Don Antonio de Mendoza, conde de Tendilla, was the first Viceroy of New Spain, serving from 1535 - 1550. His difficult assignment was to govern in the king's name without making enemies with Hernán Cortés, whom Charles and the Council of the Indies judged too rough to be made a duke and given a higher post than the Captaincy-General of New Spain, a post for which he was well suited. Flag of New Spain New Spain (Spanish: Nueva España) was the name given to the viceroy-ruled colonial territories of the Spanish Empire from 1525 to 1821. ... Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro April - Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga (now Montreal) June 24 - The Anabaptist state of Münster (see Münster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded. ... Events February 7 - Julius III becomes Pope. ... Hernán Cortés Hernán(do) Cortés, marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1545) was the conquistador who conquered Mexico for Spain. ... Charles V Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain Charles V (Spanish: Carlos I, Dutch: Karel V, German: Karl V.) (24 February 1500–21 September 1558) is considered (the first) King of Spain though in fact his son was the first to use that title. ...

After three high-ranking noblemen declined the appointment, it was accepted by don Antonio, who was born in Granada of a high-ranking family, who had served capably as Spanish ambassador to Rome. His commission dated from 1530, but he did not arrive in Mexico until 1535.

Mendoza commissioned the expeditions of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado to explore and established settlements in the northern lands of New Spain in 1540 - 1542, the western coast-line of Alta California by Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo in 1542 - 1543 and the Philippine Islands in the Pacific Ocean by Ruy López de Villalobos in 1542 - 1543. Francisco Vásquez de Coronado (ca. ... Alta California (Upper California) was formed in 1804 when the province of California, then a part of the Spanish colony of New Spain, was divided in two along the line separating the Franciscan missions in the north from the Dominican missions in the south. ... Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo João Rodrigues Cabrilho (Portuguese) (ca. ... ... Ruy López de Villalobos (c. ...

Mendoza and Juan de Zumárraga, cooperated to the founding of two great institutions of Mexico: the Colegio de Santa Cruz at Tlatelolco (1536), where the sons of Aztec nobles studied Latin, rhetoric, philosophy and music, and the Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico (1552), modeled on the University of Salamanca, which trained young men for the Church. Juan de Zumárraga (1468 – 3 June 1548) was a Spanish Franciscan prelate and first bishop of Mexico. ... Tlatelolco is an area in Mexico City, centered on the Plaza de las Tres Culturas, a square surrounded on three sides by an excavated Aztec pyramid, the 17th century church Templo de Santiago, and the modern office complex of the Mexican foreign ministry. ... The National Autonomous University of Mexico (Spanish: Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, abbreviated as UNAM) was founded in 1551, making it the oldest in North America. ... The University of Salamanca (Spanish Universidad de Salamanca), located in the town of Salamanca, west-northwest of Madrid, is the oldest university in Spain, and one of the oldest in Europe. ...

He withdrew the "New Laws" of 1542 - 1543, that were inspired by the great reformer Bartolomé de las Casas, when news reached Mexico of the civil war that broke out in Peru over similar reforms, thought to undermine the rigorous encomienda system. The laws were designed to ease the plight of Indians under the system of forced labor. Bartolomé de Las Casas Bartolomé de Las Casas, O.P. (1484 – July 17, 1566) was a 16th century Spanish priest, and the first resident Bishop of Chiapas. ... The encomienda system was a trusteeship system used during the Spanish colonization of the Americas, whereby conquistadors were granted the towns of the indigenous people they conquered. ...

Mendocino County, California is named in his honor. Mendocino County is a county located on Californias north coast, north of the San Francisco Bay Area and Sonoma County and west of the Central Valley. ...

External link

• "The First and the best: Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza"