Marquisate of the Valley of Oaxaca
| Marquisate of the Valley of Oaxaca | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Creation date | 1529 |
| Monarch | Charles V |
| Peerage | Spain |
| First holder | Hernán Cortés |
| Present holder | Álvaro de Llanza |
| Heir apparent | Claudia de Llanza y López-Quesada |
| Remainder to | Absolute primogeniture |
The Marquisate of the Valley of Oaxaca (Spanish: Marquesado del Valle de Oaxaca) is a hereditary marquisal title in the Spanish nobility and a former seignorial estate in New Spain. It was granted to Don Hernán Cortés, conquistador who led the conquest of the Aztec Empire, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor in 1529. Despite its name, the marquisate covered a much larger area than the Valley of Oaxaca, comprising a vast stretch of land in the present-day Mexican states of Oaxaca, Morelos, Veracruz, Michoacán and Mexico.
The title was held by Cortés' descendants through 1814, when the Constitución de Apatzingan abolished hereditary titles in Mexico. After the 12th Marquis died in 1859, his successors as Duke of Monteleone appear to have not renewed this title until 1916, when the 16th Duke of Monteleone became the 13th Marquis of the valley of Oaxaca. The title again became dormant on his death in 1938. A member of a cadet branch of the family (descendant of the 7th Marquise) asked for the resumption of the title in 1973, and it was granted to him. The descendants of the 13th Marquis, a family established in Italy, has claimed the title, but has not taken any legal action in Spain against the legal holder. Given the multiple claims, it is worth noting that the 1535 Mayorazgo (entailment) guaranteeing the continuation of the Marquisate was conditioned on (among others) loyalty to the King of Spain.
After the fall of Tenochtitlan, with the capture of the last Aztec Tlatoani, Cuauhtémoc, on 13 August 1521, the Aztec Empire disappeared, becoming part of the Spanish Empire. The success brought legal status for Cortés, whose position had been contested during the conquest. On 15 October 1522, a Royal Cedula was issued, appointing him Governor and Captain General of New Spain. Cortés personally governed the newly conquered territories until 1524, when he left for Honduras, heading an expedition against the rebel Cristóbal de Olid, who had declared his independence from Spain and claimed Honduras was his own.
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