Baltasar Obregón (born 1534) was a 16th-century

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

explorer and historian. He is most notable for publishing the ''Historia de los descubrimientos de Nueva Espana'', an account of his travels in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

Biography

Obregón was born the son of an encomendera in the

Spanish colony The Spanish Empire, sometimes referred to as the Hispanic Monarchy or the Catholic Monarchy, was a colonial empire that existed between 1492 and 1976. In conjunction with the Portuguese Empire, it ushered in the European Age of Discovery. It ...

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

. At the age of 19 Obregón joined up with a Spanish expedition to

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

, from which he returned with travel experience. In 1554 at the age of 20 he joined the expedition of

Francisco de Ibarra Francisco de Ibarra (1539 –June 3, 1575) was a Spanish-Basque explorer, founder of the city of Durango, and governor of the Spanish province of Nueva Vizcaya, in present-day Durango and Chihuahua. Biography Francisco de Ibarra was born a ...

to explore the frontiers of Spanish territory and to secure mineral resources. The expedition was a success, founding several settlements and allowing the Spanish to colonize

Zacatecas Zacatecas, officially the Free and Sovereign State of Zacatecas, is one of the Political divisions of Mexico, 31 states of Mexico. It is divided into Municipalities of Zacatecas, 58 municipalities and its capital city is Zacatecas City, Zacatec ...

. Later in life Obregón published an account of his travels, the ''Historia de los descubrimientos de Nueva Espana'', in which he described the landscape of

northern Mexico Northern Mexico ( ), commonly referred as , is an informal term for the northern cultural and geographical area in Mexico. Depending on the source, it contains some or all of the states of Baja California, Baja California Sur, Chihuahua (state), ...

. After cataloging his own life, he continued to publish the accounts of other Spanish expeditions, such as that of

Antonio de Espejo Antonio de Espejo (c. 1540–1585) was a Spanish explorer who led an expedition, accompanied by Diego Perez de Luxan, into what is now New Mexico and Arizona in 1582–83.pg 189 - The expedition created interest in establishing a Spanish col ...

.PDF document, Rosa Camelo http://www.ejournal.unam.mx/ehn/ehn07/EHN00705.pdf

Bibliography

*Carte, Rebecca A. (2015-10-22). ''Capturing the Landscape of New Spain: Baltasar Obregón and the 1564 Ibarra Expedition''. University of Arizona Press. .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obregón, Baltasar 1534 births Year of death missing 16th-century Spanish historians 16th-century Spanish explorers Spanish explorers of North America