Spanish Conquistadors blog

Caprio, Jason

17, November 2013

Spanish Conquistadors blog 

            During the 1600s and 1700s, colonization of New Mexico was occurring and Spaniards were searching the land for riches from tales they were told. As the Spaniards were passing by to conquer northern New Mexico, many passed and stopped by El Morro. They noticed that there were signs that people had been there so they did the same and left insignias and other markings showing their presence. One such conquistador was Juan De Onate.

            While Juan De Onate was returning from his exploration in the near the South Sea (Pacific Ocean), he happened to come upon El Morro. He saw the many markings that were left and decided to leave one of his own. He marked it saying “Governor Don Juan De Onate passed through here, from discovery of the Sea of the South on the 16^th of April, 1605.” This was not on his first visit to El Morro. He passed by El Morro on December 13, 1598 from Zuni on his voyage to the Rio Grande via Acoma.

            There were more Spanish travelers that passed through El Morro. There is Ramon Garcia Jurado. He moved to New Mexico in 1693 to become a colonist. He may have passed through El Morro because he was on a campaign against the Navajos during the time. Another Spanish traveler was Andres Romero. His visit to El Morro was during times of the war against Spain for Independence. There is not much further information about him other than that he passed by there in 1774.

            There were many more travelers that passed by El Morro during these times. After the U.S.-Mexican War, the treaty promised open land from Mexico to the United States. This allowed the Americans, the last of the people to inscribe on the wall, to come through El Morro.