The Secret Life of Don Dieguillo, the Indigenous Leader Who Outwitted an Empire
In the scorched deserts of colonial Mexico, one Indigenous leader—branded a traitor, hunted by governors, and betrayed by history—outwitted the Spanish Empire with nothing but cunning, faith, and an unshakable will to survive.
In the early winter of 1718, Spanish authorities in Coahuila, a frontier province of New Spain, compiled a damning legal dossier. Under solemn oath, with their hands placed on a cross, a parade of Spanish settlers testified against an indigenous leader named Don Dieguillo. Their accounts painted a fearsome portrait: here was a cunning traitor who had feigned friendship and Christianity only to betray his benefactors.
He was accused of leading a coordinated attack on the Franciscan missions of Santa Rosa and San Buenaventura, of stealing sacred jewels, kidnapping two children, and brutalizing a priest. The testimony was overwhelming, conclusive, and officially recorded for the viceroy in Mexico City. One witness declared Don Dieguillo "one of the most astute Indians known since Moctezuma"; another called him "one of the most bellicose and industrious... known in the Indies".
