Velázquez de Cuéllar, Diego, << vuh LAHS kuhs deh KWAY yahr, DYAY goh >> (1465-1524), was a Spanish conquistador (conqueror) who helped gain control of Cuba. He became the island’s first governor.
Velázquez was born in 1465 in Cuéllar, in north-central Spain. He took part in Christopher Columbus’s second voyage to America in 1493 and settled on the Caribbean island of Hispaniola. In the early 1500’s, Velázquez became the lieutenant governor of western Hispaniola. He worked to pacify Hispaniola’s indigenous (native) people and helped found several towns there.
Diego Columbus, a son of Christopher Columbus, was the Spanish viceroy of the Indies—that is, the Spanish king’s representative in the Caribbean. In 1511, he sent Velázquez, along with the Spanish conquistadors Hernán Cortés and Pedro de Alvarado, to take control of Cuba. By 1515, the island was under Spanish control.
During the conquest of Cuba, Velázquez founded many settlements there. They included Baracoa, Bayamo, Havana, and Santiago de Cuba. Under Velázquez, Spanish settlers in Cuba established municipal councils called cabildos that exercised great control over local matters.
Cuba’s indigenous population declined as a result of disease and harsh treatment by the Spaniards. In 1513, King Ferdinand of Spain authorized the importation of black Africans to work as slaves in Cuba.
Velázquez approved expeditions from Cuba to explore mainland America. Velázquez initially supported an expedition by Cortés to Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula, but he canceled the expedition before Cortés departed. Velázquez was reportedly fearful of the voyage’s expense and distrustful of Cortés’s ambition. Cortés ignored Velázquez’s orders and set out for the Yucatán in 1519. In the years that followed, Cortés conquered the Aztec people of Mexico.
Velázquez charged Cortés with insubordination and sent an unsuccessful expedition to arrest him. Velázquez also complained about Cortés to the Spanish government. However, the complaints had little effect. The Spanish King Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) sided with Cortés. He appointed Cortés captain general and governor of the newly conquered territory.
In his later years, Velázquez grew increasingly bitter. The Spanish monarchy removed Velázquez as governor of Cuba in 1521, but restored him to the post in 1523. Velázquez died in June 1524, in Santiago de Cuba. Today, the house where he lived is a museum.
See also Cortés, Hernán .
