Alonso de Ojeda

Alonso de Ojeda (born with Cuenca towards 1465 - 1515) was a Spanish explorer.

Resulting from a noble but impoverished family, it was likely to begin its career with the service of the dukes of Medina Sidonia. It very early obtained the protection of Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca, bishop of Burgos and future patriarch of the Indies, which made it possible Ojeda to accompany Christophe Colomb in its second voyage in the New World in 1493. Over there Ojeda was characterized by its audacity in the combat against the natives, towards whom it was excessively hard and vindicatory. It returned in Spain in 1496.

After three years, in 1499, it still went to the New World for its own account, with three vessels, accompanied by the cosmographer Juan of Cosa and Amerigo Vespucci. In a little more than three weeks he recognized the continent close to the mouth of the Orénoque, and after having made stopover in Trinidad and in other places, he discovered a port which he called Venezuela, i.e. small Venice, because of its resemblance to bay of Venice. After having continued its explorations, it moved towards the island of Hispaniola, where it was accepted coldly, because it was thought that it encroached on the privileges given to Christophe Colomb for his explorations. For its return in Spain in 1500, it took along with him much of prisoners whom it sold like slaves.

It always had with the country of the influential friends and it thus had the possibility of preparing a new forwarding which started from Cadiz in 1502 and accosted on the American continent at a place that it named Santa Cruz. Over there it establishes a colony which did not last a long time: it encroached on the territory given to the Portugal by the papal Bulle. To its return in Spain, it was condemned to pay a door amends. After call, however, it was discharged from any culpability, but was now reduced to poverty.

He nevertheless managed to turn over to Hispaniola, where also its former associate was, Juan of Cosa. Over there it conceived the idea to establish colonies on the continent between Cabo de Vela and the Gulf of Uraba, and after having spent some time soliciting the government, the two friends ended up obtaining the permission necessary.

It returned then to Spain and to the price of main efforts, it managed to organize its third and last forwarding, in 1509. In one of the four vessels which forwarding counted embarked Francisco Pizarro, the future one conquering of Peru. Hernán the Cortes, which was going to conquer Mexico thereafter, would have to also take part in forwarding if a sudden disease had not prevented it from embarking. With about 300 men, Ojeda started from Hispaniola, took possession as Gouverneur of Nueva Andalucía, which included/understood the territory between the gulfs of Urabá (Darien) and Maracaibo. Close to the site of the current city of Carthagène it unloaded with the head of approximately 70 men in order to capture Amerindians like slaves. But Ojeda met very hostile natives: they tackled its group and killed everyone, except Ojeda and one of his/her companions. Tough, it founded a new colony with San Sebastián, but the provisions became exhausted and it rather quickly had to return in Hispaniola in order to obtain vivres for the colony, which it left under the direction of Francisco Pizarro. It made shipwreck on the way, and it is only at the price of great deprivations that it ends up reaching |Santo Domingo, where he died.

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