José Antonio Chaves (or Chávez) was gefe político or Governor of the territory of Santa Fe de Nuevo México (New Mexico) from September 1829 until 1832.
[1] José Antonio Chaves was a descendant of don Pedro Durán de Chávez, a conquistador from the Extremadura province of Spain.
[5] In November 1829 Chaves dispatched an expedition of 60 men led by Antonio Armijo to discover a route to the Alta California.
In May 1830 they had returned and Chaves was able to send the expedition's diary to Mexico City, pointing out that the route was not as long as had been thought and could be commercially valuable.
[6] These discoveries, and notes from the governor's office, led to the publishing of the route on maps ultimately leading to the establishment of permanent settlements in the Las Vegas Valley, today southern Nevada.