Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco August 4, 1713 |
| Died | April 4, 1785 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | cartographer |
| Signature | |
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Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco (4 August 1713 – 4 [1] or 11 [2] April 1785) was "perhaps the most prolific and important cartographer of New Spain" [3] as well as an artist, particularly as a Santero (wood-carver of religious images). [4] He has been called a polymath, being "proficient in astronomy, cartography, mathematics, geography, geology, geometry, military tactics, commerce, husbandry, oenology, metallurgy, languages, iconology, iconography, liturgy, painting, sculpture and drawing." [5]
Biography
Miera was born in the Valle de Carriedo of Cantabria [2] Spain. The son of a captain of the Cantabrian Cavalry, he was trained as a military engineer. [2]
Like many others, he emigrated to New Spain (in North and Central America). On 20 May 1741, he married Maria Estefania Domínguez de Mendoza in Chihuahua. [2] They had two sons, Anacléto (Cléto) and Manuel. [2] In 1743, the family settled in El Paso. [6]
A man of many talents, he was variously a merchant, a debt collector, a rancher and a military officer. [4] In the latter capacity, he served in five military campaigns. [3] In 1747, Captain Miera led a military detachment accompanying Padre Juan Menchero on the latter's attempt to convert the Navajo and resettle them around Mount Taylor [3] (formerly Ceboletta [2]).
Though Menchero was unsuccessful, Miera produced the first map of the territory they traversed. [2] In 1749, he mapped the Rio Grande from El Paso downstream to its junction with the Rio Conchos. [2] [4]
He was also a painter and carver. Some of his works survive in churches and museums; the Church of Cristo Rey in Santa Fe has "his masterpiece, the Castrense altar screen". [4]
In 1754 [4] or 1756, [6] he moved his family to Santa Fe. He was appointed alcalde of the pueblos of Pecos and Galisteo [2] [3] and participated in three campaigns against the Comanches. [6]
When the Viceroy of New Spain ordered that his northern governors produce maps of their territories, [6] Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle, Governor and Captain General of New Mexico, turned to Miera. [2] [3] [6] They went out into the field on this endeavor from late June to 1 December 1757. [6] The influential map was completed by April 1758. [3] [6] Miera went on to make at least two other maps for Marín. [6]
Miera was granted a league of land (about 4428 acres or 1792 hectares) around Ceboletta, which was subsequently reduced to 4107 acres or 1662 hectares. [2]
He also served as cartographer for the 1776 Domínguez–Escalante expedition. Miera was often at odds with the other leaders of the group, and was also frequently ill. [1] The expedition failed in its goal of finding a route north to Monterey, but Miera produced maps that were invaluable to subsequent explorers. [2]
In 1779, Miera accompanied Governor of New Mexico Juan Bautista de Anza on a punitive expedition against the Comanches, who had been raiding Taos. [2] As a result, he drew perhaps his last map, covering an area centered on the Rio Grande from Santa Fe up to the Arkansas River. [2]
On 4 or 11 April 1785, Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco died in Santa Fe. [2] His wife, Estefania, had died less than a year and a half earlier, also in Santa Fe. [1]
Legacy
His maps were examined by Alexander von Humboldt in 1803 to help prepare his own maps. [2] Humboldt in turn shared the information with American President Thomas Jefferson a year later, and Miera's work was copied by American mapmakers. [2] The original of his 1758 map disappeared some time after 1930 in Mexico City, but a copy was made in the 1970s from photographs of it. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco". New Mexico Office of the State Historian. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Fred Roeder. "Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco". The American Surveyor. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Map which Don Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle, Governor and Captain General of this kingdom of New Mexico, ordered drawn : 1758, Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps". New Mexico Humanities Council. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts Showcases 18th Century Santero and Cartographer". SantaFe.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Defining the Colonial World: Don Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco Explorer, Scientist, Santero and More". New Mexico Museum of Art. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Miera's 1758 Map of New Mexico". National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
Bibliography
- Diaz, Josef, ed. (2013). The Art & Legacy of Bernardo Miera y Pacheco: New Spain's Explorer, Cartographer, and Artist. Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780890135853.
- Kessell, John L. (2013). Miera y Pacheco: A Renaissance Spaniard in Eighteenth-Century New Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806143774.
External links
| International | |
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| National | |
Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco | |
|---|---|
| Born | Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco August 4, 1713 |
| Died | April 4, 1785 (aged 71) |
| Nationality | Spanish |
| Occupation | cartographer |
| Signature | |
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Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco (4 August 1713 – 4 [1] or 11 [2] April 1785) was "perhaps the most prolific and important cartographer of New Spain" [3] as well as an artist, particularly as a Santero (wood-carver of religious images). [4] He has been called a polymath, being "proficient in astronomy, cartography, mathematics, geography, geology, geometry, military tactics, commerce, husbandry, oenology, metallurgy, languages, iconology, iconography, liturgy, painting, sculpture and drawing." [5]
Biography
Miera was born in the Valle de Carriedo of Cantabria [2] Spain. The son of a captain of the Cantabrian Cavalry, he was trained as a military engineer. [2]
Like many others, he emigrated to New Spain (in North and Central America). On 20 May 1741, he married Maria Estefania Domínguez de Mendoza in Chihuahua. [2] They had two sons, Anacléto (Cléto) and Manuel. [2] In 1743, the family settled in El Paso. [6]
A man of many talents, he was variously a merchant, a debt collector, a rancher and a military officer. [4] In the latter capacity, he served in five military campaigns. [3] In 1747, Captain Miera led a military detachment accompanying Padre Juan Menchero on the latter's attempt to convert the Navajo and resettle them around Mount Taylor [3] (formerly Ceboletta [2]).
Though Menchero was unsuccessful, Miera produced the first map of the territory they traversed. [2] In 1749, he mapped the Rio Grande from El Paso downstream to its junction with the Rio Conchos. [2] [4]
He was also a painter and carver. Some of his works survive in churches and museums; the Church of Cristo Rey in Santa Fe has "his masterpiece, the Castrense altar screen". [4]
In 1754 [4] or 1756, [6] he moved his family to Santa Fe. He was appointed alcalde of the pueblos of Pecos and Galisteo [2] [3] and participated in three campaigns against the Comanches. [6]
When the Viceroy of New Spain ordered that his northern governors produce maps of their territories, [6] Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle, Governor and Captain General of New Mexico, turned to Miera. [2] [3] [6] They went out into the field on this endeavor from late June to 1 December 1757. [6] The influential map was completed by April 1758. [3] [6] Miera went on to make at least two other maps for Marín. [6]
Miera was granted a league of land (about 4428 acres or 1792 hectares) around Ceboletta, which was subsequently reduced to 4107 acres or 1662 hectares. [2]
He also served as cartographer for the 1776 Domínguez–Escalante expedition. Miera was often at odds with the other leaders of the group, and was also frequently ill. [1] The expedition failed in its goal of finding a route north to Monterey, but Miera produced maps that were invaluable to subsequent explorers. [2]
In 1779, Miera accompanied Governor of New Mexico Juan Bautista de Anza on a punitive expedition against the Comanches, who had been raiding Taos. [2] As a result, he drew perhaps his last map, covering an area centered on the Rio Grande from Santa Fe up to the Arkansas River. [2]
On 4 or 11 April 1785, Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco died in Santa Fe. [2] His wife, Estefania, had died less than a year and a half earlier, also in Santa Fe. [1]
Legacy
His maps were examined by Alexander von Humboldt in 1803 to help prepare his own maps. [2] Humboldt in turn shared the information with American President Thomas Jefferson a year later, and Miera's work was copied by American mapmakers. [2] The original of his 1758 map disappeared some time after 1930 in Mexico City, but a copy was made in the 1970s from photographs of it. [1]
References
- ^ a b c d "Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco". New Mexico Office of the State Historian. Retrieved 16 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q Fred Roeder. "Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco". The American Surveyor. Archived from the original on 19 April 2015. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f "Map which Don Francisco Antonio Marín del Valle, Governor and Captain General of this kingdom of New Mexico, ordered drawn : 1758, Atlas of Historic New Mexico Maps". New Mexico Humanities Council. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ a b c d e "Museum of Spanish Colonial Arts Showcases 18th Century Santero and Cartographer". SantaFe.com. Archived from the original on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2013.
- ^ "Defining the Colonial World: Don Bernardo de Miera y Pacheco Explorer, Scientist, Santero and More". New Mexico Museum of Art. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
- ^ a b c d e f g h "Miera's 1758 Map of New Mexico". National Park Service. Archived from the original on July 15, 2012. Retrieved November 16, 2013.
Bibliography
- Diaz, Josef, ed. (2013). The Art & Legacy of Bernardo Miera y Pacheco: New Spain's Explorer, Cartographer, and Artist. Museum of New Mexico Press. ISBN 9780890135853.
- Kessell, John L. (2013). Miera y Pacheco: A Renaissance Spaniard in Eighteenth-Century New Mexico. University of Oklahoma Press. ISBN 9780806143774.
External links
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |