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In-Depth Information
region, he pacified many tribes, sponsored
the establishment of missions, and founded
a number of outposts including San Gabriel
in present-day N
EW
M
EXICO
, the second-
oldest city in the United States. In keeping
with his instructions he probed the interior,
entering what is now Oklahoma, Kansas,
and Missouri and sought access to the
Pacific by reaching the Colorado River and
sailing down it to the Gulf of California.
Following his return to Mexico he was
summoned to Spain on charges of having
inflicted excessive cruelties on Indians and
even some colonists. Although the matter
was not settled for many years, Oñate was
ultimately exonerated and named inspector
of mines in Spain. Shortly before his death
he was honored with knighthood in the
prestigious military order of Santiago.
Oñate is often referred to as the “last of the
conquistadores.” Although his career belongs
to the period when Spain was consolidating
its imperial claims rather than expanding its
domains, Oñate shared many of the charac-
teristics of the generation of conquerors who
“discovered” and mastered the New World in
the first years of the 16th century. Like them,
he was a fearless adventurer who went boldly
into uncharted territory and persisted in his
exertions to the last extremity of his resources.
Like them, too, he was a harsh taskmaster
and often ruthless in his tactics as he pursued
his goal. He represented a breed that was
vanishing by the early 1600s, but one that
would long be venerated in Spanish lore.
north, with a combination of industry and a
sense of its distinctive history. As its name
proclaims, the city was a center of maritime
trade throughout the Middle Ages and the
launching place of many expeditions to dis-
tant lands of Portugal's Renaissance empire.
Its connections with northern Europe were
reinforced by the trade in port wine which
gave the city particular business and social
ties with England from the 17th century
onward. Long regarded as the center of con-
servatism and the object of a prolonged siege
during the M
IGUELITE
W
AR
(1832), Oporto
has followed a more tranquil path in latter
days, preserving the ancient structures that
have earned it a designation in 1996 as a
United Nation's World Heritage Site while
erecting new museums and galleries and
hosting collections of modern art and festi-
vals of contemporary music.
Opus Dei
This Catholic Church organization, defined
as a “personal prelature,” was founded in
1928 under the leadership of a Spanish
priest, Reverend Josemaría Escrivá de
Balaguer. Its title, which signifies “God's
work” in Latin, describes the concept that
underlies this movement. Although it
resembles a religious order in some respects,
it contains only a small percentage of
ordained priests among its tens of thou-
sands of members throughout the world.
Most of these members are lay supporters
or affiliates who go about their daily busi-
ness while adhering to certain general prin-
ciples. The “numeraries,” who constitute
the inner core of the organization and most
closely resemble what had been tradition-
ally thought of as a religious order, live in
communal groups under special vows and
Oporto (Porto)
The second city of Portugal, not only in pop-
ulation (some 500,000) but in pride and self-
assertiveness, Oporto was formerly the seat
of government. It continues to dominate the
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