The Texan city is named after the Spanish soldier Juan de Ugalde, governor of the Mexican province of Coahuila, who in 1790 was victorious against the Apache settlements in the area.
California, Colorado, Nevada, Florida, Arizona, Oregon… The political geography of the US is full of Spanish names that account for up to 15% of American states. Even the great state of Texas itself could derive from the term yew, a characteristic tree of the southern state.
Juan de Ugalde, born in Cádiz in 1729, came into the world in a family with a military tradition, which allowed him to join the army at an early age, become a captain in 1743 at just 14 years old, and participate in the war against the Austrians in northern Italy. According to the Royal Academy of History, his military successes led to his promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1764 and he was transferred to South America that same year, where he was appointed to the position of corregidor in Cochabamba until 1772. Four years later he was appointed governor of Coahuila, in the viceroyalty of New Spain in present-day Mexico.
In 1786, after several successful campaigns in the Aztec zone, he received the title of sub-inspector with military command of the aforementioned territory, and of the provinces of Nuevo León, Colonia de Santander and Texas. On January 9, 1790, Juan de Ugalde led 600 men to a decisive victory over the Apaches near the site of modern utopia at a place then known as Arroyo de la Soledad. In honor of this victory, the conflict area was named the Ugalde Canyon. After years of political disputes and confrontations with his superiors, the Andalusian soldier had to return to the Iberian Peninsula. For his war merits, in 1810 he was promoted to lieutenant general, and even received the Grand Cross of San Hermenegildo in 1815, a year before his death in Cádiz.
In the 19th century, already under American rule, settlers established a city in the area called Encina. The business contracts of Reading Wood Black allowed this body to legislate the agreements of what was known as Uvalde County since that is how the landowners knew the Spanish military. In 1856 the homonymous city that would conserve said erratic name was officially founded. This city today has a large Latino population, which represents 78.46% of the census carried out in the town in 2020. Unfortunately, last Monday this town was the target of a massacre in a school that resulted in 19 children and two teachers. murdered in cold blood.
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