took advantage of this to Christianize them and make them work for him as a way of "partial compensation" for the debts he owed to the

Spanish Crown The monarchy of Spain or Spanish monarchy () is the constitutional form of government of Spain. It consists of a Hereditary monarchy, hereditary monarch who reigns as the head of state, being the highest office of the country. The Spanish ...

for several services that the crown provided. In Isleta, the Domínguez de Mendoza family settled to the west of El Cerro de Tomé, near Tomé Hill (next to

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( or ) in the United States or the Río Bravo (del Norte) in Mexico (), also known as Tó Ba'áadi in Navajo language, Navajo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the Southwestern United States a ...

). However, when the

Pueblo Revolt The Pueblo Revolt of 1680, also known as Popé, Popé's Rebellion or Po'pay's Rebellion, was an uprising of most of the Indigenous Pueblo people against the Spanish Empire, Spanish colonizers in the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, larger t ...

broke out in 1680, thirty-eight members of the Dominguez family were attacked and killed by the Pueblo Native Americans. For the most part, those who survived the

were forced to leave, emigrating south to El Paso del Norte (modern Ciudad Juarez, North of modern Mexico). So, in 1682, Don Pedro de Tomé y Chaves (brother of the first wife of Tomé, Catalina López Mederos) got permission to emigrate to modern-day Mexico with his family and the family of Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza.

Legacy

The village of Tomé was built in the place where he resided, after being named as Tomé Domínguez de Mendoza.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Dominguez De Mendoza, Tome Colonial governors of Santa Fe de Nuevo México 1623 births Politicians from Mexico City Year of death unknown