Estanislao

Estanislao
Born	Cucunuchi c. 1798 Río de los Laquisimes, Alta California
Died	July 31, 1838 (aged 40) Mission San José, Alta California

Estanislao (c. 1798 – 1838) was an indigenous alcalde of Mission San José and a member and leader of the Lakisamni tribe of the Yokut people of northern California . He was notorious for leading bands of armed Native Americans in revolt against the Mexican government and Mission establishments.

Estanislao was born with the Yokut name Cucunuchi circa 1793 on the banks of the Río de Laquisimes (present-day Stanislaus River, Modesto, California). According to records at Mission San José, mission padres visited the Laquisimes area in 1821 and insisted that Cucunuchi return to the mission along with his wife, daughter, and mother to receive a formal Christian education. His younger brother Canocee had already visited the mission in 1820 and been baptized with the name "Orencio". Cucunuchi and his family journeyed to the mission on September 24, 1821, but his father did not go. He was soon baptized with the name "Estanislao" (Spanish for St. Stanislaw) after his arrival at Mission San José.

Estanislao was the alcalde of the community before he left the mission with about 400 followers in 1827. Juan Bojorques describes Estanislao in his Recuerdos sobre la historia de California (1887) as "about six feet tall, his skin was more white than bronze, he was very muscular like a horse".Juan Bautista Alvarado also mentions Estanislao's literacy in History of California (1876), he writes: "Estanislao was able to read and write and stood out among the leaders of other Central California Indian tribes".

The group began raiding the Missions San José, Santa Clara, and Santa Cruz and Mexican settlers in the area around the Laquisimas River (now the Stanislaus River; during the later Mexican era, this river was called Rio Estanislao). Estanislao was joined by Chumash Indians led by Pacomio and by other Yokuts until at one time his army had 4,000 men. Estanislao educated his men in battle techniques he had learned from Spanish and Mexican soldiers. His raids were characterized as sudden, usually involving a trap, and ending with no loss of life, and he would sometimes use his sword to carve his initial, "S," authenticating his handiwork (Estanislao is therefore thought to have been one of the inspirations for the fictional character Zorro).

...
Wikipedia