# Juan de Medrano y Mesía

Juan Rodríguez de Medrano y Mesía was a nobleman from the House of Medrano and the 23rd governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México between 1668 and 1671 during the reign of King Charles II of Spain. During his term he had to send troops against the Apaches, who carried out various attacks against the Christian communities of New Mexico. This event was a fundamental fact of his administration in the province.

## Career

Governor Juan de Medrano y Mesia assumed office after his appointment by Viceroy Antonio Sebastián de Toledo. Unfortunately, historical records provide limited information about his actions and administration. He was a relative and contemporary of Juan Bravo de Medrano, 1st Count of Santa Rosa, and Diego Fernández de Medrano, governor of the province of Carrión in Mexico. During his tenure, persistent raids and hostilities by the Apaches instilled fear among the colonists and led to the abandonment of Chililí and the surrounding pueblos of Salinas. Governor Medrano also faced significant internal conflicts, including rivalries and disputes among both secular and ecclesiastical groups.
Serious accusations were leveled against him, prompting a dramatic response. Reports state that he fled his home in the midst of heavy snow, clutching a Cristo, carrying a lance and cloak, and shouting his intention to seek justice from God and the King in Mexico for what he called "a people abandoned by God."
Capitán Juan Rodríguez de Medrano y Mesía, governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México during the 1660s (1668–1671), focused on granting lands for estancias and ranchos while attempting to maintain peaceful relations with the Indigenous populations.
A facsimile during his time as governor still exists, preserved in the New Mexico Archives.

### Arrival in Mexico

After being appointed governor of the province of Santa Fe de Nuevo México by Viceroy Antonio Sebastián de Toledo, succeeding Fernando de Villanueva, he took office in November 1668.

### Enforcing the Encomienda system

Governor Juan de Medrano played a critical role in administering and enforcing the encomienda system in New Mexico, particularly during a volatile period in the late 1660s and early 1670s. On May 1, 1669, Medrano reassigned a one-third share of the Jumanos encomienda to Juan Domínguez de Mendoza after its previous holder, Juan González Bernal, forfeited his rights for failing to appear for a mandatory military muster in 1668.

### Bernardo Gruber's escape

Bernardo Gruber, a German trader operating in Sonora, Mexico, was arrested in 1668 by agents of the Spanish Inquisition on charges of practicing witchcraft. He was accused of distributing slips of paper that he claimed would render individuals invulnerable for twenty-four hours if chewed. Imprisoned near Sandia Pueblo, Gruber escaped in 1670 with the assistance of an Apache associate. Governor Juan de Medrano y Mesía played a decisive role in the aftermath of Bernardo Gruber's escape, ensuring a coordinated response to the incident. When notified of the escape on June 28, 1670, Medrano swiftly dispatched Cristóbal de Anaya Almazán with a squad of soldiers and forty Indigenous trackers to pursue Gruber and his Apache accomplice. Additionally, Medrano supported Friar Juan Bernal by facilitating the circulation of bulletins to Inquisition agents in Parral and Sonora, spreading awareness of the fugitive's flight.

### Apache raids

During his government, important conflicts arose between the Apaches of various tribes (Gilas, Salineros, and the natives of “Casa Fuerte”) and the Christian communities (both of Spanish and indigenous origin). Thus, the Apaches, in alliance with the Navajos, attacked these communities, leading to the murder of a large number of people (including six Spanish soldiers and some three hundred and seventy-three Christianized Natives, according to estimates made by Medrano himself) and the theft of a large number of horses, mules and sheep (which Medrano estimates at more than 2,000 in the case of equines). In 1670 (and coinciding with the harvest season), the Apaches attacked Las Humanas región. They killed eleven people who lived there, stole church property and kidnapped thirty-one people. The Apache attacks contributed to the destruction of the populations of at least six towns in Piro and Salinas. These towns were affected by a combination of the attacks, famine, drought and disease.
The famine caused by Apache attacks in one of the missions caused the indigenous residents to steal food from the convents. To stop the attacks, Medrano promised to send a troop of fifty soldiers and six hundred indigenous people against the rebels. The indigenous members of the troop would be selected from among those who had assumed the Christian religion. The troop would depart from Jemez Pueblo. However, Medrano asked the clergy for help to carry out his mission. He asked Father Talabán for help in particular to provide food in the convents, such as wheat and corn. Talabán distributed them among a large number of convents, including those of Senecu, Socorro, Ácoma, Nambé, San Ildefonso and San Juan (the last three belonging to the Tewa people). The distribution of food among the convents not only alleviated the hunger of the parishioners but also prevented the priests from abandoning these religious buildings. In addition, convents in regions such as Galisteo, Sandía, and Zia received food from Pecos. A chaplain, two hundred sheep, and more than twenty cows were also sent to these regions. Medrano noted that thanks to these aids, there were still natives alive.

### Response to the Apache raids

Following the devastating Siete Rios Apache attack on September 3, 1670, which resulted in the destruction of the Jumanos Pueblo church, the death of eleven residents, and the capture of thirty-one individuals, Medrano labeled the incident an atrocity:
   The Apache Indians, common enemies, who during the seven months I have been governing have killed six Spanish soldiers and 373 Christian Indians, stolen more than two thousand horses, mares, and mules, and more than two thousand head of ganadomenor [sheep], the property of the conventos of this holy custodia and of the citizens and inhabitants of these [provinces] so ravaged and destroyed, that it is a miracle anyone remains in them.
The drought and widespread famine of the 1670s, along with the resulting hunger, drove Apache tribes to escalate their attacks on Puebloan and Spanish settlements with increased intensity. Following the devastating Apache raid on the Humanas Pueblo in early September 1670—resulting in the destruction of the church, eleven deaths, and the capture of thirty-one individuals—Medrano appointed Juan Domínguez de Mendoza as maestre de campo. Domínguez de Mendoza was tasked with leading a retaliatory force of thirty Spanish soldiers and three hundred Christian Natives to pursue the attackers and rescue the captives. Despite the force’s efforts, only six of the captives were successfully freed. Governor Medrano documented the attack and authorized a Spanish military response:
   By my order, reprisal and just war is to be made against the Apache enemies of the cordilleras [mountains]…because on the third of this month they launched a great ambuscade on the pueblo of Humanas, took possession of it, and killed eleven persons, carrying off thirty-one captives, destroying the holy temple…and committing many other atrocities.

### 1671–1673

As Medrano’s governorship neared its end in early summer 1671, he took further action in response to escalating Apache aggression. When the incoming governor, Juan Durán de Miranda, and his retinue were ambushed at the Paraje del Muerto, resulting in three deaths and the theft of mule teams, Governor Medrano promoted Domínguez de Mendoza to sargento mayor, the third-highest military position in the province. This elevation was based on Domínguez de Mendoza’s documented service record, which Medrano praised for its demonstration of his merits and quality.
Governor Medrano left the government of Santa Fe in 1671, being replaced by Juan Durán de Miranda. By 1673, Medrano was established in Mexico. Medrano's safe arrival in Mexico is confirmed by records indicating that around 1673, he submitted a bid for the Mission Supply Service contract, which was under review for future policy decisions. Although his bid was more favorable than the Franciscan Order’s, a decision in 1674 ended the regular supply caravans and settled all related accounts. The supply service continued under the direction of the procurator general, but Medrano ultimately did not secure the contract.