Baltasar Maldonado | |
|---|---|
| Born | c. 1510 |
| Died | 1552 (aged 41–42) |
| Occupations | Conquistador |
| Years active | 1536-1552 |
| Known for | Spanish conquest of the Muisca Defeat of Tundama Quest forEl Dorado |
| Spouse | Leonor de Carvajal y Mendoza |
| Children | 4 |
| Father | Francisco Maldonado |
| Relatives | Jorge Robledo (brother-in-law) |
Baltasar Maldonado, also written asBaltazar Maldonado,[1] (c.1510,Salamanca,Castile – 1552,Santafé de Bogotá,New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanishconquistador who first served underGonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, and later in the army ofHernán Pérez de Quesada in theSpanish conquest of the Muisca.[2][3][4]
In 1539, Maldonado defeated the last rulingCacique (chieftain) of theMuisca,Saymoso (called "Tundama" by the Spaniards). Maldonado took part in a quest forEl Dorado led by Hernán Pérez de Quesada in the southern regions of present-day Colombia. After this failed expedition, Maldonado went to Popayán and Cali and traveled back toSantafé de Bogotá, the capital of the New Kingdom of Granada where he died in 1552.[2]
The adventures of Maldonado during the first half of the 16th century have been described byscholarsJuan de Castellanos, andJuan Rodríguez Freyle in his workEl Carnero.[4][5][6]
Maldonado was born inSalamanca in a family ofhidalgos, the son of Francisco Maldonado, who served under theDuke of Alba.[4] He married Leonor de Carvajal y Mendoza, and the couple had four children; two sons: Alfonso Maldonado y Carvajal and Alonso Maldonado; and two daughters: María Maldonado y Carvajal and Ana Maldonado de Carvajal.[3][7] The sister of Leonor de Carvajal married successivelyJorge Robledo, Pedro Briceño, and president ofAudienciaFrancisco Briceño.[4]
In 1535, Maldonado traveled from Spain toSanto Domingo and then toSanta Marta.,[4] accompanying Santa Marta's interim governor, Rodrigo Infante. The army of the new governor, Pedro Fernández de Lugo, arrived on January 2, 1536, and punitive expeditions against the rebel natives of the area were conducted. Maldonado then joined the expedition led by Fernandez's de Lugo lieutenant, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, whose purpose was to explore the Magdalena River and to find a land path to Peru. The expedition discovered toward theEastern Ranges where later they encountered two other expeditions: an eastern expedition led byNikolaus Federmann, and another one led by Sebastián de Belalcázar. Immediately afterBogotá was established (August 6, 1538), the soldiers participated in theBattle of Tocarema in late August to over-power thePanche who lived to the west of theAltiplano Cundiboyacense.
The Muisca Confederation was separated into federations: TheZipa ofBacatá (the central federation), theZaque ofHunza (the southern federation), and theIracaSugamuxi inSuamox (the northern-most group). Before Fall 1537, the first two had submitted to Spanish rule: Bacatá in April 1537; and then Hunza four months later. The northernmost territories of Suamox were still controlled by theCacique (or 'King')Tundama, whosebohío was built on an island in the lake of thesettlement with the same name, today known as Duitama. Tundama was the lastcacique of Duitama and thecaciques ofCerinza,Chitagoto, Icabuco, Lupacoche,Sátiva,Soatá andSusacón were loyal to him.[8] Tundama, other than the earliercaciques of theMuisca resisted heavily against the European invaders and punished one of his people who suggested to surrender by cutting off their ears and left hand.[9] Tundama declared a "death war" against the Spanish soldiers and gathered an army of 10,000guecha warriors.[8]
Maldonado defeated Tundama and 4000 other Muisca in a December 1539 battle, a struggle that took two weeks, culminating in the Battle of Vargas Swamp, close toPaipa, where 280 years later the famousBattle of Vargas Swamp bySimón Bolívar would be fought.[8][9][10] Tundama was killed by Maldonado wielding a large hammer.[8]
Themythical city of goldEl Dorado was a common legend in the early days of the conquest of what later would become Colombia; the troops of Gonzalo de Quesada were drawn from the relative safety of the Caribbean coast inSanta Marta towards the heart of the Andes, while around the same time the southern expedition led by De Belalcázar heard similar stories in Quito. After the establishment of the New Kingdom of Granada, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada left for Spain with De Belalcázar and other soldiers who participated in the conquest and left the reign of the new colony in the hands of his brother,Hernán Pérez de Quesada. Hernán organised an expedition to search for the mythical lands ofgold towards the southeast of the Cundiboyacense; the vast flatlands of theLlanos Orientales. The troops left Bogotá in September 1540 and passed throughPasca, that had been founded by fellow conquistadorJuan de Céspedes three years earlier.[5]
The conquistadors passed the mountains of the Eastern Ranges and crossed theGuaviare andPapamene Rivers. While crossing one of the many rivers of the Llanos, a horserider of the expedition, Jorge Olmeda, drowned with his horse and an indigenous woman he had taken with him. The Spanish honoured him by naming this theOlmeda River. The soldiers reachedLa Fragua, a settlement populated by theChoque in the present-day department ofCaquetá, where Hernán Pérez de Quesada decided to stay for a while to rest. He sent Maldonado ahead to search for other settlements in the area. Maldonado tried to cross a river but he was halted by the indigenous people living there, who shotpoisoned arrows at the conquistador, forcing him to retreat. At night, Maldonado and his men attempted to defeat the indigenous a second time—this time successfully—by ambushing them on a small island in the river. The hurt natives fled and many drowned in the waters. Hernán Pérez de Quesada with the other remaining soldiers joined the troops of Maldonado again inMocoa,Putumayo to the south. From here, the expedition went back into the Andes to search for food.[5]
Maldonado walked for three days, finally encountering a lush valley inSibundoy, terrain of theInga andKamëntsá. This valley was part of the jurisdiction of the earlier foundedPopayán and the colleagues of Maldonado from four years earlier lived in the area. Maldonado, however, was unaware of this and returned to his expedition leader Hernán to report the location of the valley. The troops marched back and found the conquistadors, among which were Molina and Cepeda.[5]
The expedition to findEl Dorado had failed because many of the Spanish soldiers died of diseases, poisoned arrows, and drowning in the numerous rivers of theLlanos Orientales and westernAmazon River basin. Maldonado's expedition returned toCali (formerly founded by De Belalcázar).
Maldonado, who had spent years in the conquest of Colombian terrain, returned to Bogotá viaPensilvania.[6] He died in the capital in 1552.[2]
| Name | Department | Date | Year | Notes | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quito | Pichincha | 6 December | 1534 | [2] |  |
| Cali (1) | Valle del Cauca | 1536 |  | ||
| Popayán (1) | Cauca | 1537 |  | ||
| Falán | Tolima | 1539 | [11] |  | |
| Mariquita | Tolima | 1539 | [12] |  | |
| Manzanares | Caldas | 1539 | [1][13] |  | |
| Marquetalia | Caldas | 1539 | [1] |  | |
| Duitama | Boyacá | 15 December | 1539 | [8] |  |
| Pasca | Cundinamarca | Early September | 1540 | [5] |  |
| Nevado del Sumapaz | Cundinamarca | 1540 |  | ||
| San Martín | Meta | 1540 | [14] |  | |
| Florencia | Caquetá | 1540 | [15] |  | |
| San José de la Fragua | Caquetá | 1540 | [5] |  | |
| Mocoa | Putumayo | 1540–41 | [5] |  | |
| Sibundoy | Putumayo | 1541 | [5] |  | |
| Popayán (2) | Cauca | 1541 | [5] | | |
| Cali (2) | Valle del Cauca | 1541 | [6] | | |
| Pensilvania | Caldas | 1541–1550 | [16] |  |
The Maldonado family lived inSalamanca, Spain. Notable isFrancisco Maldonado, who was a leader in theRevolt of the Comuneros. Various conquistadors and other people involved in theSpanish colonization of the Americas from the Maldonado family are known in history.[17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24]
{{citation}}:ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)
