Gaspar Pérez de Villagrá
Encyclopedia
Juan de Oñate
Don Juan de Oñate y Salazar was a Spanish explorer, colonial governor of the New Spain province of New Mexico, and founder of various settlements in the present day Southwest of the United States.-Biography:...
’s expedition that first colonized New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
in 1598. He was born in Puebla de los Angeles. Villagra went on to college a the University of Salamanca in Spain and then moved to New Spain. In that role, Villagrá served as the unofficial chronicler of the expedition. He composed the epic of New Mexico history, Historia de la Nueva México (1610), regarded as the first epic poem of European origin generated in the present United States, predating John Smith of Jamestown
John Smith of Jamestown
Captain John Smith Admiral of New England was an English soldier, explorer, and author. He was knighted for his services to Sigismund Bathory, Prince of Transylvania and friend Mózes Székely...
’s General History of Virginia
The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles
The Generall Historie of Virginia, New-England, and the Summer Isles is a book written by Captain John Smith, first published in 1624. The book is one of the earliest, if not the earliest, histories of the territory administered by the Virginia Company....
by at least fourteen years. In his epic, Villagrá describes Oñate’s conquest of New Mexico’s indigenous peoples, including the capture of Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo
Acoma Pueblo is a Native American pueblo approximately 60 miles west of Albuquerque, New Mexico in the United States. Three reservations make up Acoma Pueblo: Sky City , Acomita, and McCartys. The Acoma Pueblo tribe is a federally recognized tribal entity...
in 1599.
Villagrá's vision of the conquest as a glorious march of the cross, however, is starkly contrasted by Native American account. The Hopi narrative presents an unflattering picture of the Franciscan missionizing. (Wiget, 21)