Diego velazquez de cuellar biography of michael
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (ca....
The historical figure of Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, the first governor of Cuba, remains a subject of fascination and, at times, confusion.
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (ca. 1465-1523) was a Spanish conqueror who founded Cuba and was indirectly responsible for the conquest of Aztec Mexico and Mayan Yucatán.
Cuéllar near Segovia was the birthplace of Diego Velázquez.
He is known to have fought in Italy as a young man and to have reached America with the second expedition of Columbus. Settling in Hispaniola, he became a prominent landholder.
Diego Columbus was a navigator and explorer under the Kings of Castile and Aragón.During the governorship there of the Second Admiral, Diego Columbus, Velázquez was sent, in 1511, with three or four ships and about 300 men to conquer Cuba, whose insularity had recently been demonstrated by Sebastián de Ocampo.
He was soon followed by his trusty henchman Pánfilo de Narváez and the priest Bartolomé de Las Casas, who acted as chaplain of the expedition. The conquest proved easy, for the natives of Cuba were not warlike; Narváez ranged the length of the island, slaughtering and capturing many.
As governor, Velázquez seized the first opp