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Ag11ayo Expedition and San Jose 111ission, 1719-1722
Texas question, unaware of the seriousness of the situation. The mes- senger despatched by Fathers Margil and Espinosa on July 2, 1719, finally arrived in Mexico early in August. This afforded the viceroy the first detailed information of what had happened and caused him to hurry the preparations for a new expedition which he now realized was impera- tive and of paramount importance. Appointment of Aguayo. Orders were at once issued to raise as large a force as possible in the Nuevo Reyno de Leon, Parral, and Saltillo. To take charge of recruiting the men and equipping them with all haste, the viceroy appointed the Marquis of San Miguel de Aguayo, who was residing in Coahuila at this time. The choice proved a happy one. The full name of the Marquis was Joseph Azlor Virto de Vera. Before coming to America in 1712, he had seen service in Spain, where he had equipped at his own expense fifty men during the campaign of 1704. The next year he saw service in the Kingdom of Navarre with a group of mounted men, similarly recruited and equipped at his expense. After his arrival in Coahuila, where he made his residence in the Hacienda de Patos, he had taken an active part in the defense of the frontier against the Indians until the time he was called to take charge of the force being equipped to recover the lost Province of Texas. He came from a dis- tinguished family who had rendered loyal service to the king from time immemorial, both in Spain and in America. His grandfather, Don Martin de Azlor, who was Maestro de Campo, died at the siege of Barcelona in 1656. His brother, the Count of Guara, who had been field marshal and commander on the frontier of Aragon, was killed. in action in the year 1705. On the side of his wife, her forefathers had seen service in the army in Catalonia and in Flanders, coming later to America where his wife's fourth grandfather had been one of the conquerors of New Spain. His family owned a vast estate, which included almost half of Coahuila. 26 Previous to his appointment in 1719, he had shown interest in Texas as early as 1715, when he wrote to the viceroy urging that Joseph Urrutia be commissioned to discover and conquer the mythical kingdom of La Gran Quivira. Urrutia, as it will be remembered, had been in Texas with De Leon and Teran, and when the missions were abandoned in 1693, he was one of those who remained for several years among the Indians. 26 Satisfacci6n a una real orden del rey Nuestro Senor. A. G. I., A udu,rcia a, Guadalajara, 67-1-37.
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