Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (* 1509 in Córdoba or Granada, Spain, † February 16, 1579 in Mariquita, Colombia) was a Spanish lawyer and conquistador. He founded the current Colombian capital Bogota.

Life

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was probably born in Córdoba, Spain, the son of a Jewish family converted to Christianity. Other sources, including the members of his expeditions, point instead to the fact that he was born in Granada, Spain.

He entered 1535/36 in the colony of Santa Marta as a legal magistrate (Spanish Justicia Mayor ) and had the task to explore the Magdalena River and thus to find El Dorado. As a conquistador he was therefore an exception because he could write and read fluently and had a legal education. He defeated the Chibcha and founded on August 6, 1538, then capital of the Viceroyalty of New Granada later, Santa Fe de Bogota, the capital of Colombia later. He captured large quantities of emeralds and gold for the crown of Spain. His handling of the native population ranged from brutal attacks and humanitarian relief operations.

He met Nicholas spring man and Sebastián de Belalcázar and convinced them to travel back with him to Spain, because they raised all claim to the new areas. There he was to 1550 are not observed, because the mood in Spain against the conquistadors was bad. He later received as a result of his legal skills in the title of Marshal of New Granada. He tried more times to find El Dorado and organized this expedition to the rivers Orinoco and Rio Guaviare, which drove him to ruin. His writings were lost.

Work

• Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada: El Antijovio. Edited by Rafael Torres Quintero, introductory study by Manuel Ballesteros Gaibrois. Bogotá, Instituto Caro y Cuervo, 1952.