Diego de Torres y Moyachoque | |
|---|---|
| cacique | |
 Monument of Diego de Torres located at Turmequé's main square. | |
| Reign | 1571–1590 |
| Predecessor | Maternal uncle; Moyachoque |
| Born | 1549 Tunja,New Kingdom of Granada |
| Died | 4 April 1590(1590-04-04) (aged 40–41) Madrid,Crown of Spain |
| Queen | Juana de Oropesa |
| Issue | Beatriz de Torre(s) y Moyachoque (sister) Pedro de Torre(s) (half-brother) María de Herrezuelo (half-sister) |
| Father | Juan de Torre(s) |
| Mother | Catalina Moyachoque |
| Memorials | Main square of Turmequé |
Diego de Torre(s) y Moyachoque (1549 inTunja,New Kingdom of Granada – 4 April 1590 inMadrid,Spain) wascacique ofTurmequé, in the New Kingdom of Granada. He served as chief from 1571 to his death. De Torres y Moyachoque was amestizo, the child of aSpanish conquistador and aMuisca noble. He is known for his defense of the local Muisca and resistance against the Spanishencomenderos, particularly his half-brother Pedro de Torres. De Torres y Moyachoque is also known as the firstcartographer of the lands surrounding the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada,Santa Fe de Bogotá.
De Torres y Moyachoque traveled twice to Spain, first in 1575-1577 and the second journey in the 1580s, where he presented complaints about the mistreatment of the Muisca by the Spanish settlers to the Spanish KingFelipe II. After this travel, he stayed, married, and died in Madrid on April 4, 1590.
Diego de Torres y Moyachoque was born in the city ofTunja, former capital of the central Muisca Confederation called Hunza in 1549 from a Spanish conquistador, Juan de Torre(s) and the eldest sister of the previouscacique whose name is unknown, Catalina Moyachoque.[1] Catalina was approximately 41 years old when she gave birth to Diego de Torres y Moyachoque.[2] He had one sister Beatriz, a half-sister María and a half-brother Pedro de Torre.[3] Beatriz was partner of the former priest ofVélez,Santander, Francisco Sánchez Herreño, to whom she bore a daughter: Francisca González de la Nava y Herreño.[4]
He studied at the school for mestizo children of conquistadors set up by Diego de Aquila and later at the Dominican Convent (Convento de los Dominicos) in Tunja, where he was educated in grammar, religion, moral and law. Thecacique was also trained in horse-riding and an excellent archer.[1]
De Torres y Moyachoque inherited thecacicazgo at age 21/22 in 1571, when his uncle, the formercacique, died.[5] He referred to himself as thecacique cristiano; (Catholic) Christiancacique.[6]
The Muisca Confederation was mostly conquered during theSpanish conquest of the Muisca from 1537 to 1540, and the town of Turmequé, at about 53 kilometres (33 mi) from Tunja, was submitted by main conquistadorGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada on July 20, 1537.[7][8] In 1574, thecacique of Turmequé had a dispute with theencomendero of the town, his half-brother Pedro de Torres, son of Juan de Torres and his first Spanish wife Leonor Ruiz Herrezuelos.[9] The dispute was about the mistreatment of the indigenous people under the encomienda rules. Thecacique ofTibasosa Alonso de Silva, also a mestizo, joined De Torres in his resistance.[5] De Torres y Moyachoque traveled fromCartagena in theNew Kingdom of Granada toSpain in 1575 to hand over to theKing of Spain a series of demands for the rights of the indigenous people of Turmequé.[8] He stranded inSanto Domingo, the capital of the Caribbean and stayed there for almost three years, studying the works of Bartolomé de las Casas, before traveling on toMadrid, where he arrived in 1577.[5]
In Spain, De Torres y Moyachoque befriended Juan Bautista de Monzón and both traveled back to South America, De Monzón being the newvisitador of the colony.[5] Here, the Spanish colonisers immediately accused both men to work against theSpanish Crown and convicted De Torres y Moyachoque to death. He promptly fled into the mountains of theAltiplano Cundiboyacense, but later returned to Turmequé. In 1578, he made the first map of theBogotá savanna, including Santa Fe de Bogotá and surrounding settlements, theBogotá River andSué rising over theLlanos Orientales.[10]
In the meantime, in 1581, a newvisitador had arrived with his delegation from Spain, Juan Prieto de Orellana. Diego de Torres presented himself to the new Spanish rulers and was sent again to Spain. There, he presented hisMemoria de los Agravios about the mistreatment of the Muisca to the Spanish KingFelipe II in 1584.[11] At these encounters, De Torres y Moyachoque was permitted to be seated instead of kneeling, which was common for visitors to the Spanish King.[12] He was acquitted of the charges, married Juana de Oropesa, and died in the capital of the Spanish kingdom on April 4, 1590, at age 40.[5][10]
The story about Diego de Torres y Moyachoque has been told byJuan Rodríguez Freyle in his famous workEl Carnero in 1636, albeit in a different manner. In this book, Rodríguez Freyle, attributed all the conflicts to jealousy over theindigenous women and De Torres y Moyachoque plays a minor part in the story aboutadultery andcorruption.[5][13]
Although he is commonly viewed as a mestizo who was highly hispanised,[14] De Torres y Moyachoque is considered one of the most important Colombian people of the 16th century and in Turmequé a monument honouring the Muisca has been constructed.[7][10]
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Other | |
