MONTGOMERY VILLAGE, MD. – Sebastían de Belalcázar, born Sebastían Moyano was born in 1479 or 1480 in the Cordoba province of Spain. Spain had just consolidated its territory by defeating the Moors and had a leg up on the Renaissance, mainly because of what the defeated had contributed during their occupation.
Sebastían was a humble goat herder and probably destined to a life of hard labor and poverty. But an impulsive action made him leave his family and look toward faraway horizons. While coming back home after selling some goats, in a fit of rage, he beat a mule to death. Fearing reprisals from his older brother, he decided to take the money and run.
He chose the hottest ticket going, a trip to the New World.
The mule incident, if true, occurred either in 1498 or later in 1507. If the former, there is some evidence that Sebastían was a part of Columbus’ third trip to the Americas in 1498. If the latter, he sailed to join other Spaniards in Central America at the later date.
Regardless, he was one of the early Europeans who tried to make his fortune in the New World.
Panamá to Nicaragua
Young Sebastían is found in 1522 in Panamá, from where he joined other adventurers north into Nicaragua. In 1524 he was named Mayor of Leon, Nicaragua. During his stay in Nicaragua, he took a bride. Some reports indicate a Spanish noblewoman or more likely a Native American partner. Either way, there were other less known that followed.
Between 1527 and 1532 our hero moved around Central American, competing for gain with other Spaniards. In 1532, probably because of this competition, he left to join Francisco Pizarro’s expedition to Perú.
After two years of obeying the orders of Pizarro, Sebastían had enough. He left the small settlement of San Miguel, that he had been left to command, to strike out on his own. He chose not to tell his boss about it.
Defeating the Inca’
He had loftier plans. He moved north into Ecuador and set off to conquer Quito, the northernmost capital of the Inca empire. Once he accomplished his plan by defeating the Inca general in charge, he and two others founded the city of Quito. To pacify Francisco Pizarro, he named the city San Francisco de Quito in his honor.
He also took the name of Sebastían de Belalcázar, adopting the name of a castle near his birthplace.
Image from Wikipedia
Typical of the Conquistadors, his actions were not always honorable.
If he found a town in which there were no fighting men, on at least one occasion he massacred women and children. His excuse was that this would teach them a lesson. More honorable Spaniards called his acts “cruelty unworthy of a Castillian” Yet, with success following him everywhere he went, they but watched.
In 1535 he left Quito for Colombia to the north in search of El Dorado. There he founded Cali, Popayan, and Pasto. Because of these accomplishments, the Spanish Crown gave him the title of “Founder of Cities”.
In 1538 he reached the Colombian central high Plains, where Bogotá is today located. There Sebastían de Belalcázar encountered not one, but two other Conquistadors. Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada and Nikolaus Federmann. The former had traveled 500 miles from the Caribbean Coast. Federmann traveling even more miles from the northwest, now known as Venezuela. Federmann was a German under contract to the Spanish Crown.
Conquistadors or thugs?
It is important to note that it was not proper for Spanish noblemen to do the type of activities associated with conquering. As a result, most Conquistadors were adventurers and of lower social class. Foreigners like Federmann (and in fact Columbus) were also contracted for this type of work.
In the high plains, the three Conquistadors had a decision to make, to fight or try to reach an agreement. Uncharacteristically, they did the latter. A long-range discussion ensued, with the Crown acting as the final arbiter.
Jiménez de Quesada, who was also a lawyer, was able to argue the best deal. He stayed and founded Bogotá. He also remained near to what eventually would be deemed to be El Dorado. Belalcázar was given the area to the southwest and Federmann the area to the northeast.
In the years that followed, Belalcázar incurred the ire of other Spaniards by his actions. Finally, after ordering the execution of another Conquistador by the name of Robledo, he was found guilty of his crimes. While under sentence of death, he died in Cartagena, Colombia in 1551 while traveling back to Spain to appeal the decision.
The author is descendent from Belalcázar, on both sides of his family. The joke is that a full one-quarter of Colombians claim the same ancestry as do half of Ecuadoreans.
Mario Salazar, the 21st Century Pacifist, is an avid history reader and loves genealogy. He is on Twitter (@chibcharus), LinkedIn and Facebook (Mario Salazar).
Lead Image by Patton at https://www.flickr.com/photos/pattoncito/ – some rights reserved, available for use