Gaspar Castaño de Sosa

Gaspar Castaño de Sosa was a Spanish colonist, reputed slaver, and explorer who attempted to establish a colony in New Mexico in 1591.

Life and background

Castaño de Sosa was born about 1550 in Portugal. He is believed by many authorities to have been a converso or "Crypto-Jew" – an ostensible Christian who continued to practice Judaism. Castaño appears in the history of northern Mexico about 1579 when along with Luis de Carabajal y Cueva he was one of the early settlers in what became the Mexican state of Nuevo León. Carbajal was governor of the province and Castaño became lieutenant governor. The two men and their group of more than sixty soldiers appear to have made their fortunes capturing and selling Indian slaves. They raided north along the Rio Grande, capturing hundreds of Indians they sold into slavery.

In 1589, Carabajal was arrested for heresy and "Judaizing". Castaño, fearing arrest, apparently hoped to recoup his fortunes by establishing a colony in New Mexico, which would also put additional distance between himself and the authorities in Mexico. Unable to obtain official permission for the expedition, he departed without permission from Almaden (now Monclova, Coahuila) on July 27, 1590. Thus, his journey had characteristics of both a flight from prosecution and an exploration. Accompanying Castaño were the 170 Spanish inhabitants of the town, presumably including most or all of the alleged slavers. The prospective settlers took with them a large number of livestock and carried their possessions in a slow-moving wagon train. Unlike most expeditions, no Catholic priests accompanied Castaño.

The expedition

Castaño traveled north from Almaden, crossing the Rio Grande near present-day Del Rio, Texas, and reached the Pecos River near what is now Sheffield, Texas. This was the first known Spanish expedition to find its way to the Pecos via this route. On the Pecos the Spanish encountered Jumano Indian settlements that had been recently abandoned, possibly because the Indians had already had bad experiences with slavers. The Jumanos they soon met were hostile, and Castano's men had several skirmishes with them.

The expedition then followed the Pecos about 400 miles (640 km) northward all the way to Pecos Pueblo which at that time probably had a population of 2,000 people. An advance party Castaño sent ahead to Pecos encountered trouble. As the soldiers told the story, the Indians greeted them in friendship, escorted them into the town, fed them, and then deceitfully attacked them, wounding three Spaniards and capturing much of their equipment and firearms. We don't know the Indian side of this story. In retaliation for this humiliation, Castaño led 40 men and two cannon to Pecos. The Indians continued to be intransigent, so Castaño shelled the town, killing several Indians and forcing most of the remaining inhabitants to flee. Castano then collected supplies from the Pueblo and proceeded westward toward the Rio Grande.

It was now January 1591 and, in bitter cold, Castaño and his men prospected the area unsuccessfully for deposits of precious minerals. They encountered several Pueblos in the Galisteo Basin (near present-day Santa Fe) and, according to Castaño, formally took possession of them by erecting crosses and reading the requerimiento to the inhabitants. Members of the expedition then visited various pueblos up and down the Rio Grande and explored the nearby mountains for silver. Mostly they were received hospitably. The pueblos had been visited by two expeditions during the preceding decade, Chamuscado and Rodriguez and Antonio de Espejo, so they were familiar with Spaniards. Castaño's expedition was much larger than the previous two, however, and probably more threatening. Castaño was the first to give the name "Rio Grande" to the river running through the heartland of the Pueblo Indians. Castaño also had to deal with a revolt among his followers. A group of men wished to return to Mexico and one threatened his life. The rigors of the journey and the cold winter apparently discouraged many of the aspiring colonists and fortune seekers.

Castaño is arrested

With remarkable speed, the Viceroy in Mexico City ordered Captain Juan Morlette to gather 40 soldiers and a priest and go in pursuit of Castaño to arrest him, by force if necessary. Morlette was also instructed to effect the release of any Indian slaves he encountered.

The details of Morlette's expedition to New Mexico are mostly unknown. Rather than taking the Pecos River route followed by Castaño, Morlette apparently followed the previous route of Chamuscado/Rodriguez and Espejo down the Conchos River to its junction with the Rio Grande at La Junta and then up the Rio Grande to the Pueblo Indian villages. In late March 1591, Morlete arrived at Santo Domingo Pueblo. He arrested Castaño, who submitted to the arrest without incident. Although Morlete shackled Castaño, he apparently treated him with respect and, after 40 days in which Morlete explored the Pueblo region for himself, he escorted Castaño and his followers back to Mexico.

Castaño's trial and sentencing

On March 5, 1593, Castaño de Sosa was convicted of invasion of lands inhabited by peaceful Indians, raising troops, and entry into the province of New Mexico. He was sentenced to six years of exile in the Philippines and performing such duties as might be required by the Governor there under penalty of death if he defaulted from his service. Castaño's sentence was appealed to the Council of the Indies and eventually reversed. But it was too late for him. He had been killed in the Molucca Islands when the Chinese slaves on his ship mutinied.