Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma
Encyclopedia
Dona Isabel de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma (1568- 1619/1620), was a wealthy Mexican
heiress and the wife of conqueror and explorer Don Juan de Onate
who led an expedition in 1598 and founded the first Spanish settlement in what is now the state of New Mexico
. She was the granddaughter of Spanish explorer and conquistador
Hernan Cortés
, and the great-granddaughter of Aztec
Emperor Moctezuma II
.
of mixed Basque
, Spanish and Aztec Indian ancestry, born in Mexico City
, New Spain
in 1568, a daughter of Spanish-born Basque Juan de Tolosa
and Leonor Cortés Moctezuma
. Her mother was the illegitimate daughter of Spanish explorer and conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortés by his mistress Tecuichpotzin (baptised Isabel), the eldest daughter of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II.
Isabel's father was a wealthy Basque mine owner who had discovered the silver
mines at Zacatecas
in 1546. She had a brother, Juan, and several sisters; one of whom was Leonor de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma who married Cristobal de Zaldivar, and others who were nuns in Seville
, Spain.
In 1588 in Panuco, Zacatecas, Isabel married Don Juan de Oñate, a Mexican of Spanish Basque
ancestry and a noted Indian fighter in New Spain
. This marriage to the wealthy Isabel, gave him much prestige. Together they had a son and daughter:
In 1595, Isabel's husband was ordered by King Philip II of Spain
to colonise the upper Rio Grande
valley.
Isabel remained behind in Zacatecas when her husband led the expedition in 1598 to what is now the state of New Mexico, and founded the first Spanish settlement in the region. Her son, Cristobal, aged about nine, accompanied his father. Her husband claimed all of New Mexico beyond the Rio Grande for Spain, and was the first colonial governor
in the New Spain province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México; however, in 1608 their son Cristobal actually became the first elected governor.
Isabel died on an unknown date in about 1619 or 1620 at Panuco, Zacatecas. Her husband died in 1626 in Spain.
Mexican people
Mexican people refers to all persons from Mexico, a multiethnic country in North America, and/or who identify with the Mexican cultural and/or national identity....
heiress and the wife of conqueror and explorer Don Juan de Onate
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:...
who led an expedition in 1598 and founded the first Spanish settlement in what is now the state of 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...
. She was the granddaughter of Spanish explorer and conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
Hernan Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, and the great-granddaughter of Aztec
Aztec
The Aztec people were certain ethnic groups of central Mexico, particularly those groups who spoke the Nahuatl language and who dominated large parts of Mesoamerica in the 14th, 15th and 16th centuries, a period referred to as the late post-classic period in Mesoamerican chronology.Aztec is the...
Emperor Moctezuma II
Moctezuma II
Moctezuma , also known by a number of variant spellings including Montezuma, Moteuczoma, Motecuhzoma and referred to in full by early Nahuatl texts as Motecuhzoma Xocoyotzin, was the ninth tlatoani or ruler of Tenochtitlan, reigning from 1502 to 1520...
.
Background and marriage
Dona Isabel was a castizaCastizo
Castizo is a Spanish word with a general meaning of "pure" or "genuine". The feminine form is castiza. From this meaning it evolved other meanings, such as "typical of an area" and it was also used for one of the colonial Spanish race categories, the castas, that evolved in the seventeenth...
of mixed Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
, Spanish and Aztec Indian ancestry, born in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...
, New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
in 1568, a daughter of Spanish-born Basque Juan de Tolosa
Juan de Tolosa
Juan de Tolosa was a Spanish Basque conquistador, possibly born in or near Tolosa, Spain. He discovered rich silver deposits near the present day city of Zacatecas, Mexico in 1546.-Founder of Zacatecas:...
and Leonor Cortés Moctezuma
Leonor Cortés Moctezuma
Leonor Cortés Moctezuma was the illegitimate child of Hernan Cortés, conquistador of Mexico, and Isabel Moctezuma the eldest daughter of the Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II.-Background:...
. Her mother was the illegitimate daughter of Spanish explorer and conqueror of Mexico, Hernan Cortés by his mistress Tecuichpotzin (baptised Isabel), the eldest daughter of Aztec Emperor Moctezuma II.
Isabel's father was a wealthy Basque mine owner who had discovered the silver
Silver
Silver is a metallic chemical element with the chemical symbol Ag and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it has the highest electrical conductivity of any element and the highest thermal conductivity of any metal...
mines at Zacatecas
Zacatecas
Zacatecas officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Zacatecas is one of the 31 states which, with the Federal District, comprise the 32 Federal Entities of Mexico. It is divided in 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas....
in 1546. She had a brother, Juan, and several sisters; one of whom was Leonor de Tolosa Cortés de Moctezuma who married Cristobal de Zaldivar, and others who were nuns in Seville
Seville
Seville is the artistic, historic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of the autonomous community of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level...
, Spain.
In 1588 in Panuco, Zacatecas, Isabel married Don Juan de Oñate, a Mexican of Spanish Basque
Basque people
The Basques as an ethnic group, primarily inhabit an area traditionally known as the Basque Country , a region that is located around the western end of the Pyrenees on the coast of the Bay of Biscay and straddles parts of north-central Spain and south-western France.The Basques are known in the...
ancestry and a noted Indian fighter in New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...
. This marriage to the wealthy Isabel, gave him much prestige. Together they had a son and daughter:
- Cristobal de Naharriondo Perez Oñate y Cortés Moctezuma (c.1589- 1610), married Maria Gutierrez del Castillo, by whom he had one son, Juan. From 1608 to 1610, he ruled as the first elected Governor in the New Spain province of Santa Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo MéxicoSanta Fe de Nuevo México was a province of New Spain and later Mexico that existed from the late 16th century up through the mid-19th century. It was centered on the upper valley of the Rio Grande , in an area that included most of the present-day U.S. state of New Mexico...
. - Maria de Oñate y Cortés Moctezuma (born 1590/1594), on 17 August 1616, married her cousin Sergeant Major Vicente de Zaldívar Oñate Mendoza, by whom she had issue.
In 1595, Isabel's husband was ordered by King Philip II of Spain
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
to colonise the upper Rio Grande
Rio Grande
The Rio Grande is a river that flows from southwestern Colorado in the United States to the Gulf of Mexico. Along the way it forms part of the Mexico – United States border. Its length varies as its course changes...
valley.
Isabel remained behind in Zacatecas when her husband led the expedition in 1598 to what is now the state of New Mexico, and founded the first Spanish settlement in the region. Her son, Cristobal, aged about nine, accompanied his father. Her husband claimed all of New Mexico beyond the Rio Grande for Spain, and was the first colonial governor
Governor
A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...
in the New Spain province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México; however, in 1608 their son Cristobal actually became the first elected governor.
Isabel died on an unknown date in about 1619 or 1620 at Panuco, Zacatecas. Her husband died in 1626 in Spain.