Pánuco (province) in the context of "Governorates of the Spanish Empire"

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⭐ Core Definition: Pánuco (province)

The Province of Pánuco was a province of the Spanish colony of New Spain. It was probably discovered by Amerigo Vespucci in 1498, and later by Juan de Grijalva. It was located on the Mexican gulf coast centered on Santiestebán de Pánuco, from the river of Tuxpan and extending into the current state of Tamaulipas. Originally inhabited by Huastecs, it was claimed both by conquistador Hernán Cortés who sent Francisco de Montejo to claim the area and by Francisco de Garay, governor of Jamaica, who sent Alonso Alvarez de Pineda. The province was the object of a power struggle between supporters of Cortés and his opponents, first divided into encomiendas and allotted to Cortés supporters.

A gobierno (governorate) of San Esteban de Pánuco was created in 1523. Its territory may have corresponded to the Huasteca, as far north as the Pánuco River. This gobierno was absorbed by New Spain in 1534.

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Pánuco (province) in the context of Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán

Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán (c. 1490 – 1558) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in New Spain. He was the governor of the province of Pánuco from 1525 to 1533 and of Nueva Galicia from 1529 to 1534, and president of the first Royal Audiencia of Mexico – the high court that governed New Spain – from 1528 to 1530. He founded several cities in Northwestern Mexico, including Guadalajara.

Originally a bodyguard of Charles I of Spain, he was sent to Mexico to counterbalance the influence of the leader of the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire, Hernán Cortés, since the King worried he was becoming too powerful. As Governor of Pánuco, Guzmán cracked down hard on the supporters of Cortés, stripping him and his supporters of property and rights. He conducted numerous expeditions of conquest into the northwestern areas of Mexico, enslaving thousands of Indians and shipping them to the Caribbean colonies. In the resulting power struggles where he also made himself an enemy of important churchmen, Guzmán came out the loser.

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LINKED FROM (PARENTS)
← Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán
LINKS TO (CHILDREN)
New Spain → Amerigo Vespucci → Juan de Grijalva → Pánuco (Veracruz) → Tuxpan → Tamaulipas → Huastec people → Hernán Cortés → Francisco de Montejo → Francisco de Garay → Alonso Alvarez de Pineda → Encomienda → Governorates of the Spanish Empire → Huasteca → Pánuco River →