The Onate Expedition and the Expedition Members

Many people have ancestors who were part of the 1598 Oñate expedition and want to know more about how the expedition came about, what struggles their ancestors went through on the expedition and some interesting facts about our ancestors. This presentation will address these questions. We will look at historical background of factors that went into creating the expedition, the history of the Camino Real de Tierra Adentro. Then we will look at the background to the expedition—why the Spanish wanted to come to New Mexico, the delays in Zacatecas and Santa Barbara. We will go through a brief description of the expedition trip. The expedition members were a diverse group and we will explore their background. Finally, we will focus on several different expedition members and their families.