Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465-1524), Spanish Conquistador , was governor of Cuba of 1511 until its death.

Biography

Born with Cuéllar (Segovia), it accompanies Christophe Colomb in its second voyage. He collaborates with the governor Nicolás de Ovando for the pacification of Hispaniola. The following governor Diego Colón pushes it to assemble a forwarding to conquer and colonize Cuba in 1511.

He founds Baracoa the first town of Cuba in 1512; then in 1514 Havana which will become the capital of the country. Noting the lack of heat to the intensive colonial work of the Indians it begins the importation of slaves of Africa.

It supports the forwarding of Hernández de Córdoba with the Yucatán in 1517 and that of Juan de Grijalva and Pedro de Alvarado on the coasts of the Mexico in 1518. This year there, it forms a company with Hernán the Cortes to organize a forwarding with Culúa but dissensions emerge between them. After the departure of the Cortes it sends a forwarding under the orders of Pánfilo de Narváez to capture it, but it is the reverse which occurs. Later it encouraged Cristóbal de Olid to rebel against the Cortes in 1524. He dies in the night from June 11th to 12th 1524 in Santiago of Cuba having several large farms.

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