Saint James Matamoros the Americas as a rival force to the indigenous gods, and protector of Spaniards from the indigenous peoples of the Americas. He was depicted as a conquistador. The Order of Santiago, a Spanish order of knighthood, originates from St. James' supposed involvement at the Battle of Clavijo. A wide number of Mexican settlements were named Matamoros by Spanish settlers in honour of their patron saint. Matamoros can also be found as a Hispanic family name, for instance Miguel Matamoros. In the 1620s Spain debated who should be the country's patron—James, the current patron, or a combination of him and the
Patron saints of places Patron saints of places The idea of assigning a patron saint to a certain locality harks back to the ancient tutelary deities. This is a list of patron saints of places by nation, region, and town/city. If a place is not listed here, it may be listed in "Patronage of the Blessed Virgin Mary". Australia Austria Belgium Brazil Canada Colombia Croatia Cuba Czech Republic Denmark Ecuador Egypt France Germany Greece Haiti Hungary India Ireland Italy Lebanon Lithuania Malta Mexico Montenegro The Netherlands Norway Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Russia Serbia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sri Lanka Sweden Turkey Ukraine United Kingdom United