Hispanic Heritage Month has been observed and celebrated since 1968. President Lydon B. Johnson established the celebration as a one week event. It was not until 1988 that President Ronald Reagan extended it to the full 30 days, September 15 to October 15, that we celebrate today.
Today we would like to acknowledge and celebrate the story of the namesake of Monterey. In 1602, Sebastián Vizcaíno named Monterey in honor of Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo, the Count of Monterrey and Viceroy of New Spain.
But who was the Count of Monterrey? We invite you to travel back in time with us and learn a little about this Spanish nobleman.
The Count of Monterrey's name was Gaspar de Zúñiga y Acevedo. He was born in 1562 and was the eldest son of the fourth Count of Monterrey, Jerónimo de Zúñiga Acevedo and Inés Velasco y Tover. He grew up and studied in Galicia, Spain at the College of Monterrey, which was founded by his grandfather Alonso de Zúñiga y Acevedo Fonseca, III Count of Monterrey.
When he was 18 years old, in 1578, he decided to enter the service of King Philip II. He participated in the Portuguese campaign, where he led the Galician militia, paying for them out of his own pocket. Seventeen years later, on May 28, 1595 he was appointed by King Philip II as viceroy, governor, and captain general of the kingdom of New Spain. On November 5th of that year, he made his way to Mexico City, taking up the reins of government with singular virtue and selflessness.
It is reported that the Viceroy Count of Monterrey made a special effort to help the indigenous nations that still remained nomadic, finding settlements for them and providing them with land for their sustenance. In addition, he prohibited the natives from selling their private plots or those that belonged to the communities, in an effort to prevent them from falling victim to the abuses of Spaniards and Creoles, who had deceived some and purchased their plots at a very low price.
In 1596, he sent two expeditions up the Pacific coast and named Sebastián Vizcaíno the head of the expedition before embarking from Mexico. Vizcaíno sailed from Acapulco that year with three ships, it was on this expedition...Read More
