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Caldera of New Spain: Frontier Justice and Mestizo Symbol
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 December 2015
Extract
In any study of extensive documentation of the past, one inevitably encounters personalities whose recorded actions stimulate speculation about the unknowable portions of their lives and their impact upon larger historical events. Such a one, to me, is the man called Miguel Caldera. For some years, and through many thousands of pages of Mexican frontier documentation, I have been increasingly intrigued by the story of this mestizo captain. He is omnipresent in the official papers of a critical phase of North American frontier history. His deeds—and their setting—have a dramatic, symbolistic quality which entitles him, I think, to recognition as one of the continent's most significant frontiersmen. Hence this present attempt—brief and incidental though it is—to “define” Miguel Caldera and his measure of significance.
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- Copyright © Academy of American Franciscan History 1961
References
1 Velázquez, Primo Feliciano affirms, unequivocally, that Caldera was born in 1548 (Historia, 1, 426),Google Scholar though no direct evidence is cited for this. I prefer to rely on an official enlistment contract of 1582 (see note 3, below) which gives Caldera’s age at that time as “ more or less ” twenty-eight. For other known and surmised details of Caldera’s early life, Velázquez is generally the best authority. See especially his Colección de documentos para la historia de San Luis Potosí (4 vols.; San Luis Potosí, 1897–1899), I, xxxi–xxxv, and the Caldera “Testamento,” I, 273–295; and his Historia de San Luis Potosí (4 vols.; México, 1946–1948), I, 425 et seq. Unless otherwise indicated, I rely on these two works for the known facts of Caldera’s life.
2 See especially my Soldiers, Indians and Silver: The Northward Advance of New Spain, 1550–1600 (Berkeley, 1952), Part Four, pp. 181–223. Also, my “Peacemaking on North America’s First Frontier,” The Americas, XVI, No. 3. (January, 1960), 221–250.
3 “El dicho capitán, Miguel Caldera, hijo de Pedro Caldera, de edad de veintiocho años, poco más o menos, alto de cuerpo, bien dispuesto, natural de las minas de Zacatecas.” Archivo Histórico de Hacienda, Mexico, legajo 1510, Tesorerías, fols. 156v-160v.
On March 14, 1582, the following twenty soldiers (from Mexico City unless otherwise indicated) were enlisted for service under Captain Caldera: Blas López, age 33, from Teixa; Bartolomé Hernández, 33; Juan de Mosquera, 25, Triana; Agustín de Espinosa, 30 (replaced by Luis de Meneses, 25, his brother, on March 16) ; Diego López de Villanueva, 30; Diego de Ecija, 25; Juan Franco, 30; Diego Ximénez, 30; Alonso Berdasco, 25; Antonio de Cavallos, 23, Madrigal, in Castile; Juan de Medina, 22, Colación de San Salvador, Sevilla; Lázaro de Calzada, 25; Alonso Hernández, 34, Cartaya, in Castile; Alonso López, 26; Bernardino de Espinosa, 24; Melchor Portillo, 20; Gaspar Alonso, 42; Martín Coronel, 20; Juan Vázquez de los Reyes, 33; Matías de Tapia, 29 (replaced by Alonso de Cervantes, 27, Triana, in Castile, on March 16).
On March 28, ten more were enlisted: Benito Guillén, 35, Sevilla; Alonso Gutiérrez, 30; Matías de Tapia, 28 (unable to go and replaced by Juan Hernández) ; Luis Ponce, 28; Pedro de la Peña, 30 (unable to go and replaced by Gaspar de Aldana); Diego de Carranza, 28, Colación de San Bartolomé, Sevilla; Juan Rodríguez, 25, Antwerp; Domingo de Gómez, 25; Baltasar Vázquez, 36; Nicacio Pérez, 23 (unable to go and replaced by Francisco Hernández). The Caldera company was fully formed by April 1, and consisted of thirty men. They and Caldera were to go as quickly as possible to Celaya, to present themselves before General Ponce de León, and send to the viceroy, within thirty days, certification that they had done this.
Some of the wording of the enlistment contract indicates Caldera’s prestige and the veteran status of him and his men: Caldera was named captain “por la mucha noticia y buena relación que hay así del dicho capitán como de los dichos … soldados, por ser, como son, personas que saben muy bien la tierra y guaridas de los dichos salteadores [the Chichimecas] … y porque ha muchos días que se han ocupado y ocupan el dicho capitán y soldados en el ejercicio de la dicha guerra … y ser, como son, personas diligentes y de quien se puede tener mucha confianza. …”
4 Zavala, Silvio, “Los esclavos indios en el norte de México, siglo XVI,” El norte de México y el sur de Estados Unidos … (México, 1944), pp. 83–118.Google Scholar Also, Powell, , Soldiers, pp. 109–111,Google Scholar 252–257, and passim.
5 Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 436,Google Scholar expresses the belief that Caldera must have been in the campaign to punish the Huaynamota uprising of 1583 (based on Torquemada, Monarquía indiana, and Tello, Crónica miscelánea) and, if so, he would surely have participated in the resultant enslavement of the captured rebels. It would be unlikely that Caldera would depart from a practice that was fairly standard on the frontier during the 1580’s, especially in view of his mestizo background and obvious desire to advance in a military career among Spaniards.
6 Velázquez waxed unduly emotional, I think, in ascribing all credit to the friars in pacification of the Guachichiles, while implying (when not actually saying) that the captains, on the other hand, were almost solely motivated by the desire to kill and enslave ( Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 405).Google Scholar The actions of Caldera and other captain-protectors of the Chichimecas in the 1590’s, particularly as revealed in the big frontier visita of 1601–1603 (see below, p. 329, and my article mentioned in note 2, above), certainly do not merit such a black-and-white interpretation. The many friars’ chronicles, which have too often dominated the thinking of some historians and sentimentalists, constantly juxtapose virtuous cleric and villainous captain in recording Spanish advance among Indian peoples. As more and more official documentation is exposed to view, this popular picture is being modified; it seems clear that Spanish captains and other officials were sometimes more sensible and clement in peaceful persuasion and protection of the primitive peoples than were some of the intransigently perfectionist churchmen. After all, it is but logical to assume (even without supporting evidence already available) that many lay officials sincerely carried out royal and viceregal instructions—which were invariably committed to Indian protection—if only for their own advancement in governmental favor. In this vein, some thoughtful observations are to be found in Constantino Bayle, El protector de indios (Sevilla,1945).
7 Powell, , Soldiers, pp. 187–190.Google Scholar
8 On the sternness of Caldera, see Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 428.Google Scholar The testimony of Bartolomé Moreno, in Ortiz Fuenmayor’s “ Información de servicios,” Archivo General de Indias, Patronato 83, Número 4, ramo 2, contains these comments: “… y supo este testigo que, envidioso del dicho capitán Gabriel Ortiz, el capitán Caldera, sabiendo que él llevaba ciertos papeles al virrey de la Nueva España, mandó a Juan Trigo, vecino de San Felipe, fuese trás el dicho capitán Gabriel Ortiz y le prendiese y quitase los papeles que él llevaba y lo aporrease y lo hiciera si no llegara Mateo Rodríguez, que después fué cuñado del dicho capitán y lo impidió, y esto responde.”
9 Velázquez, , Historia, 2, 21.Google Scholar The documents of this period reveal many cases of this kind of rivalry, often very bitter. One of the most famous was the conflict between the house of Alonso López, of Río Grande, and that of Juan Bautista de Lomas y Colmenares, of nearby Nieves; this feud was inherited by Francisco de Urdiñola when he became son-in-law of López, and it had important repercussions in the story of the contract for conquest and colonization of New Mexico ( Robles, Vito Alessio, Francisco de Urdiñola y el norte de la Nueva España [Mexico, 1931]).Google Scholar
10 “Toda su vida se crió en la guerra,” Torquemada, , Monarquía indiana, 1, 640.Google Scholar Powell, , Soldiers, pp. 139–140,Google Scholar and passim.
11 Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 426–427.Google Scholar
12 Caldera, “Testamento” (see note 1, above). González (a resident of Colotlán and, in the 1590’s, official protector of Indians there) and his wife may also account for Miguel Caldera’s consistent interest in the Indian affairs of that region; he held official posts there and frequently visited this frontier skirt of the Tepic Sierras. See also note 17, below.
13 “… siendo para esto el hombre más necesario que hay en estos reinos el capitán Miguel Caldera, que ha sido el principal y primer movedor de esta paz, al cual tenía proveído el Marqués de Villamanrique por alcalde mayor de un partido de aquella frontera, donde había de hacer los efectos que yo pretendía, le prorrogué en aquel oficio y escribí a la Audiencia lo mucho que la persona de éste importaba en esta ocasión, que los oidores de ella no lo pueden dudar. …” Velasco to the king, June 5, 1590, AGI, Audiencia de México, 58–3–11; transcript in Bancroft Library.
14 Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 434–435.Google Scholar
15 Ibid., I, 428–437. See also the Bachiller Hernández testimony below, p. 340.
16 This daughter, Isabel, married Juan de la Torre; two sons, Marcos and Melchor, resulted from the union. Caldera “ Testamento,” and Velázquez, , Historia, 2, 17.Google Scholar
17 Visita, Infante-Vergara, 1601–1603, “Cuaderno de diferentes papeles,” pp. 280–281,Google Scholar AGI, Contaduría, 851. In the article cited in note 2, above, I have included a description of this visita and an explanation of my method of citing materials in it. Hereafter, I shall cite this document as “ Visita,” followed by designation of the pertinent section (except for the “ Cuaderno ” just cited, the sections bear the names of the officials under investigation) and page reference to my microfilm copy.
18 “Visita,” Murga, 33, and passim. Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 510.Google Scholar
19 “Visita,” Cuaderno, 281–282, 284.
20 Ortiz de Fuenmayor’s use of the office seems to have been, in practice, confined to this district, and the Zacatecas papers in the Clements Library (University of Michigan) indicate similar limitation during the seventeenth century.
21 Since I have not yet been able to find the complete commission for Caldera, I rely mainly on the instructions to his successor, Ortiz de Fuenmayor, and on allusions to Caldera’s powers and duties scattered throughout the Infante-Vergara Visita ( Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 508–509).Google Scholar It is revealing of Caldera’s importance that, in commissioning General Vicente de Saldívar, in 1594, Viceroy Velasco stated: “… llevando consigo al capitán Miguel Caldera, como persona tan importante a la conservación de la paz …” and again, “… ayudando y favoreciendo al capitán Miguel Caldera … haciéndole la honra, trato, y amistad que por lo mucho y bien que ha servido a Su Majestad en esa tierra merece y es justo se le haga. …” “ Visita,” Cuaderno, 327, 330.
22 “Visita,” Cuaderno, 138–140; Hija, 50, 57–59, 62; and passim.
23 Velasco to the king, June 5 and October 8, 1590, AGI, Aud. Méx., 58–3–11 (transcripts in Bancroft Library). A viceregal summary of Chichimeca pacification was drawn up in late June or early July, 1590, based on letters from Caldera, Captain Juan de la Hija (newly appointed captain-protector at Las Charcas), and three of the frontier friars. This summary shows that Caldera and Padre Francisco Vallejo, before May 24, had made a complete tour of the Guachichil country, where they had been universally welcomed in peace and they had widely distributed maize and clothing. Vallejo also reported peace in the mountains from Tepic through Guaynamota and San Andrés. Captain Hija and Fray Cristóbal de Espinosa, writing from Las Charcas in June, reported more than 1,200 Chichimecas had been attracted to peace, including 26 chiefs; some had even come to Las Charcas without their usual arms. Caldera, also writing from Las Charcas (June 22), reported that new Chichimeca contingents were coming in daily, and this influx included chiefs from the Pánuco country who promised to bring all their people to peace. Caldera also wrote the viceroy that some 63 chiefs, all the way from the Tepic sierras and Colotlán to the Saltillo-Mazapil region, were now pacified, and these included not only Guachichiles but also Atanatoyas, Copuces, Guajabanes, Chanaláes, Tepeguanes, and Zacatecos. Caldera further reported that the total number pacified, apparently since about the time Velasco’s rule began, was in excess of 12,000 “ y cada día iban creciendo y esperaba que en breve tiempo se allanaría todo y se gozaría de la mayor quietud y tranquilidad que ha habido en las Indias.” “ Relación de los indios de guerra Chichimecas que se han reducido a la paz y se van poblando después que el virrey don Luis de Velasco entró en gobierno de la Nueva España,” AGI, Indiferente General, 856.
24 Powell, , Soldiers, pp. 194–195.Google Scholar “Visita,” Cuaderno, 181, 183.
25 Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 438–446.Google Scholar During December, for example, Caldera was active in the Mazapil area in distribution of goods to the Guachichiles. “Visita,” Morlete, 81; Duarte, 30–32.
26 Velázquez, , Historia, 1, 497–505.Google Scholar
27 Indicated in the testimony of Bachiller Alonso Hernández (see below, p. 340) and by the record of Caldera’s constant frontier travel as shown throughout the Infante-Vergara Visita.
28 “ Visita,” Cuaderno, 194. Velasco to the king, February 25, 1593, AGI, Aud. Méx., 58–3–11 (transcript in Ayer Collection, Newberry Library).
29 “Visita,” Duarte, 33; Diego Fernández de Velasco, passim.
30 “ Visita,” Hija, 192.
31 “En el fuerte de Colotlán [June 8, 1592], en presencia de mí, el presente escribano, y testigos, el capitán Miguel Caldera dió a un indio que dijo llamarse Don Juan Capaioja, gobernador del Río de Tepeque, por mandamiento del Ilustrísimo don Luis de Velasco, virrey de la Nueva España, cinco varas y media de paño de mezcla y dos piernas de Campeche y una frezada conga y un sombrero en cabrilla y unas medias de lana y unos zapatos de vaqueta y una caja de cuchillos, todo lo cual dió para que se vistiese el dicho Don Juan Capaioja …, de que doy fé; y el dicho capitán mandó se asentase para que se le pague de la real hacienda y no lo firmó por no saber. Firmólo por él un testigo. Testigos Hernando Ortiz y Juan de la Torre y Lorenzo Tostado, estantes en este fuerte. …” “ Visita,” Diego Fernández de Velasco, 240.
32 Viceroy Velasco to the king, February 25, 1593, loc. cit.
33 “ Visita,” Diego Fernández de Velasco, 49, 146, 155, 160, 204, 280–281, and passim; Cuaderno, 293–294.
34 “ Visita,” Diego Fernández de Velasco, especially 38–41.
35 A number of references in the “ Visita ” (accounts of Diego Fernández de Velasco) show disbursements for upkeep of these Indians, including expenses for lawyers and interpreters for their defense.
36 “ Visita,” Mesa, 37–39; Diego Fernández de Velasco, 38–39.
37 “ Visita,” Diego Fernández de Velasco, 266–269.
38 “Visita,” Juan de Monroy, 339–340.
39 “Visita,” Cuaderno, 336–337.
40 Viceroy Velasco to the king, February 25, 1593, loc. cit.
41 Same to same, October 8 and December 22, 1590, AGI, Aud. Méx., 58–3–11 (Ayer Collection Transcripts).
42 For example, see Chevalier, François, La formación de los grandes latifundios en México (tierra y sociedad en los siglos XVI y XVII) (Mexico, 1956), p. 212.Google Scholar The Caldera “Testamento,” loc. cit., also gives indication of the size of his properties.
43 A number of such payments to Caldera are recorded in the Infante-Vergara Visita. See also, testimony of Alonso Hernández, below.
44 “Visita,” Cuaderno, 59–69, contains this testimony and other actions concerning the Caldera account. The italics in the above quotation are mine.
45 Saldívar flatly refused to submit to an auditing of his accounts; he insisted that this kind of investigation should be applied only to those subordinate to him. “ Visita,” Vicente de Saldívar, 6.
46 “Visita,” Ortiz de Fuenmayor, 86, 138; Cuaderno, 341.
47 “Visita,” Juan de Monroy, 388–389.
48 Velázquez, , Historia, 2, 15–19.Google Scholar