Albuquerque, New Mexico Traditional Cache

HOW ALBUQUERQUE GOT ITS NAME

The first Spanish explorers arrived in Albuquerque in approximately 1540 under General Francisco de Coronado. Later expeditions brought settlers deep into New Mexico’s river valleys. In 1706, a group of colonists was granted permission by King Philip of Spain to establish a new villa (city) on the banks of the Rio Grande (which means big or great river). The colonists chose a spot at the foot of the mountains where the river made a wide curve, providing good irrigation for crops and a source of wood from the bosque (the cottonwoods, willows, and olive trees that grow along the river). The site also provided protection from, and trade with, the Native Americans in the area. The colony’s governor, Francisco Cuervo y Valdés, penned a letter to the Duke of Alburquerque back in Spain to report their newly founded villa, named La Villa de Alburquerque in honor of the duke. Over the centuries, the first “r” was dropped, leaving Albuquerque spelled as it is today.