Who Was Juan Montes Vigil’s Employer in New Spain?
- Steven Perez
- Jan 7
- 7 min read
In 1611, Juan Montes Vigil applied for a license of passage to go to Peru, via New Spain, as an “aide” (criado) in the service of don Jacinto de Olmos. One might be tempted to assume that don Jacinto was a man of considerable wealth and status to employ Juan, who himself was an hijo d’algo (a member of the privileged class). But Jacinto’s own license of passage reveals that he was not a man of such stature. Rather, he was only 14 years old and a native of Cusco, Peru! Not only was he much younger than Juan, but he was a criollo (a Spaniard born in the Indies). Criollos were generally considered of inferior rank to “peninsular” Spaniards (those born in Spain proper). So, who was don Jacinto and why would Juan have entered into his service?
Cusco Cathedral, Cusco, Peru
Jacinto’s father was Diego García de Montalvo (Montalbo), a native of the town of Olmedo, just south of Valladolid, Spain. Jacinto’s mother was Petronila de Olmos, a criolla from Peru. Diego had arrived in Peru in June 1589 with his uncle, Gregorio de Montalvo, who had been appointed bishop of Cusco. There Diego married Petronila, who was the illegitimate daughter of Martín de Olmos and Juana de Uceda. Martín was the son of Gonzalo de Olmos, conquistador of Peru and Juana was the illegitimate daughter of Diego de Uceda, also a conquistador of Peru. So, on his maternal side, Jacinto had two great-grandparents who were conquistadors.
Diego returned to Spain with his family (including Jacinto) around 1606, resettling in his hometown of Olmedo. From later documents, it appears that he was a merchant who shipped goods to Spain’s colonies. On 8 June 1611, Diego petitioned the Casa de Contratación in Seville to grant him a three-year license to go to New Spain on business. He stated that he had a significant quantity of merchandise of all types loaded on the fleet of ships that was due to depart that year for New Spain. Because he was married and Petronila was to remain behind in Olmedo, he presented a document with her consent for the trip. This was a standard requirement, to avoid married men leaving for the colonies and abandoning their wives in Spain.
The very next week, on June 14th, Diego’s son Jacinto also petitioned the Casa de Contratación in Seville to grant him a license of passage. He stated that he wished to return to Peru, by way of New Spain. Because no fleet of ships was due to depart for South America (Tierra Firme, as it was known) the rest of the year, and he urgently needed to return, he requested he be allowed to depart on the fleet that was departing for New Spain. Presumably, after arriving in Mexico, he would continue onward to Peru. As with all such petitions, Jacinto presented several witnesses who could attest to his identity and suitability for the license (i.e. he was not married). As a native of Cusco, Jacinto was exempt from having to present evidence of his lineage.
Juan Montes Vigil was one of the witnesses. The document records Juan as 24 years old and a resident (vecino) of Seville living in the San Miguel neighborhood on the Calle de las Palmas. Juan stated that he had known Jacinto and his father Diego for about five years and provided a physical description of Jacinto: 14 years old, beardless and with a small forehead. He swore that his statement was true and signed it (see image below). Jacinto made no mention in his petition about taking anyone with him on the trip.
Signature of Juan Montes Vigil
13 June 1611
That same day, Sebastian de la Vega issued a royal decree in Madrid permitting Jacinto to take Juan Montes Vigil as his aide. The Casa de Contratación granted the license to Juan on June 20th, on the condition that within two months, he would present the royal decree to the officials in Seville.
There is no evidence that Jacinto ever departed for New Spain (or Peru). However, there is evidence that his father Diego departed with his merchandise and spent some time in Mexico City. In 1612, Diego was engaged in a lawsuit there with the former archbishop of the cathedral of the city for the sum of 14,000 pesos and 500 reales. By the following year, Diego had returned to Olmedo, which would have been about the right length of time for his three-year license. On 16 March 1615, in Olmedo, he served as a witness for an applicant to the Order of Santiago (a prestigious chivalry order), saying that he had returned from the Indies about a year and a half ago.
In June 1616, Diego once again petitioned the Casa de Contratación for a license of passage, this time to go to the Yucatan. His wife Petronila was by then deceased, but he asked for permission to take his three children (Jacinto, Juan and Leonor), his wife’s nephew Gabriel de Olmos and several aides/servants. Therefore, we know that Jacinto was still living in Spain in 1616.
This set of facts leads to many questions. Why would Juan have been employed as an aide to a 14-year-old? Why did Jacinto claim that he urgently needed to return to Peru in 1611, when his parents were both residing in Olmedo and his father was getting ready to depart for New Spain? Did Jacinto ever depart for New Spain or Peru in 1611? If not, who did Juan go with? And when did he arrive in Mexico City?
One possible scenario, though it is only my speculation, is the following. Juan somehow became acquainted with Diego, Jacinto’s father, around 1606. Juan would have been about 20 years old at that time and still under the guardianship of his uncle Bartolomé de Vigil. Three-fifths of the property he had inherited after the death of his parents was caught up in a legal dispute with a distant relative, Diego de Argüelles, and the other two-fifths was under his uncle’s control. Diego, a successful merchant who had spent time in Peru, convinced Juan that he was better off seeking his fortune in the colonies. By 1609, Juan had decided to move to the Indies, as that is when his uncle Bartolomé began gathering the witness testimony proving his “clean” lineage, a requirement for the license. By 1611, Diego had a shipment of merchandise ready to sell in New Spain but needed assistance managing it. This presented the perfect opportunity for Juan. But why did Diego not ask for permission to take him as his aide?
I suspect it was because Diego was applying for a three-year license. The Casa de Contratación regulated immigration to Spain’s colonies and individuals needed a valid reason to go. Diego had already lived in the Indies and had legitimate business interests, so he could make the case for his own license. But with no intention of immigrating to the colony, he may not have received approval to take others with him. Jacinto, however, was a native of Cusco and did not need any justification to return home. He applied for a license of passage as a cover for Juan to get a license as his aide. In reality, it’s more likely that Juan was working for Diego, his father, to sell merchandize in New Spain. Perhaps Jacinto did make the voyage with Juan and his father to conceal their ploy, but returned to Spain with his father in 1613. If these assumptions are correct, then it explains why Juan never went to Peru as indicated on his license of passage.
Jacinto de Olmos (aka Jacinto de Montalvo) eventually arrived in the Yucatan in 1616 and became a soldier. It’s likely that his father and siblings also moved there at the same time, per their license of passage. A document recording his merits, dated 1622, states that he had been serving in the province for six years—including as an alférez in the infantry in 1620 and as the head of the cavalry brigade of the city of Mérida in 1621. Whether or not the family continued to correspond with Juan Montes Vigil, who by that that time was living in Zacatecas, is unknown.
Jacinto married Bartolina de Figueroa, daughter of Antonio de Figueroa, former governor of the Yucatan. Antonio’s wife (not named) was the daughter of Antonio de Salas, the first alcalde ordinario and one of the first settler of Zacatecas. Jacinto made another trip to Spain in 1625 with an aide, Juan de Ávila, and returned to Mérida in 1628. Jacinto died on 22 May 1648 and was buried in the Colegio de la Compañía de Jesús in Mérida.
Many questions still remain, but this new information provides more clues about how Juan Montes Vigil ended up in New Spain. If I unearth any more details, I will post them here on the blog.
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Sources:
Expedientes de la Orden de Santiago, “Pruebas de don Luis de Vivero y Velasco,”
“Spain records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:3Q9M-CS2B-W91P-F?view=explore : Jan 5, 2026), image 34 of 488; Image Group Number: 008181014
Catálogo de Protocolos del Archivo General de Notarías de la Ciudad de México, Colección de Siglo XVII, “Poder especial,” Notaría 374, Volumen 2469, fol. 226v/227, Ficha 198.0.
Baptism record for Joseph Baltazar Álvarez y Gamboa y Montalvo. “Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-DFN8-D?view=explore : Jan 6, 2026), image 30 of 370; Iglesia Católica. Arquidiócesis de Yucatán (México). Image Group Number: 004718564
Burial record for Jacinto de Montalvo. “Mérida, Yucatán, Mexico records,” images, FamilySearch (https://www.familysearch.org/ark:/61903/3:1:9392-DJWY-K?view=explore : Jan 6, 2026), image 56 of 113; Iglesia Católica. Arquidiócesis de Yucatán (México). Image Group Number: 004718758
Archivo General de Indias
Méritos: Martín de Olmos y otros
Patronato, 136, N. 2, R. 1
Gregorio de Montalvo, obispo Cuzco: noticias de la diócesis
Patronato, 192, N. 1, R. 76
Diego Garcia de Montalbo
Contratación, 5351, N. 38
Diego Garcia de Montalvo
Contratación, 5321, N. 2, R. 71
Juan Montes Vigil
Contratación, 5323, N. 29
Jacinto de Olmos
Contratación, 5323, N.28
Méritos: Jacinto de Montalbo
Indiferente, 161, N. 569
Jacinto de Montalvo y Olmos
Contratación, 5403, N. 14
Steven - Nice investigative work. It’s great to get more information about the life of Juan Montes Vigil II in Mexico City and Zacatecas. Is there anything known about his wife Catalina Herrera de Cantillana. Is it known whether she was from Cantillana de Sevilla? Do you know of any marriage records? I don’t always write, but I enjoy reading your blog! Un saludo, Rudy