Juan de Céspedes Ruiz
| Juan (Francisco) de Céspedes | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1501 or 1505 Argamasilla de Calatrava, Castile |
| Died | late 1573 or 1576 Bogotá, New Kingdom of Granada |
| Nationality | Castilian |
| Occupation | Conquistador |
| Years active | 1521-1543 |
| Employer | Spanish Crown |
| Known for |
Foundation of Santa Marta Conquest of the Tairona Conquest of the Muisca Conquest of the Panche Conquest of the Sutagao Mayor of Bogotá |
| Spouse(s) | Isabel Romero |
| Partner(s) | Isabel (indigenous) |
| Children |
unnamed indigenous (son) Antonio de Céspedes Romero (son) Lope Gutiérrez de Céspedes Romero (son) |
| Parents |
|
| Relatives | Diego de Céspedes Ruiz (brother) Hernando de Prado (half brother) María de Céspedes Romero (stepdaughter) |
| Encomendero of Bogotá | |
|
In office 1542–1543 |
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| Preceded by | Hernán Venegas Carrillo |
| Succeeded by | Hernán Venegas Carrillo |
|
In office 1546–1546 |
|
| Preceded by | Gonzalo García Zorro |
| Succeeded by | Juan Tafur |
| Notes | |
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Juan (Francisco) de Céspedes Ruiz (1501 or 1505,Argamasilla de Calatrava, Castile - 1573 or 1576, Bogotá, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador who is known as the founder of the town of Pasca, Cundinamarca, in the south of the Bogotá savanna, Colombia. De Céspedes arrived in the Americas in 1521 and participated in the conquest of the Tairona and the foundation of Santa Marta under Rodrigo de Bastidas. From 1542 to 1543 and in 1546 he served as mayor of Bogotá and after that until 1570 as lieutenant general of the first president of Colombia. Juan de Céspedes married Isabel Romero, one of the first Spanish women who arrived at Colombian territories and had two legitimate sons and one daughter. His date of death is uncertain; in late 1573 or 1576.
Knowledge about Juan de Céspedes has been provided by chroniclers Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada in his memoirs (1576), Pedro Simón in 1626, Juan Rodríguez Freyle in his work El Carnero (written between 1636 and 1638) and Lucas Fernández de Piedrahita (1688).
Juan de Céspedes was born in 1501 or 1505 in Argamasilla de Calatrava, Castile-La Mancha in a family of hidalgos from Toledo. His parents were Lope de Céspedes and María (de) Ruiz and he had one brother; Diego. In 1521, he left Spain for Santo Domingo, Hispaniola, the first stronghold of the Spanish in the Americas. De Céspedes accompanied Rodrigo de Bastidas in the conquest of the Tairona and foundation of Santa Marta in 1525. After the Spanish king Carlos V installed García de Lerma as governor of Santa Marta on December 20, 1527, the latter named Juan de Céspedes Captain of the Infantry and sent him on an expedition into the Valle-Dupar, Pocigüeyca, a village south of Santa Marta towards Ciénaga, and the Magdalena River. After this expedition that took two years, De Céspedes was sent by Pedro Fernández de Lugo into the interior of the province of Santa Marta.
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