Preceded by Juan de Eulate | Died unknown
unknown | |
Succeeded by Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto Profession Admiral and Governor of New Mexico | ||
Felipe de Sotelo Osorio was a Spanish military leader who served as Governor of New Mexico between 1625 and 1630.
Biography
Felipe de Sotelo Osorio joined the Spanish Navy in his youth, eventually becoming an Admiral.
He was appointed Governor of Santa Fe de Nuevo México on 21 December 1625. In 1625, Sotelo Osorio, along with Fray Alonso de Benavides, left Mexico and traveled over 1500 miles by foot to Santa Fe, New Mexico, arriving in Santa Fe on 6 February 1626.
After becoming governor, Osorio rejected the Roman Catholic Church that he viewed as a dictatorship, thus provoking clashes with the institution.
It is said that Osorio once joined a Catholic ceremony in a cemetery and reproached his soldiers for not standing in his presence. The soldiers tried to explain that they could not get up during the Sanctus, but Osorio angrily insisted that they must always be erect in his presence. Osorio also said that if he was excommunicated by the church, he would force his own acquittal within two hours. These public blasphemies resulted in charges.
Felipe de Sotelo Osorio was replaced by Francisco Manuel de Silva Nieto in 1630.