Following the hypothesis that Isabel de Mendoza, wife of Toribio Hernández de Arellano, was a native (chichimeca?), I would like to leave this note for the benefit of future research.
The proposition of a native origin for Isabel de Mendoza is not new, it predates the publication of Retoños de España en la Nueva Galicia. This possibility was suggested by Mariano González-Leal during a private dinner at his house, years before Retoños was published. It is crucial to emphasize that this remains a speculative theory and no proof has been found. It is based on the following:
- Strategic. A marital alliance between a spaniard like the mayor Toribio Hernández de Arellano and an indigenous woman, particularly one of cacique lineage, would have been a strategic asset in the region of Santa María de los Lagos. This area was situated on a volatile frontier (frontera de chichimecas), and such unions could have been a method of securing alliances with indios amigos or indios de paz, thereby stabilizing a notoriously dangerous territory.
- Onomastic evidence. The surname "de Mendoza" was conferred upon several caciques and their family members during the viceroyalty of Don Antonio de Mendoza (1535-1550). Isabel de Mendoza's estimated birth date falls within this period, and Viceroy Mendoza was physically present in Nueva Galicia in 1542, a plausible context for her baptism and the bestowal of the surname.
An alternative, though chronologically-challenging hypothesis must also be acknowledged. My dear friend, the Mexican diplomat Jorge A. Fuentes Méndez—to whom, along with Guillermo Tovar de Teresa and Mariano González-Leal, I owe my early training in genealogy decades ago—provided me an extensive list of documented Mendozas from the period. This list included the family of Francisco de Mendoza (son of Comendador Diego de Mendoza and Isabel Segura) and his wife Beatriz de Montoya. This family, including their children Pedro de Mendoza, Isabel de Mendoza, Leonor de Montoya, and Juana Ruiz, emigrated to New Spain in 1536 (Archivo General de Indias, CONTRATACION, 5536, L.4, F.38R(5)) PARES | Archivos Españoles. The fate of this particular Isabel de Mendoza is unknown, and she remains a candidate. However, a significant chronological issue exists, as she was likely born around 1530 or earlier.
Best regards.
Erik Andrés Reynoso y Márquez.