Who was Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar?
Q: Who was Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar?
A: Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar (1465 - 1524) was a Spanish soldier and colonial administrator (a Conquistador). He conquered and governed Cuba for Spain.
Q: Where was he born?
A: He was born in Cuéllar, near Segovia, Spain.
Q: When did he come to America?
A: He came to America in the second voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1493.
Q: What did he do during his time in Hispaniola?
A: During his time in Hispaniola, he spent most of the time living in the southwestern region of the island and worked together with the Spanish governor Nicolás de Ovando to fight against the Taíno Indians of the region.
Q: What cities did he found or govern?
A: He founded and governed several towns including Azua de Compostela (1504), San Juan de la Maguana (1503), Bánica (1504), Salvatierra de la Sabana (1504, now Les Cayes, Haiti), Santa María de la Verapaz (near present Port-au-Prince, Haiti), Villanueva de Yáquimo (now Jacmel, Haiti). In 1511, he left from Salvatierra de la Sabana with 300 men and three or four ships to conquer Cuba where he founded Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Baracoa as its first capital city as well as San Salvador del Bayamo (1513), Santiago de Cuba in 1514 and Havana in 1515.
Q: Who did Velázquez send on exploratory missions?
A: In 1517 he sent Juan de Grijalva to explore the coast of Mexico and then Francisco Hernández Córdoba to explore Yucatán's coast before sending his secretary Hernán Cortés with 450 soldiers to conquer Mexico.
Q: When did Diego Velázquez die?
A: Diego Velázquez died in Santiago De Cuba in 1524.
