Person

Juan de Oñate

c. 1550–1626 · 16th century

Juan de Oñate was a conquistador born in New Spain who led settlers, soldiers and Franciscans up the Camino Real in 1598 and founded the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México. He became its first governor, but his brutal punishment of Acoma Pueblo in 1599 and costly failures led to his recall. He was later convicted of mistreating colonists and natives.

Juan de Oñate
Image: A d v a n c e d S o u r c e P r o d u c t i o n s Advanced Source Productions · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 1 state history

Santa Fe de Nuevo Mexico

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Juan de Oñate. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/juan-de-onate
MLA
“Juan de Oñate.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/juan-de-onate. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Juan de Oñate.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/juan-de-onate.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Juan de Oñate’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/juan-de-onate (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻