The Jewish-converso Lineage of Don Juan de Oñate
New Light on the Jewish-converso Ancestry of Don Juan de Oñate: A Research Note
by José Antonio Esquibel
in
Colonial Latin American Historical Review
Volume 7 Spring 1998 No. 2
The Colonial Latin American Historical Review (CLAHR) has devoted its Spring 1998 issue to articles related to don Juan de Oñate. This issue is just recently available (November 1998), and the table of contents (and information about how to order a copy) is provided below for the interested reader. "New Light on the Jewish-converso Ancestry of Don Juan de Oñate" provides information on Oñate's maternal ancestry with roots extending to at least two, and possibly three, Jewish-converso families of fourteenth century Burgos. One of these families is the Ha-Levi, a Jewish family that came to Burgos from the kingdom of Aragón by the mid-1300s.
For those interested in the study of crypto-Jews in the Spanish colonies of the Americas, this article offers a verifiable lineage from a Jewish family that converted to Catholicism in 1390 A.D. and left numerous descendants, including descendants that settled in the Americas. Although there is no evidence to indicate that any of these descendants were aware of their Jewish ancestry and, consciously or unconsciously, practice Jewish customs and ceremonies, the article raises some intriguing questions for further research.
In the same issue of the CLAHR, there is an article of particular interest that is related to the "New Light" article. Donald Garate, chief of interpretation and historian Tumacacori National Historical Park (Arizona), has presented valuable documentation extracted from don Juan de Oñate's extensive and lengthy prueba de caballero records. The article is titled "Juan de Oñate's Prueba de Caballero, 1625: A Look at His Ancestral Heritage, " and is very worthwhile to read, particularly for those interested in the Oñate-Salazar lineages.
The Spring 1998 issue of CLAHR opens with an introductory essay by Joseph P. Sánchez (editor of CLAHR), and is rounded off by two excellent essays by two Spanish scholars (who presented at the 1998 conference of the Historical Society of New Mexico held in Santa Fe). The first is written by Alfredo Jiménez, professor in the Departamento de História de América at the Universidad de Sevilla and director of the Semenario de Antropología Americana. The second is written by María Luisa Pérez-González. A Ph.D. candidate and research at the Universidad de Sevilla.
Individual copies of Spring 1998 issue of CLAHR are available for $8.00 from: Editor, CLAHR, Spanish Colonial Research Center, NPS, Zimmerman Library, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM 87131. E-mail:
clahr@unm.edu Tel. (505)-277- 1370. Home page: http://www.unm.edu/~clahr .Table of Contents for CLAHR 7:2
"Introduction: Juan de Oñate and the Founding of New Mexico, 1598-1609," Joseph P. Sánchez
"Don Juan de Oñate and the Founding of New Mexico: Possible Gains and Losses from Centennial Celebrations," Alfredo Jiménez
"Juan de Oñate's Preubas de Caballero, 1625: A Look at His Ancestral Heritage," Donald T. Garate
"New Light on the Jewish-converso Ancestry of Don Juan de Oñate: A Research Note," José Antonio Esquibel
"Royal Roads in the Old and the New World: The Camino de Oñate and Its Importance in the Spanish Settlement of New Mexico," María Luisa Pérez González