don García López de Cárdenas

Brief Biography

Don García López de Cárdenas was born sometime between 1512 and 1514 in Madrid (Madrid province) to Nunfro Ramírez and doña Mencía de Cárdenas. Prior to his obtaining a license to travel to Peru in May 1535, don García had served the king in Germany and Italy. By the late 1530s he had made his way to New Spain where he held several governmental offices. López de Cárdenas was named as one of the captains of the Expedition and served as its maestre de campo. As the Expedition was winding down, don García received news that his brother had died in Spain and that he was to return immediately and assume the position as head of his family. Shortly after returning to Madrid charges were brought against him for his actions against Native Americans. He was the only member who was actually punished for the cruelties committed by the Expedition while in Tierra Nueva. He served time in the Pinto Tower outside of Madrid and then returned to his life as the head of the powerful Ramírez-Cárdenas clan.

Title
Don
Gender
Male
Title (Y/N)
Yes
Date of Birth
1512-1514
AGE-1540
27
Age Set
25-35
Country of Origin
Spain
Place of Birth (City/Town)
Madrid
Date of Death
1563
Place of Birth (modern province/state/region)
Madrid
Died on the Expedition?
No
Last Known Location
Madrid
European Social Status
Don
Position on Expedition
Maestre de campo
Captain
Injured on Expedition
Yes
Within Viceroy Mendoza's Sphere
Yes
Pre-Expedition Occupation
Alguacil Mayor
Corregidor
Post Expedition Occupation
Corregidor
Residence After Expedition
Madrid, Spain
Married
Yes
Name of Spouse
doña Ana de Mendoza
Name of Children
Beatriz Ramírez de Mendoza; Alonso Ramírez de Mendoza; don Francisco Ramírez de Mendoça; doña Catalina, nun; doña Mariana; doña Mencia, nun
Ability to sign name
Yes
Relatives
father: Nunfro Ramírez; mother: Mencia de Cárdenas; brother: don Nunfro Ramírez; father-in-law: conde of Coruña and Guadalajara
References-Documentary

1530-1540:

AGI, Pasajeros, L.2, E.1064 [May 15, 1535, destined to Peru] [father: Nunfro Ramírez; mother: Mencia de Cárdenas; vecinos of Madrid; his brother, don Nunfro Ramirez

AGI, Pasajeros, L.2, E.1070 [2 other relatives w/him] = Boyd-Bowman, Indice geobiográfico, II:6311 [Madrid (Madrid); father: Nunfro Ramírez; mother: Mencia de Cárdenas] [with brother, to Peru, 1535]

AGI, Justicia, 259, pieza 2 [visita a don Antonio de Mendoza] [cedula, July 24, 1536, directing Mendoza to give López de Cárdenas a corregimiento, fol.78r] [López nos ha servido en estos reynos y en italia e otras partes]; excerpt from Agapito Rey’s transcription of AGI, Justicia, 1021, N.2, Pieza 1, “Relación sacada de la probanza, 1551”: Document # 401, “The Research Materials of Herbert Eugene Bolton,” the Bancroft Library, pp 127-8: [127] ...no se pudieron fundar los de vuestro consejo de indias para dar la dicha sentencia por los dichos e deposiciones de Melchior Pérez y Juan de Contreras y Juan Troyano, testigos tomados por el licenciado Tejada en una sumaría información que hizo en la Nueva España contra [Francisco] Vázquez de Coronado, que dicen que vieron quemar ciertos indios y matar otros en una tienda despues de ganado un pueblo que combatieron el dicho don García y otros capitanes...porque los dichos testigos eran antes y al tiempo que dijesen aquellos dichos, y son, enemigos capitales [128] del dicho don García porque los castigó algunas veces en aquella jornada por delitos y excesos que cometieron, por lo cual le tenian odio y enemistad capital;

Achué Zapata, “Some News”  [p.52: served in Italy & Germany wars-Source: AGI, Indiferente General, 738, N.24, Memorial 1676]

1540-1550:

1540, Feb: Muster in Flint & Flint, Documents, Document 12 [12 horses, three sets of Castilian arms and armor, two pairs of breastplates, chainmail vest];

AGI, Patronato, 216, R.2 [witness Lorenzo Álvarez: Cárdenas had a helmet and beaver];

Tello, Libro Segundo [130/327:  captain; 143/337:with 30 men reconnoitered the land abajo Cíbola [probably really refers to Hopi]; 243/407: maese de campo after Samaniego died; 245/409:Rio de Tizon is the same river Cárdenas saw; 257-259/418-421:Tiguex rebellion]

AGN, El libro de Tasaciones [Malinaltepeque, en la Mixtca, obispado de Oaxaca; 26 Sept. 1543, "no parecio estar tasados sino por don García López de Cárdenas,...", p.221; Ystaquetepeque, prov. de Misteca, obispado de Oaxaca, 29 Sept. 1537, "ante el magnifico senor don Garci López de Cárdenas, parecio Alonso Morzillo..." "...Garci López mando a los dichos indios que de aqui adelante den de tributo..." p.592-593];

AGI, Patronato, 277, N.4, R.36 [nombramiento de López de Cárdenas as alguacil mayor of the Audiencia and Chancillería de México, April 8, 1538] [appointment because of his ability and as recompense for past services] [because of death of el comendador Diego Hernández de Proaño];

AGI, Justicia, 258, pieza 1, “Visita hecha al Virrey, 1544”  [fol. 747r: López de Cárdenas was corregidor of the pueblo de Teuçapotlan (Teozapotlán, OAX) in 1537, 1538, and 1539 with a salary of 300 pesos/yr, he was succeeded by don Luis de Castilla];

AGI, Justicia, 258, pieza 1, “Relación de los salarios” [fol. 800v: a don García López de Cárdenas...cc pesos];

AGI, Justicia, 268, Pieza 1, “Visita a Gonzalo Cerrezo, alguacil mayor, 1546” [witness in 1547 in Ciudad de México is a Juan Bellotroche, who states that "este testigo vido como don García López de Cárdenas hera alguazil mayor de esta real audiencia"] [witness in 1547 in Ciudad de México is Agustín Guerrero, who says that "don García López [de Cárdenas] y Gonzalo Cerezo contrataron que el dicho don García López renuncio al dicho Gonzalo Cerezo el oficio de alguazil mayor de la dicha real audiencia que el tenia por merced de su magestad y que en ello intervinieron dineros que el dicho Gonzalo Cerezo le dio"] [includes a copy of a January 1540 testimony of García López de Cárdenas: ahora quiere ir en servicio de su magestad a la guerra con francisco Vázquez de coronado capitan general e por su magestad de la tierra nuevamente descubierta de cuya causa no puede usar y execer el dicho oficio de alguacil mayor como es obligado por tanto que renunciaba e renuncio el dicho oficio de alguazil mayor en manos de su magestad a la qual suplicaba e suplico sea servido de hazer merced del a gonzalo cerezo" (Cerezo is later charged with having bought the office)]; question 2 of interrogatorio: six years before don García López resigned the office of alguacil mayor “yendo a la guerra de çibola”];

AGN, Instituciones Coloniales, GD72, Real Audiencia, Mercedes, vol. 2, exp. 51, 1543 [frames 50-55:dowry agreement between Rufina de Grijalva (daughter of Sebastián de Grijalva and Beatriz Hernández) and Melchior de Robles, hijo legitimo de Gil de Robles, natural de la villa de Almazan; Grijalva is giving the encomienda of the pueblo of Tenexpa y sus sujetos en el valle de Oaxaca; done in México, January 16, 1543; witnesses are García López de Cárdenas and Luis Fernández, estantes en México; letter from the emperor, signed by Cobos, permitting the transfer of the encomienda; "melchior de Robles es persona que tratara bien a los dichos yndios y que le son dados en dotte…guardando en el cobrar y llevar de ellos la tassaçion que del dicho pueblo esta fecha o se hiziere y no otra cosa alguna"]

AGN, Instituciones Coloniales, GD72, Real Audiencia, Mercedes, vol.2, exp. 576, 1544 [fols. 234v –235v: January 1544: a message from Agustín Guerrero to the viceroy about clearing of roads includes an account of tools and hardware  (picos, barras, hachas, azadones, almadenas, garretas) that had been sent to García López de Cárdenas in 1539 for the purpose of clearing roads in Oaxaca, which he was in charge of]

AGN, Instituciones Coloniales, GD61, Inquisición, Vol. 37, exp. 10, 1545 [fol.39v: contra los principales of Anguitlan, Mexico 26 Oct. 1545, juez]; AGI, Justicia, 259, pieza 1 [1546, charge 19, assigned corregimiento];

AGI, Justicia, 259,Pieza 2 [fol. 78r, corregimiento, 31 Oct. 1546]

AGI, Justicia, 267 [1546, Proçeso de la Visita secreta contra los ofiçiales del aUdiencia rreal de México] [61 preguntas on 7 fols.; among those specifically targeted is García López de Cárdenas, alguazil mayor of the audiencia];

AGI, Justicia, 1021, N.2, Pieza 2, “Relación sacada de la probanza, 1551, confisión” [February 20, 1546, en la fortaleza de la villa de Pinto (in provincia de Madrid, south of the capital, fortaleza now known as Torre de Homenaje) (May 1998, visited Torre de Eboli in Pinto: rounded rectangular plan-about 40x80 feet, about 3 stories tall, gray stone, almost windowless, “checkerboard” shield midway up tower on south end)] [1 year in Santa Marta and Cuba; 1 year in México, ill; 3 years in Oaxaca at Mendoza’s order, settling disputes between Indios and Spaniards; 1 1/2 more years in positions ordered by Mendoza] [López not in México when Vázquez de Coronado was appointed to go to tierra nueva; by Mendoza’s order followed after Vázquez de Coronado as captain of a group of horsemen; on death of Lope de Samaniego, López de Cárdenas named maestre de campo, which he served as until the plains where the bison were found] [López de Cárdenas went ahead with Vázquez de Coronado to Cíbola, along with about 70 horsemen; no fighting until 3 or 4 leagues from Cíbola; there he encountered 8 or 9 Indians on a height; he coaxed them down with gestures and offers of gifts and asked to take a cross to Cíbola; he camped in the same place waiting for Vázquez de Coronado and guarded a difficult passage; the Indians (mucha copia) attacked in the middle of the night and scared all the horses away; if it hadn’t been for two mounted men who were on guard, the Spaniards would have been killed; next day advanced all together; one league before Cíbola saw four or five Indians; López de Cárdenas went ahead to talk with them; saw all the Indians of Cíbola and other places gathered together in arms waiting for the Spaniards; only 10 or 12 Indians killed at Cíbola; all the Spaniards were housed there for 2 or 3 months; el dicho general e gente que con el estaba vieron que la tierra era esteryl e habian sido engañados acordaron de yr a descubrir para haber si hallazen otra mejor tierra donde dios nuestro señor fuese servido e su magestad e ellos aprovechados] [López de Cárdenas went more than 100 leagues into the interior from Cíbola (al poniente) and found no settlements; 3 or 4 languages spoken up to Cíbola; the Spaniards had to communicate by signs; López de Cárdenas went with 30 or 40 horsemen to establish quarters at Tiguex; vio que el invierno estaba rezio e de nyeves rogo a los indios que le desenbarazasen un pueblo donde hiciese su aposento e se recogesen en los otros pueblos que habia que eran en aquella dicha provincia de tiguex hasta doce o treze pueblos e que los dichos indios lo hicieren] [the whole expedition remained there three months or so at peace (called Alcanfor in the text); one day found one of the Mexican Indians dead; López de Cárdenas went out with 7 or eight horsemen to another pueblo 1/4 league away, which he found abandoned; two or three leagues farther on he found two or three horses shot with arrows; following the tracks (huella) of the horses he crossed the river; in all he found 25 or 26 horses dead on both sides of the river; López de Cárdenas rounded up the live horses and returned to the pueblo where the general was, being shot and yelled at; López de Cárdenas was sent out to make the requerimiento with no luck; asked why the Indians of Tiguex rose up, López de Cárdenas refers to the rape of the Indian woman and the theft of one manta] [çiquyque, 19 or 20 leagues from Alcanfor; López de Cárdenas was ill at the time of the supposed setting on of dogs, but did see bites on Bigotes, who was kept in his room; no other mistreatments that he knows of] [some blacks and Indian allies had died of cold; some clothing was thereafter given freely by the Pueblos, other clothing was taken by force; ciertos peones e algunos indios de los de México que llevaba...en esta entrada murieron algunos indios de los de México] [López de Cárdenas denies that Indians offered signs of peace during battle] [López de Cárdenas says that he does not remember Melchor Pérez by name; denies that Pérez ever warned him about breaking his word; says that some soldiers without his order lanced some Indians in a tent, not his (he heard shouting and went to investigate); López de Cárdenas says this was done in the fury of battle, before which they had been read the requerimiento and refused to come to obedience; he did order the pueblo set afire on the second day of battle because taking the houses one by one was too dangerous for the Spaniards; none of the soldados was punished] [asked which important people were with him during the burnings, López de Cárdenas says Juan de Zaldívar, Rodrigo Maldonado, and Diego López e otros] [5 or 6 days after that pueblo was taken López was sent out again from Alcanfor to deliver the requerimiento to all the other pueblos of Tiguex; he found all the pueblos on that side of the river abandoned and in the smallest of the pueblos on the other side of the river he found 7 or 8 dead horses in the plaza] [some days later Vázquez de Coronado went to a pueblo 4 or 5 leagues away where the Indians had fortified themselves; López was sent for and went there to talk with the Indians, which he did by signs and a few words of the Indian allies; the pueblo was invested for a total of 80 days; after the Indians had fled from the pueblo the Spaniards found some maize there “because the Indians of that land have nothing else to eat”] [López broke his arm on the buffalo plains; the Indians there “andaban como al arabes”; López and the rest of the people returned to Alcanfor, where they stayed until the general returned] [as winter 1541 came on López and other enfermos made the return trip to México; when they arrived at Corazones, where 50 horsemen more or less had been left with Melchor Díaz, he found the land up in arms and deserted; so he returned to Alcanfor because the passes were held by the Indians of Corazones; this he told the general and within 2 days the whole expedition left to return to México; the expedition disbanded at San Miguel] [López heard from survivors at San Miguel that abuses by Alcaraz led to the the uprising at Corazones] [ser la tierra esteril e sin fruto ninguno ni oro ni plata] [in April 1546 López is granted permission to take his house in Madrid as his prison in place of the fortaleza de Pinto; the move is to be made at night] [signed his name; signature scanned] [conde de Coruña of Guadalajara is López’s suegro] [conde de Coruña’s children: don Lorenzo, don Juan, doña Petronila de Mendoza, doña Ana, doña Mencia de Cárdenas];

AGI, Justicia, 1021, N.2, Pieza 5, “Relación sacada de la probanza, 1551” [México, end of 1547 and early 1548 (por parte)] [López grants his power of attorney to don Luis de Castilla and Francisco Vázquez de Coronado (but petition is made by Sebastián Vázquez)] [in the first question of his interrogatorio Cárdenas calls it a “jornada de guerra” and in the second question he calls them “gente de guerra de pie e de caballo”] [fifteenth question:  durante el dicho combate el dicho don García hizo muchos mensajeros a su general haciendole saber lo que pasaba] [witness Juan de Fios, as other witnesses have said, says that López consulted with the general, captains, and religious before engaging in battle] [witness Gerónimo de Mercado de Sotomayor says López de Cárdenas took many criados on expedition; he did not ask for the position of maestre de campo]; [Guadalajara, May 1546 (por parte)] [witness: Francisco Gorbalán [López de Cárdenas ordered directly by Mendoza to go on expedition] [in Jalisco everyone, including López de Cárdenas, swore to obey Vázquez de Coronado] [Gorbalán went with Samaniego in search of food at Chiametla; López de Cárdenas was absent] [Vázquez de Coronado chose him to succeed Samaniego; he accepted in compliance with his oath] [López de Cárdenas burdened by the responsability] [a certain Urrea abused Indians and López de Cárdenas reprimanded him and told him that if he did so again López de Cárdenas would personally punish him] [Gorbalán never saw López de Cárdenas or anyone by his order slap or strike an Indian with a stick] [Gorbalán says Indians voluntarily vacated a pueblo and brought food, but suddenly and without cause killed horses and mules; as a result López de Cárdenas was sent by Vázquez de Coronado to make the requerimiento] [Vázquez de Coronado consulted the religious, captains, and sobresalientes (a consejo) about whether to make war] [4 Indians, including El Turco, were taken to see punishment inflicted on the Pueblos] [López de Cárdenas was saddened by what happened to the Indians in the tent] [López de Cárdenas sent many messages to Vázquez de Coronado about what was going on; Coronado responded] [López de Cárdenas had a celada] [at the Pueblo del Cerco the Indians had a palisade or an unmortared stone wall] [López de Cárdenas helped the poor and needy of the expedition, even giving valuable horses] [López de Cárdenas took many servants, a muleteer (acemilero), and black slaves (both male and female)] [López de Cárdenas is still disabled because of the broken arm] [Gorbalán was a member of López de Cárdenas’ company];  pieza 6 [probanza del fiscal Villalobos] [México, January 10, 1547] [witness, Gaspar de Saldaña says that in Tiguex López wanted to put up ranchos de pajas but because the winter was already upon them he asked the Indians to accommodate them in the pueblo] [witness, Hernando de la Cadena says: el exército...fuesen a buscar mantas y pellones de pluma o cueros de vacas...porque se morian de frio muchos negros; he was one of the persons who went de pueblo en pueblo rogando a los naturales ... andando de casa en casa...Alonso Saavedra wanted an old manta lying on the floor, but the Indians stuck him with sticks...maltratamiento de los Españoles; estando en el pueblo de Arenal puesto cerco sobre el...muerto y herido muchos españoles...pusieron fuego en el; after a meeting of the captains and men López agreed to punish some of the Indians; says that some of the principales of the land were put in López’s tent as captives; they rose up and the Spaniards fought with them; López was not there]

1550-1560:

AGI, Justicia, 1021, N.2, Pieza 1, “Relación sacada de la probanza, 1551, acusación” [el dicho reo y los españoles que en su compañia llevaba por su mandado e permisión cometieron grandes fuerzas robos quemas crueldades y otros muchos delitos contra los indios naturales de las tierras por donde pasaron matando gran numero de ellos y tomando por fuerza las mujeres y dormyendo con ellas carnalmente con la dicha fuerza contra su voluntad y de sus maridos e padres y aperreando a los dichos indios echando los perros bravos que los comiesen abocados y tomandolos por fuerza e contra su voluntad los mantenimientos e ropa que tenian] [indios rose up in their own defense] [the incident of the sign of the cross mentioned specifically; breaking his word];

AGI, Indiferente General, 424, L.22 [cédula sobre lugar de Ramírez de Cárdenas para servir en Granada, November 10, 1551] [to Conde de Tendilla, captain general of Granada, ordering him to designate the place where Cárdenas is to serve his sentence] [Navarra, harmful to his health] [sentence commuted to one year of service in Granada];

AGI, Patronato, 281, N.1, R.34 [carta ejecutoría, Ramírez de Cárdenas, September 1551] [Ramírez, vecino de Madrid] [Villalobos, who initiated the case before the consejo, now dead; case continued by doctor Verástegui, fiscal] [charges: committing and ordering rapes, robberies, killings, burnings, and brutality against the natives and setting dog on them] [Ramírez imprisoned; attorney: Sebastián Rodríguez] [on first hearing the fiscal’s case is deemed proven; Ramírez sentenced to serve the king in Orán at own cost for 30 months and pay 800 ducats (1/2 for passages for religious, 1/2 for pious work in Nueva España, 1549, Villalobos] [on review by the consejo, finding of guilt confirmed, but sentence reduced to 12 months of service on the frontier of Navarra, plus 200 ducats (divided in the same way), and banishment from the Indies for 10 years, 1551, Verástegui];

AGS, Contaduría de Mercedes, 299,3 [Juro a favor de García Rámirez de Cárdenas (Juro a favor de García Rámirez de Cárdenas de 177.000 maravedís. Incluye: cita del testamento y adjudicación de los bienes de García Ramírez de Cárdenas. Cita marginal del testamento de Maríana Mendoza), segunda mitad del siglo XVI, not digitized: document is labeled with the date of 1557, regarding don García Ramírez de Cárdenas, vecino de la villa de Madrid; reference is also made to the casa de la contratación de las indias; a carta de venta and a certificación (dated February 6, 1556) dealing with 1,000 ducados  “que se tomaron a los mercaderes del oro y plata que les vino de la nueva españa” in 1555; also makes reference to gold salvaged from the wreck of three ships from la costa de la Florida (the Padre Island wrecks?); Ramírez de Cárdenas is talked about as still alive in 1557; another document in a different hand refers to the “fin e muerte de don García Ramírez” and also to “doña Ana de Mendoça, muger del dicho don García Ramírez, y don Francisco Ramírez de Mendoça, y don Alonso y doña Catalina y doña Beatriz y doña Maríana, hijos de los dichos don García Ramírez y doña Ana de Mendoça;” the document concerns tercios e rentas de la ciudad de Granada that now are due them; a date of 1565; a poder  from dona Ana de Mendoça, “muger que fui de don García Ramírez de Cárdenas, mi señor difunto…vecino que fue de la villa de Madrid;” still refers to el príncipe don Phelipe [thus, Ramírez de Cárdenas might be dead before 1556 when Carlos abdicates]; doña Beatriz Ramírez de Mendoça is “hija mayor legítima del dicho don García Ramírez de Cárdenas…y sucessor a la su casa e mayorazgo;” Ana was made curadora for Beatriz y “los otros vuestros hermanos, mis hijos;” don Alonso (su hermano mayor) has also died; this whole portion (which assures payment to Beatriz and Maríana) is dated 1583; a copy of another document from 1622 is included concerning the testamento of the conde de Medellín; Maríana [actually Beatriz] de Mendoça, condesa de Medellín, is now dead; another document from 1633 has don Joseph Ramírez de Sayavedra, caballero de la orden de Santiago and includes a copy of doña Maríana’s testamento; she was married to don Pedro Portocarrero, mayordomo “de su alteza del dicho príncipe;” Beatriz was the condesa];

Hillerkuss, Diccionario Biográfico, vol.4 [murió en España, después del 20 de diciembre de 1551, fecha de su sentencia, y haber servido un año en Malagá, lo que fue su condena]

1560-1570:

AGS, Contaduría de Mercedes, 26,23 [Juro a favor de Catalina de la Cerda (Juro a favor de Catalina de la Cerda de 70.000 maravedís. Acompaña un traslado del testamento otorgado por doña Ana de Mendoza, mujer de García Ramírez de Cárdenas. Otro testamento otorgado por doña Marina de Mendoza, hija legítima de los anteriores), Primera mitad del siglo XVI, not digitized: first document is dated 1534; presentation of copy dated at the Escorial, November 7, 1590: testamento of doña Ana de Mendoza begins on fol. 551r; dated in Madrid, February 18, 1588, with seven witnesses; doña Ana was the aya del príncipe nuestro señor; her former mayordomo, Francisco Sánchez de Villanueva, also her albacea, appears in November 1590; doña Ana died while in the casa real del Escorial; the only witness to the testamento now present was Diego de Valdivieso, more than 30 years old; doña Ana’s interment was still pending, she has just died in November 1590; the alcalde mayor called a criado of doña Ana’s named Felipe Almeyda (48) to verify her signature  and handwriting; doña Ana asked to be buried in the coro bajo of the monastery of Madre de Dios of the Geronomites in Madrid, where [all] the women of the casa of don García Ramírez de Cárdenas are buried; the bishop of Palencia, her brother-in-law (this might be a brother of don García), is also buried in that monastery; if she was away from Madrid (as it turned out she was), and could not be transported to Madrid within two or three days of death, she was to be buried in the church or monastery most convenient; she says that both she and don García prepared their wills before the escribano del número de Madrid Gaspar Testa on January 12, 1563 (thus, don García may well have died in that year, but certainly no earlier)]; in that will they established “cierta mexora a nuestro hijo mayor…en el mayorazgo del dicho don García;” “la qual dicha mexora por muerte de los dichos nuestros hijos varones [without heirs of their own] no se pudo asentar;” “en el dicho mayorazgo sucedio doña Beatriz Ramírez de Mendoza, nuestra hija, condesa del Castellar, muger del señor don Fernando de Saavedra, conde del Castellar;” doña Ana received 22,000 maravedíes per year from the alcabalas de Madrid “por privilegio de su magestad;” doña Catalina is a monja; don Fernando de Cárdenas, ya difunto, was doña Ana’s brother-in-law; doña Mencia [de Cárdenas, monja] is another daughter of doña Ana and don García; don García had another privilegio of 20,000 maravedíes; she also talks about doña Maríana, another daughter; doña Ana talks about 50,000 maravedíes de juro settled on doña Beatriz; she also writes about don Alonso Ramírez de Mendoça, her deceased son who left a will (he was married to doña Juana de Velasco); doña Ana names as albaceas y testamentarios don Francisco Zapata de Cisneros, conde de Barajas, her cousin and presidente de Castilla and Consejo de Estado y Guerra y marqués de Velada; don Fernando de Saavedra, conde del Castellar, her son-in-law; doña Beatriz, her daughter, “dama de la serenisima infanta Isabel;” and Francisco Sánchez de Villanueva, her mayordomo; in 1589 doña Ana added a memoria to the will; and another memoria closer to her death; doña Maríana makes her will in 1606];

AGS, Contaduría de Mercedes, 98,12 [Juro a favor de Nuflo Ramírez y doña Mencía de Cárdenas (Juro a favor de Nuflo Ramírez y doña Mencía de Cárdenas de 25.000 maravedís. Incluye testamento de Beatriz Galindo otorgado a 9 de noviembre de 1534 nombrando como herederos a sus nietos don Diego y don Francisco Ramírez. Incluye también información practicada en nombre de don Alonso Ramírez de Mendoza en justificación de ser hijo de don García Ramírez de Cárdenas y haber sucedido en la casa y mayorazgo fundado por Francisco Ramírez de Madrid y Beatriz Galindo), Primera mitad del siglo XVI, not digitized: the original juro was entered into in 1524; in Madrid  in 1560, presentation of a copy of a testamento of Beatriz Galindo, muger que fue del secretario Francisco Ramírez, difuntos, fundadores del dicho hospital [de Nuestra Señora de la Concepción de la orden de San Francisco de Madrid]; in Madrid in 1535, there appear doña Teresa de Haro, (muger de Hernán Ramírez Galindo, difunto) and doña Mencia de Cárdenas (muger de Nu[n]flo Ramírez, difunto); they refer to señora Beatriz Galindo, muger del señor Francisco Ramírez (and mother of Hernán and Nunflo) who died that day, November 3, 1535; in her will, dated November 9, 1534, like doña Ana de Mendoza, Galindo asks to be buried in the monastery de la Concepción de la Madre de Dios de los Gerónimos de Madrid en el coro bajo; Galindo’s first bequests are for clothing and support of residents of the hospital; she names as patrones del hospital don Diego Ramírez and don Francisco Ramírez, her grandsons (sons of Hernán); she refers to Hernán Ramírez and don Diego Ramírez, her deceased sons, as well as her son Nunflo Ramírez, difunto, to whose children she leaves nothing (although she had previously given both money and property to add to his mayorazgo); she gives to don Diego (son of Hernán) “la hacienda de Motril y Salobreña y la de Granada y el cortijo de Bornos,” as well as 50,000 maravedíes de juro; she also gives money to Beatriz, her granddaughter (Hernán’s daughter); “yten: mejoro a los otros hijos de Nunflo Ramírez, mi hijo, y de la dicha señora doña Mencia en tercio y quinto de mis bienes que estan fuera de los mayorazgos”; in Madrid in October 1553, a Juan de Madrid, vecino de Madrid, appears in the name of don García Ramírez de Cárdenas, vecino de Madrid, referring to don Juan Ramírez (elsewhere and correctly, this man is don Francisco Ramírez Galindo), hijo mayor de Nunflo Ramirez, difunto, y de doña Mencia de Cárdenas; he “es difunto e murio sin dejar ni tuvo hijos ni descendientes legítimos;” as a result of his death the mayorazgo passed to their second son don García Ramírez, su hermano; “y ansimismo como don Pedro de Castilla [elsewhere shown as don Pedro de Cárdenas], hijo de los dichos Nunflo Ramírez y doña Mencia de Cárdenas…es difunto y que no tuvo ni dejo hijos ni descendientes legítimos algunos, pidio al dicho señor theniente” to examine witnesses; witnesses presented include a Simón García de Xerez (65 years old), clérigo, and Lope de Mata (53 years old), vecinos de Madrid; witnesses to their oaths are an Alonso López and a Diego Hernández, both vecinos de Madrid; in 1581, a Diego Hernández, procurador en nombre de don Alonso Ramírez de Mendoza, vecino de Madrid, appears to show that his party is the son of “don García Ramírez de Cárdenas, difunto, y doña Ana de Mendoza, su muger, aya que al presente es de los serenisimos infantes de Castilla” and that he has succeeded to the mayorazgo “que fundaron el secretario Francisco Ramírez de Madrid y Beatriz de Galindo;” that is because of the deaths of his predecessors including don García Ramírez de Cárdenas and don Francisco Ramírez de Mendoza, hijo mayor of don García and doña Ana; don Alonso has had possession of the mayorazgo [including the 25,000 maravedíes by means of a carta de privilegio] for more than 12 years [that is, since 1569]; an Andrés Román (more than 48 years old) testifies that he has known don Alonso since he was 7 or 8 years old and he is now 32 [meaning he was born in 1549]; Román has served as mayordomo for don García beginning 24 years earlier in 1558, and since his death for doña Ana; don García had died about 18 years previosuly—that is in 1563; another witness is an Alonso de Nájera, vecino de Madrid (54 years old), who has known don Alonso since he was born; another witness ia a Gaspar Ordiñez (56 years old), mayordomo de Domingo de Cárdenas, del consejo de su magestad]

Other Info:

Achúe Zapata, “Some News” [p.44: born between 1512 and 1514]; (√HR, 340 n2 [came to Indies in 1535] [through wife, doña Ana de Mendoza, distant relative of Mendoza] [ordered to serve 30 months in Orán, Africa; changed to Navarre; but time served at Vélez Málaga]);

AGS, Contadurías Generales, 3072 [Exp.1: El despositario de la mina de Guadalcanal];

Galindo Mena, Guía de Llerena [p.11: "Insignes personajes tuvieron en esta época su residencia en la ciudad e impulsaron con su presencia la bonanza de la villa...Numerosos llerenenses se embarcaron en esta época en la aventura de la colonización americana. Entre ellos destacan: Don Garcí López de Cárdenas descubridor del Gran Cañon del Colorado."];

López de Haro, Nobiliario Genealógico [p.162, his wife is Ana de Mendoza, daughter is Beatriz Ramirez de Mendoza who married the 4th conde de Castellar-Fernando Arias de Saavedra and has Baltasar Ramirez de Cárdenas and Gaspar Juan Arias de Saavedra (5th Conde de Castellar)];

RAH, 9/864 (M-58) [fols. 194v-200v: Testamento de Garci López de Cárdenas [1514; Garci López de Cárdenas, comendador de la encomienda de Monrreal, orden de Santiago, vecino y regidor of Madrid; wants to be buried in the Santo Domingo el Real monastery extramuros de la noble villa de Madrid where his wife doña Juana de Castilla is buried; his father was Pedro Zapata and his mother was doña Mencia de la Torre; Juan Zapata, comendador of Hornachos ayo del principe don Juan, was his grandfather and doña Costanza de Cárdenas his grandmother; doña Costanza de Aponte was his great grandmother; Pedro Zapata is his son; requests that his heir take on the name Zapata;  doña María his daughter; doña Mencia his daughter (López de Cárdenas's mother); Ynigo López and Juan Zapata are also his children; albaceas are dona Mencia de la Torre, Gómez de Villafuerte, comendador Alonso de Cárdenas (his brother) Baltasar de Encio, all vecinos of Madrid; 14 Oct 1507; witnesses: Juan de Madrid, boticario, Fernando Ramirez, carpintero, Juan de la Camara, vecinos of Madrid; 1584-don Inigo de Cárdenas Zapata y doña Isabel de Avellaneda; his second son is Juan; don Rodrigo is a son; don Inigo is the oldest and succeeds; his mother is Francisca de Vargas; his daughter is Francisca; the heirs are to be called in letters Cárdenas y Zapata y Avellaneda and in other matters Cárdenas y Zapata or de Zapata y Cárdenas];

RAH, 9/318 [fol. 23v: tabla showing the descendants of [grandparents] Garci López de Cárdenas Zapata, comendador de Monreal [and regidor de Madrid], and doña Juana de Castilla (hija de don Pedro de Castilla y doña Catalina Laso de la Vega); of their four children, [parents] Mencía de Cárdenas married Nunflo Ramírez; Their three children were (1) don Garci Ramírez, who married doña [Ana] de Mendoza (hija de los señores condes de Coruña); (2) don Juan Zapata de Cárdenas, obispo de Palencia, conde de Perma (or Pernia) and presidente de ?sales; and (3) doña Beatriz de Castilla, who married Ventura Beltrán (hijo del doctor Beltrán del Consejo de Indias) [this is our man];

?RAH, 9/1070, Matrimonios [fols. 150-153: Casa y estado de los señores Manrique. Muchos datos sobre los Manrique de Lara, duques de Nájera. Anon., s. XVII: (Mencía de Cárdenas—García López’ mother—is not mentioned with regard to succession to the mayorazgo established at Alcalá de Henares in 1503 by Gutierre de Cárdenas, comendador mayor de León y doña Theresa Enriquez, su muger)]

Relatives:

Alonso Ramirez de Mendoza, son: Guerrero Mayllo, Gobierno municipal  [p. 247: #21, Pedro de Cárdenas, parents not listed (could be a son of García Ramírez de Cárdenas), became a regidor of Madrid sometime before 1560; he resigned in 1571 in favor of Alonso Ramírez de Mendoza (#114) [García’s son]; p. 275: #114, Alonso Ramírez de Mendoza, born in Madrid; parents García Ramírez de Cárdenas and Ana de Mendoza; Alonso became a regidor in October 1571, replacing his relative Pedro de Cárdenas [another son of Ramírez de Cárdenas?-probably a cousin]; resigned in June 1572]

Alonso López de Cárdenas, canonigo: ?Catálogo, Resumen e Índices [1578, Doña Catalina Tofiño, vecina, como heredera de Gregorio de Tapia, su hermano -según consta por el testamento que se otorgó cerrado ante Diego López Muñoz, escribano, el 29 de noviembre de 1576, y por su fallecimiento se abrió y autorizó ante la justicia ordinaria de México [...continues] Antonio Hidalgo firmó, doña Catalina Tofiño no firmó. Testigos: el canónigo Alonso López de Cárdenas, Agustín Vaca y Francisco de Nava, vecinos. [Al margen: sacada la razón de las alcabalas hasta aquí.]; ?Catálogo, Resumen e Índices [1578, Antonio Hidalgo, mercader, vecino de la ciudad de Los Ángeles, estante en México, se obliga a pagar a doña Catalina de Tofiño, vecina, 600 pesos de oro común, [...continues] Firmó. Testigos: Alonso López de Cárdenas, Agustín Vaca y Francisco de Nava, vecinos y estantes]

Losa Contreras, Concejo de Madrid [p. 284: “en el reinado de los Reyes Católicos, el monopolio del estamento [social stratum] caballeresco en el Consejo es cai total. Es el períodod comprendido entre 1464 y 1521, de los 52 titulares regimientos que se han contabilizado, una minoría pertenecían a la pequeña nobleza y eran titulares de señoríos en las cercanías de Madrid; ésos, sin embargo, constituyeron lo más granado [notable] del Regimiento madrileño. Entre ellos,podemos contar D. Juan de Mendoza, regidor desde 1488…El prestigio de la familia Zapata [related to Cárdenas] quedó patente…dos regidores titulares de señoríos: Juan Zapata, el arrisgado, copero de Enrique IV, señor de Barajas, y su hijo, Pedro Zapata, el tuerto…Con los Ramírez de Madrid se hace evidente el encumramiento y ennoblecimiento de una familia al servicio de la Monarquía; Francisco Ramírez de Madrid, el artillero, introducido en la Corte como secretario real por su suegro Juan de Oviedo, se destacó al mando de la arillería castellana en la campañas granadinas…le valió ser armado caballero por D. Fernando in 1487…alcaide de Salobreña…un sustancioso patrimonio en Madrid; el regimiento fue heredado por el primer hijo de su segunda mujer, Beatriz Galindo…Fernando Ramírez [father of Luis Ramírez de Vargas’ mother] fue comendador de la Orden de Santiago, canciller de la Orden de Alcántara y primer señor de Bornos…El resto de la nómina del Regimiento se compuso, en la mayor parte, de los sucesores de aquellos caballeros relacionados con la Administración real, en muchos casos pertenecientes a las Órdenes Militares, que se habían asentado en la Villa en el primer tercio del siglo XV”; p. 285: “Un gran protagonismo, tanto en la administración del Reino como en el servicio de las armas, desempeño la famila de los Vargas: Diego de Vargas, regidor entre 1465 y 1481, fue comendador de Toro con juan II; su nieto Francisco de Vargas [grandfather of Luis Ramírez de Vargas] (1500-1522), fue paje de los Reyes Católicos…con el paso de una generación a otra, se iba produciendo el paulatino ennoblecimiento del linaje; normalmente los primeros regidores de la familia eran letrados y servidores reales, pero sus descendientes ya aparecían en los padrones como caballeros y en su mayoría, poseían hábito o encomienda de las Órdenes Militares”; 286: “Una vez que estas familias caballerescas hubieron asegurado en sus manos el gobierno de la Villa mediante el desempeño de los regimientos, no les quedaba más que afianzar la permanencia de los mismos en el seno del linaje. Para ello se comenzaron a utílizar las renuncias en parientes allegados, normalmente los hijos…las renuncias se ejercitaron hasta la saciedad por los regidores madrileños en época de los Reyes Católicos, quedando circunscrita la provisión del oficio en manos de las familias…los Alcalâ, Alcocer, Luján, Luzón, Vargas y los Zapata-Cárdenas y Ramírez"; pp 315-45: “Anexo a los Capítulos V y VI: Cuardos Asistencia a los Ayuntamientos;” shows the following among the regidores in attendance: 1504: corregidor licenciado Lorenzo Maldonado comendador Pedro Zapata [relative of García López de Cárdenas?], comendador García López de Cárdenas [grandfather of García López de Cárdenas], don Juan de Mendoza [eventual in-law of García López de Cárdenas?], Fernando Ramírez de Madrid [relative of both López de Cárdenas and Ramírez de Vargas?], and Francisco de Vargas [grandfather of Luis Ramírez de Vargas]; 1514: comendador García López de Cárdenas [grandfather of García López de Cárdenas], Pedro Zapata de Cárdenas, Pedro Zapata, alcaide Francisco de Vargas [grandfather of Luis Ramírez de Vargas], and comendador Fernando Ramírez; 1515 and 1521: Pedro Zapata de Cárdenas, Pedro Zapata, alcaide Francisco de Vargas [grandfather of Luis Ramírez de Vargas], and comendador Fernando Ramírez]