Gil González Dávila

Gil González Dávila (1480-1526) was a Spanish conquest captain and explorer, native of Ávila, he was the head of the expedition to the territory of present-day Costa Rica and Nicaragua, even reaching penetrate the territory of present-day Honduras.

Biography

He was a servant of the influential bishop Fonseca and in 1511 he obtained the position of accountant in Hispaniola.

In 1520 he signed a capitulation to explore the route that went to the Moluccas Islands from the isthmus of Panama, making the trip two years later.

In 1522 he made the first expedition through the South Sea from Tierra Firme, reaching Costa Rican territories, in his search for gold, obtaining a certain amount, although less than the expected. On the expedition they toured the Pacific coast of present-day Costa Rica, and visited the domains of numerous Amerindian monarchs, among them the chiefs Huetar, Chorotega, Gurutina, Orosi, Nicoya and Nicarao. He had to face the attack of the chief Diriangén that forced him to retreat towards San Lucar (Gulf of Nicoya), and then return to Panama.

He arrived in 1522 with a royal license to explore and discover as a state settlement company beyond the South Sea and began the conquest of Nicaragua. He visited, with the accountant Andrés de Cereceda, the domain of Nicarao on the shores of the lake. Cocibolca (The Sweet Sea). In 1523 the conquest of Nicaragua began, with an interesting meeting taking place between the conqueror and King Nicarao. His pilot, Andrés Niño, reached the current Gulf of Fonseca, which was named in honor of Bishop Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca.

They advanced further north, but faced the attack of Diriangén (April 17, 1523), which forced them to retreat towards the Gulf of Nicoya.

In March 1524 he landed in Honduras, with a settlement order and confronted the forces of Hernando de Soto; he founded San Gil de Buena Vista. Hernán Cortés also tried to dispute the conquest, sending Cristóbal de Olid to do so, but when the latter betrayed him, he later sent his cousin Francisco de las Casas, who ended up allying himself with Gil González himself against Olid. With Olid dead, Cortés left De las Casas and González in charge of the region.

Upon returning to Mexico, González and de las Casas came into confrontation with another client of Cortés, Salazar de la Pedrada, who sent them as prisoners to Spain for the murder of Olid, although they were apparently not punished harshly.

In 1526 he was appointed governor of Nicaragua by the Council of the Indies, a position that he did not manage to assume because he died on April 21 in his native Ávila, Spain.