Description:
(1st Spanish Governor of New Mexico) Juan de Oñate y Salazar, a Spanish conquistador and colonial governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México, led expeditions to the Great Plains and Lower Colorado River Valley, establishing settlements in the Southwestern United States. He is notorious for the 1599 Acoma Massacre, during which he ordered a brutal retaliation against Acoma Pueblo, resulting in the deaths of around 800–1000 Ácoma people. His contentious legacy is evident in the ongoing protests and debates surrounding statues erected in his honor in New Mexico and Texas.
