Diego de Montemayor

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Diego de Montemayor (* around 1530 in Málaga , Spain , † April 1611 in Monterrey , Mexico ) was a Spanish conquistador who served as governor of the province of Nuevo León in the viceroyalty of New Spain. He is considered the founder of Monterrey.

Life

Montemayor came from a family in the Andalusian city of Málaga. His parents were Juan de Montemayor and Mayor Hernández.

He went to Mexico in 1548 and was appointed Alcalde (German: Mayor) of Saltillo in 1580 , which the conquistador Alberto del Canto had founded in 1577. In 1585 he served as one of three lieutenants in the trek of Luis de Carvajal y de la Cueva , who had set out to develop Nuevo León.

In 1588 he took over the office of Chancellor of the Exchequer of Coahuila . In the same year he followed Carvajal in the office of governor of Nuevo León, which he held until his death. In 1591 he returned to Saltillo, where he first acted as alcalde and in 1593 as royal scribe.

In 1596 he received permission to build a Spanish settlement on the banks of the Río Santa Lucía. Associated with this was the task of pacifying and proselytizing the native Indians. Two previous Spanish settlements had not been able to establish themselves permanently: the first was built by Alberto del Canto under the name Santa Lucía , the second, named San Luis Rey de Francia , by Luis de Carvajal.

Montemayor moved from Saltillo to the Río Santa Lucía with twelve families, nine childless spouses, three grown men, 14 young boys, four young women and an Indian named Domingo Manuel. The new settlement was named Ciudad Metropolitana de Nuestra Señora de Monterrey , in honor of Viceroy Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo , the Count of Monterrey .

Montemayor was married three times. From his marriage to his first wife, Inés Rodríguez, he had a daughter who was also called Inés. After the death of his wife, he married again, this time María de Esquivel, with whom he had the son Diego “el Mozo” de Montemayor ; this should succeed him as governor of Nuevo León. When he was widowed again, he married Juana Porcalla, who was far younger than him and was born in Mexico. With her he had the daughter Estefanía, who later married Alberto del Canto.

Montemayor's third wife, Juana, began an affair with her son-in-law, del Canto. When Diego de Montemayor found out about this, he killed his wife and swore to kill del Canto too. He fled to the undeveloped areas of the north until the viceroy, although removed from his offices, promised him impunity.

Diego de Montemayor died in Monterrey in 1611.

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personal data
SURNAME Montemayor, Diego de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish conquistador
DATE OF BIRTH around 1530
PLACE OF BIRTH Málaga , Spain
DATE OF DEATH April 1611
Place of death Monterrey , Mexico