Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
Velázquez de Cuéllar, Diego
(1460-1524)
Spanish explorer and colonial
administrator
Velázquez de Cuéllar was among the first
of the conquistadores. He accompanied
C
HRISTOPHER
C
OLUMBUS
on his second voy-
age (1493). After returning to Europe to
fight in the opening stage of the I
TALIAN
W
ARS
, he traveled to the New World again
in the early 1500s, while the center of
Spanish presence there was still located in
H
ISPANIOLA
. Under the mandate of Diego
Columbus, the son of the discoverer,
Velázquez undertook the exploration and
conquest of C
UBA
. Between 1510 and 1514
he carried out operations against the native
population that included both war and
persuasion. In these campaigns he was
assisted by many leading members of what
had been called the first generation of con-
quistadores, including P
ÁNFILO
DE
N
ARVÁEZ
,
P
EDRO
DE
A
LVA R A D O
, and (in terms of reli-
gion) B
ARTOLOMÉ
DE
LAS
C
ASAS
. Having
pacified Cuba, Velázquez established
numerous settlements, many of which
survive as towns to the present day and
distributed land grants to his principal offi-
cers. The jealousy and suspicion of Colum-
bus caused him to interfere with the
increasingly independent behavior of his
subordinate, but Velázquez had powerful
connections at the Spanish Court, and
these enabled him to secure a free hand in
Cuba and to act as governor from about
1516 onward.
Velázquez dispatched a series of probing
expeditions to the North American main-
land, including that of J
UAN
DE
G
RIJALVA
in
1518 and that of H
ERNÁN
C
ORTÉS
, who
landed on what is now M
EXICO
in 1519.
The progress of Cortés into the interior of
Mexico at first angered Velázquez, who
feared that his authority was being ignored,
and he dispatched Narváez to supplant
Cortés. After Cortés routed Narváez's
forces, Velázquez accepted the indepen-
dent initiatives that were already leading
to the conquest of the Aztec Empire. He
was confirmed in his own powers by a
royal decree of 1519 making him
ADELAN
-
TADO
of Cuba and all lands discovered
under his oversight. The suspicious and
domineering temperament of Velázquez
still did not permit him to work out his dif-
ferences with Cortés, especially after the
latter had completed the conquest of Mex-
ico and opened his own channel of self-
promotion to the king of Spain. As a result
of these rivalries, Velázquez was actually
removed from the governorship of Cuba in
1521, although he regained the post two
years later. For the remainder of his life,
Velázquez continued to meddle in the
activities of the conquistadores (mostly
lieutenants of Cortés) who were engaged
in the systematic exploration and occupa-
tion of Central America.
Velázquez undoubtedly played a pivotal
role in moving the Spanish conquest of the
Americas from its initial foothold on His-
paniola into the second phase, which
involved the islands of the Caribbean and
the first penetration into Mexico and Cen-
tral America. In Cuba he was, in effect, the
prime conqueror of what would be Spain's
most enduring stronghold in the New
World. Despite his military prowess and
skill in manipulating officials of the royal
government, however, he suffered from a
suspicious and contentious temperament
that thwarted his ability to achieve the sta-
tus of a major architect of the Spanish
conquest.
Search WWH ::
Custom Search