Diego de Ordaz

Diego de Ordás y Girón (* 1485 in Castro Verde de Campos, Zamora, † 1532 in Paria, Venezuela ) was a Spanish conquistador. As one of the first Europeans, he participated in the exploration of Colombia and Panama.

Use in New Spain

In 1518 he joined Hernán Cortés with a ship and took an active part in the conquest of New Spain. He was probably led by Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar it. Because at that time he was the steward of Velázquez (Governor of Cuba ) and possibly had the task to monitor Cortés. On March 25, 1519, he fought at the Battle of Cintla, the river Grijalva in Tabasco, against the Maya warrior. As Cortés had himself elected by his men to the captain-general, Ordás put a formal objection and was put in chains. Later he was persuaded and followed Cortés as a loyal follower. Ordás boarded the first Europeans, accompanied by two companions in arms, the Popocatépetl. For Emperor Charles V allowed him to take a fire-spewing volcano in his coat of arms. As Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar in 1520 a fleet with an army of 1200 men under Pánfilo de Narváez sent to New Spain to arrest Cortés, Ordás fought on the side of Cortés against Pánfilo de Narváez and his old employer. The flight from Tenochtitlan and the Noche Triste he barely survived. He was wounded several times by Aztec warriors. At the next siege and conquest of Tenochtitlan, he participated in the rank of captain. Diego de Ordás later explored the province of Oaxaca and drove on the Coatzacoalcos River. While Cortés conquered Honduras, the rumor of his death went to New Spain. Ordás wanted to get an idea, sailed to Honduras and was told there messages that confirmed the rumor apparently. He sailed back to New Spain, and Cortés brought thereby into severe difficulties. The Captain-General was declared dead and distributes its possession.

Spain and South America

Cortés sent in 1521 Diego de Ordás to Spain to present to the Emperor the report of the conquest of New Spain. Around 1525 he returned to New Spain. There he heard of El Dorado and made in Colombia and Venezuela on the search. He navigated the Orinoco to 300 kilometers in length, without finding El Dorado. In 1532, he died on the Paria Peninsula in present-day Venezuela.