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Military Service Records 83 governor left Mexico City on his journey to New Mexico to the date on which he relinquished office to his successor in Santa Fe. In certain cases the treasury records of the salary payments are incomplete, and consequently we do not have exact information concerning the actual terms of office of all the governors. See France V. Scholes, “Royal Treasury Records Relating to the Province of New Mexico, 1596–1683,” in New Mexico Historical Review 50 (April 1975): 20. 3. This is one of the Group B documents that are called into question about their authenticity, as mentioned here in the preface. In 1650 Domínguez de Mendoza was almost twenty-three years old, and it is doubtful that he could already have held the “highest offices,” so that Ugarte y la Concha would have named him lieutenant governor. If he actually served as lieutenant governor under Ugarte y la Concha, the fact would probably have been noted in the authentic certification and services issued by Ugarte y la Concha in 1653, Doc. 8 (September 13, 1653). This certification mentions various services, some of which are confirmed by Doc. 24 (July 27, 1671), but there is no mention of an appointment to office. Moreover, in the certification and in Doc. 6 (November 10, 1652), Domínguez de Mendoza is referred to as an alférez, a low rank for a man who had supposedly held the highest offices and had served as lieutenant governor. As further evidence that the document is not authentic, it may be noted that it is not mentioned in the copy of the attested certification of the cabildo of Santa Fe, October 3, 1684, in Doc. 52 (April 23–24, 1686) but is in the fraudulent certificate of the same date in Doc. 46 (October 3, 1684). Document 6 Commission as Captain of Cavalry Santa Fe, November 10, 16521 Captain and Sargento Mayor don Juan de Samaniego y Jaca,2 Knight of the Order of St. John, governor, chief magistrate and captain general of the kingdom and provinces of New Mexico for the king, our lord, etc.3 With regard to the quality and merits of Alférez don Juan Domínguez y Mendoza, I am entirely satisfied that he is a faithful, diligent, and honorable soldier, who has served His Majesty in these provinces for more than ten years with his arms and horses at his own expense, making, at extreme cost to his fortune and personal hardship, many expeditions which have been the most important that have occurred in this conquest and pacification, as is proved by his attestations and certifications, to which I refer. In the disturbances and uprisings made in this jurisdiction by the natives of the province of Emes [Jemez] and Picurís, who denied obedience to His Majesty 84 Part One and rebelled,4 he accompanied the royal standard and my person for the said pacification, performing the offices of alférez real, which the said Alférez Real don Juan Domínguez y Mendoza was at that time, and in the said pacification he fulfilled his obligations and performed all the things entrusted to him, giving a good and praiseworthy account of himself in all that was assigned to him by me. In all military actions that took place in this pacification and on other occasions he has behaved as an honorable and outstanding soldier. In addition, during an uprising or insurrection which occurred in this province in disservice of His Majesty, the said alférez, as an honorable and faithful soldier, valorously opposed the said mutineers, and in the encounter with the aforesaid [mutineers], who were angry with those who remained faithful and loyal to the service of His Majesty, he received a wound through the nostril.5 Nevertheless, the said Alférez don Juan Domínguez y Mendoza has always continued to accompany the royal standard of His Majesty and to defend the ministers and justices of the king, our lord. In view of the above and in consideration of his merits, I have decided to appoint and name the said Alférez don Juan Domínguez y Mendoza captain of cavalry in the maintenance, conquest, and pacification of this government. As such captain he may lead and recruit men, and raise the standard for his said company, which he may have under his hand and military command for the service of His Majesty wherever he may be ordered by me. He may...

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