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New Vizcaya Exploration
In the 1550s, Spanish explorer Francisco de Ibarra led expeditions into northern New Spain, reaching the Durango–Chihuahua region and laying the grou…
Timeline
- 1552–1553Mexico City · New SpainFrancisco de Ibarra received a northern conquest charter from the viceroy of New Spain and the Royal Audiencia, authorizing him to organize expeditions into the Chichimec region north of Zacatecas, with the aim of expanding silver prospects and establishing royal strongholds.
- 1554–1558Frontier north of Guadalajara · ZacatecasIbarra led armed forces of Spaniards and Indian allies northward several times, crossing what is now southern Durango, making contact and clashing with Chichimec peoples, establishing temporary camps and prospecting for ore veins, gradually consolidating practical control over the area covered by the name New Vizcaya by the mid-1550s.
- 1558–1560Guaynazo (predecessor of Durango) · DurangoFrom 1558 to 1560, Ibarra consolidated settlements and mine administration around Guaynazo (Guadiana); by the late 1550s the conditions for New Vizcaya as an independent administrative-military unit were maturing, paving the way for the founding of Durango in 1563 and the formal establishment of New Vizcaya province.
Sources
- The North Frontier of New Spain — Peter Gerhard (1993)
- Francisco de Ibarra and Nueva Vizcaya — Peter Gerhard (1958)