Colonist; born in
Cuellar, Segovia, Spain, in 1465; served in the conquest of
Granada; went to
Hispaniola with
Columbus in 1493; and was prominent in the wars against the Indians.
In 1511, on being commissioned to conquer
Cuba, he left
Hispaniola with 300 soldiers and landed near the eastern extremity of the island.
The unarmed natives were easily conquered, and he found but little resistance except from Cacique Hatuey, fugitive from
Hispaniola, whom he captured and burned at the stake.
He founded
Bayamo,
Trinidad,
Porto Principe,
Matanzas, Santo Espiritu, and
Santiago, where he established his government and assumed command.
In 1517 he went with
Cordova on his slave-seeking expedition, which resulted in the discovery of
Yucatan.
Encouraged by the results of this expedition he sent out another in 1518 under
Hernando Cortez, who arrived at
Vera Cruz and took command.
On hearing that
Cortez had sent commissioners to
Spain to obtain the title to the newly discovered country,
Velasquez immediately despatched a force under
Panfilo de Narvaez to bring back
Cortez as a prisoner.
In this attempt
Narvaez was defeated by
Cortez, and so the effort of
Velasquez to secure the
Mexican conquest failed.
He died in
Havana in 1522 or 1523.
