Real de San Juan Bautista de Sonora was the location of one of the first silver mines in Sonora, then part of New Spain.[1] Now ruined, it lies near to the town of Cumpas, founded in 1643 by the Jesuit missionary Egidio Monteffio.[2]

The name of Sonora seems to have first been given to the principal valley or to the San Juan Bautista mining district, and later was used for the whole province.[3] Rich mineral deposits were discovered at San Juan Bautista in 1657.[4] The Presidio de las Fronteras de Sonora was created in 1690, an armed force with no permanent base, but operating at first out of the San Juan Bautista mining camp. In 1693 Domingo Jironza Petriz de Cruzate, former governor of New Mexico, was made captain for life of the Presidio of Fronteras and alcalde mayor of Sonora, holding office until 1701.[5] In 1702 Don Juan Francisco de Bustamante y Velasco was appointed alcaldía mayor of San Juan Bautista.[6] As of 1724 San Juan Bautista was within the province of Nueva Vizcaya, and was administered by the Alcalde mayor de Sonora y minas de San Juan Bautista.[7]

In 1722, San Juan Bautista was the scene of meetings where the leading citizens and civil authorities of the provinces of Sinaloa and Sonora Ostimuri drew up proposals to radically overhaul the system of government, then dominated by the Jesuits missions. They proposed a secular organization with mission lands divided between Indians and settlers, and with Indians given the freedom to work where they wanted.[8] The meetings were convened by Rafael Pacheco Cevallos and captain Gregorio Álvarez Tuñón y Quirós. Two deputies were chosen to represent the communities, a miner and a merchant.[9]

A description of Sonora in 1767 said the mine had been abandoned, with its shafts flooded, due to the hostility of the Apaches.[3] Today the land is used for pasturage. Due to its historical significance, the site has been registered with the National Institute of Anthropology and History, and is protected by the 1972 Federal law for archaeological, historical and artistic zones and monuments.[10]

References

Citations

  1. ↑ Hansen 2008.
  2. ↑ Bienvenidos a Cumpas.
  3. 1 2 Nentvig 1768, p. 3.
  4. ↑ Borrero Silva 2007, p. 244.
  5. ↑ Hendricks 2012.
  6. ↑ Borrero Silva 2008, p. 58.
  7. ↑ Borrero Silva 2008, p. 52.
  8. ↑ Ortega Noriega 1999.
  9. ↑ Borrero Silva 2008, p. 61-62.
  10. ↑ Bernal Portillo 2008.

Sources

  • Bernal Portillo, Marco Antonio (17 October 2008). "SONORA CUATRO SIGLOS DE MINERIA". Sonora Mágica. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • "¡Bienvenidos a Cumpas, Sonora!". Sonora Turismo. Archived from the original on 2012-06-23. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • Borrero Silva, Dra. Mª del Valle (2007). "EL PROCESO COLONIZADOR EN SONORA. LA POBLACIÓN CIVIL Y PRESIDIAL EN UN AMBIENTE DE FRONTERA" (PDF). Orbis incognitus. Asociación Española e Americanistas. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • Borrero Silva, María del Valle (July–December 2008). "LA ADMINISTRACIÓN DE LA PROVINCIA DE SONORA: LOS ALCALDES MAYORES EN LA PRIMERA MITAD DEL SIGLO XVIII" (PDF). Temas Americanistas (21). Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • Hansen, Lawrence Douglas Taylor (May–August 2008). "La riqueza escondida en el desierto: la búsqueda de metales preciosos en el noroeste de Sonora durante los siglos XVIII y XIX". Región y Sociedad. México. 20 (42). Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • Hendricks, Rick (2012). "Domingo Jironza Pétriz de Cruzate, 1683-1686, 1689-1691". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-07-24.
  • Nentvig, Juan (1768). Rudo ensayo: a description of Sonora and Arizona in 1764. ISBN 0-8165-0696-5. Retrieved 2012-07-25.
  • Ortega Noriega, Sergio (1999). "La crisis del sistema misional". Breve historia de Sinaloa. Carretera Picacho-Ajusco. ISBN 968-16-5378-5. Retrieved 2012-07-25.

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.