Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada

Career

Beginnings in Santa Marta

Quesada was at the beginning lawyer in Spain. It was named of this fact responsible for the justice of the colony of Santa Marta (on the northern coast of current the Colombia) when it unloaded in 1535 with the fleet of Pedro Fernández de Lugo.

The conquest

In 1536, Lugo sent it to order a forwarding to explore the territory in the south. Forwarding started from Santa Marta, crossed Río Cesar, and arrived has Tamalameque, on the Río Magdalena. A fleet of support, made up of 5 or 6 ships also left Santa Marta with 800 men to go up the Río Magdalena. Only 2 ships arrived in Tamalameque, and returned in Santa Marta with many men of Quesada.

While going up Magdalena to Tora, Quesada and its men followed Río Opón to the Colombian Eastern cordillera, and arrived by Chipatá at the current province of Vélez, in the department of Santander. They passed then by the lagoons of Fúquene and Suesca and discovered the tribes muiscas of Nemocón and Zipaquirá. At this time, only 166 people had survived the voyage. From there they entered on the grounds of Zipa, one of the kings Muisca S, and founded the town of Santa Fe of Bogota, on August 6th, 1538. They attacked the Zaque, the king muisca of Tunja.

The arbitration

Quesada and its men remained in the area until the arrival into 1539 of forwardings of Sebastián de Belalcázar, which came from Ecuador and Nicolás de Federmán, which came from the Venezuela.

The three exploring chiefs agreed to send their territorial claims to the arbitration of the crown. Quesada called the conquered grounds Royaume of News-Grenade, in homage to the city of the same name, in Spain. They embarked since Carthagène (Colombia) for Spain, where Quesada presented its request to be appointed governor, without success, whereas the government of Popayan was granted has Belalcázar. Quesada returned in 1549 with the honorary title of Governor of Eldorado.

The disaster of Llanos

In the idea to discover the legendary ones and mythical grounds of Eldorado, in 1568, at the 60 years age, Jiménez de Quesada received the order to conquer Los Llanos (plains) in the east of the Colombian Andes. It left Bogota in April of 1569 with 400 Spanish, 1500 natives, 1100 horses and 8 priests. The forwarding, which lasted nearly two years, was a complete failure. Quesada had to be solved to return to Bogota with only 64 Spanish, 4 natives, 18 horses and 2 priests. Forwarding was one of dearest known disasters the.

After a short service with the command of the Quesada border withdrew itself in Huesca with what it could save of its fortune. He died of leprosy with Mariquita (Colombia) in 1579, and its remainders are buried in the Cathedral of Bogota.

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