Antonio de Olivares

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Antonio de Olivares, full name Antonio de San Buenaventura y Olivares (1630–1722), was a Spanish Franciscan who helped lay the groundwork for early Texas missions and towns. He is best known for helping establish the Alamo and for guiding the exploration and settlement of the San Antonio area.

Born in Moguer, Andalusia, Olivares studied with the Franciscans and sailed to the Americas in 1665 with a group of fellow friars. He trained in Querétaro to work with Indigenous people and soon joined expeditions into Texas as Spain looked to expand its church and colonial presence.

In 1675, Olivares and fellow friars explored beyond the Rio Grande to see where new settlements might rise. By 1699–1700, he was working in northern Coahuila and helped found Mission San Juan Bautista. On March 1, 1700, he founded the missions of San Bernardo and San Francisco Solano near the Rio Grande, in what is now Coahuila, Mexico.

Olivares held leadership roles, including guardian of the Santa Cruz de Querétaro college in 1706. In 1709 he joined an expedition with Pedro de Aguirre, traveling from San Antonio to the Colorado River. That year he went to Spain for six years to press for more missions along the San Antonio River.

Back in New Spain, he wrote to the viceroy in 1716 urging settlers—skilled in arts and trades—to help build a town around the missions. The viceroyalty approved the mission project that same year, assigning Martín de Alarcón to oversee its establishment.

Olivares organized the founding of the new mission from San Francisco Solano, working closely with local Indigenous groups such as the Payaya and recruiting others like the Pastia for help. The mission became San Antonio de Valero, later known as the Alamo, and the settlement around it grew into Bejar (Bexar). He also helped build the Acequia Madre de Valero, the first canal in Texas, to water crops for the mission and settlers.

On May 1, 1718, Alarcón received possession of the Mission San Antonio de Valero, and on May 5 the Presidio San Antonio de Bexar was founded to defend the area. The first baptism at the mission was recorded on July 8, 1718. In 1719, Margil sought permission to found another mission at San Antonio, which Olivares opposed; nevertheless, Mission San José y San Miguel de Aguayo was started nearby in 1720. Olivares retired for health reasons on September 8, 1720, returning to Querétaro, where he died in 1722.