Isidoro de Atondo y Antillon
Encyclopedia
The Spanish admiral Isidro de Atondo y Antillón (baptized December 3, 1639) is best known for his role in unsuccessful attempts to establish colonies on the Baja California peninsula in 1683–1865.
Atondo was born in Valtierra, in the Navarra region of Spain, to noble parents. Baptized in 1639, he began his military service in 1658, fighting in several European campaigns, both on land and at sea. After coming to the New World in 1669, Atondo was named governor and captain general of Sinaloa in northwestern New Spain in 1676. In 1678, he was charged with leading a well-financed effort to establish a Spanish presence on the Baja California peninsula, where intermittent attempts since the 1530s had uniformly ended in failure.
Accompanied by the Jesuit missionaries Eusebio Francisco Kino
and Matías Goñi, Atondo sailed to La Paz in April 1683. Efforts to establish a settlement among the Pericú
and Guaycura
of the La Paz area ended with the Spanish soldiers becoming embroiled in hostilities with the natives. La Paz was abandoned, and the Spanish moved north to try again at San Bruno
among the Cochimí
north of Loreto in December 1683.
Atondo's second attempt at colonization was more peaceful, longer lasting, and more fruitful in geographical exploration than the first. However, it, too, came to an unsuccessful conclusion when the settlement proved unable to sustain itself and had to be abandoned in May 1685. The consequences of the Atondo expeditions included a reluctance on the part of the Spanish government to be drawn again into the expensive and unproductive task of colonizing Baja California, but also an enthusiasm on the part of Kino and other Jesuits to develop this mission field.
Atondo subsequently served in Nueva Vizcaya
and Oaxaca
, and he was received into the Order of Santiago
in 1689.
Atondo was born in Valtierra, in the Navarra region of Spain, to noble parents. Baptized in 1639, he began his military service in 1658, fighting in several European campaigns, both on land and at sea. After coming to the New World in 1669, Atondo was named governor and captain general of Sinaloa in northwestern New Spain in 1676. In 1678, he was charged with leading a well-financed effort to establish a Spanish presence on the Baja California peninsula, where intermittent attempts since the 1530s had uniformly ended in failure.
Accompanied by the Jesuit missionaries Eusebio Francisco Kino
Eusebio Kino
Eusebio Francisco Kino S.J. was an Italian Roman Catholic priest who became famous in what is now northwestern Mexico and the southwestern United States in the region then known as the Pimaria Alta...
and Matías Goñi, Atondo sailed to La Paz in April 1683. Efforts to establish a settlement among the Pericú
Pericúes
The Pericú were the aboriginal inhabitants of the Cape Region, the southernmost portion of Baja California Sur, Mexico...
and Guaycura
Guaycura
The Guaycura were a native people of Baja California Sur, Mexico, occupying an area extending south from south of Loreto to Todos Santos. They contested the area around La Paz with the Pericú....
of the La Paz area ended with the Spanish soldiers becoming embroiled in hostilities with the natives. La Paz was abandoned, and the Spanish moved north to try again at San Bruno
Misión San Bruno
The short-lived Jesuit mission of San Bruno was established in 1683 on the Gulf of California of Baja California Sur, about 20 kilometers north of the later site of the town of Loreto....
among the Cochimí
Cochimi
The Cochimí are the aboriginal inhabitants of the central part of the Baja California peninsula, from El Rosario in the north to San Javier in the south....
north of Loreto in December 1683.
Atondo's second attempt at colonization was more peaceful, longer lasting, and more fruitful in geographical exploration than the first. However, it, too, came to an unsuccessful conclusion when the settlement proved unable to sustain itself and had to be abandoned in May 1685. The consequences of the Atondo expeditions included a reluctance on the part of the Spanish government to be drawn again into the expensive and unproductive task of colonizing Baja California, but also an enthusiasm on the part of Kino and other Jesuits to develop this mission field.
Atondo subsequently served in Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya
Nueva Vizcaya is a province of the Philippines located in the Cagayan Valley region in Luzon. Its capital is Bayombong. It is bordered by, clockwise from the north, Ifugao, Isabela, Quirino, Aurora, Nueva Ecija, Pangasinan, and Benguet.-History, people and culture:The name was derived from the...
and Oaxaca
Oaxaca
Oaxaca , , officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Oaxaca is one of the 31 states which, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided into 571 municipalities; of which 418 are governed by the system of customs and traditions...
, and he was received into the Order of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
in 1689.