Sebastian de Belalcazar
Sebastián de Belalcázar born as Sebastián Moyano y Cabrera (Belalcázar, Crown of Castile, 1480-Cartagena de Indias, Governorate of Cartagena, Spanish Empire, 1551) was a soldier, explorer, discoverer and Spanish conquistador, who was named adelantado and governor of Popayán in 1540, only to take office in 1542.
Biography and early years
Origin
Sebastián de Belalcázar was born as Sebastián Moyano y Cabrera in the year 1480 in the town of Belalcázar, in the Pedroches valley, which since 1833 has been part of the current Spanish province of Córdoba, but which then belonged to Extremadura of the province of Salamanca in the kingdom of León, and therefore to the Crown of Castile. He was the son of N. Moyano (b. Kingdom of Galicia of the Castilian Crown, ca. 1450) and his wife N. de Cabrera, of peasant origin. Information about his childhood is unknown, although Juan de Castellanos states that his parents died early and he had to work from an early age helping his brother. It is not known if in addition to his twin he had other siblings. Additionally, the anecdote is known that on a rainy day he got a donkey carrying firewood into a jam. Unfortunately, he would end up dying when Belalcázar hit him to get him out and to avoid reprisals, he fled from his house for a while. He would end up wandering through cities in Andalusia and Castilla. Later he would go to Seville where he would enlist to go on the expeditions to the Indies in 1507. He landed at Santa María la Antigua del Darién in 1513, shortly before Balboa discovered the South Sea. Of course, his name does not appear on the list of Vasco Núñez's companions.
He changed his original surname Moyano when he moved to Spanish America as a memory of his native population, which in turn had changed its old name from Gahete to Belalcázar after the construction of the beautiful castle or beautiful fortress donated by King Juan II of Castilla to Mr. Gutierre de Sotomayor, master of the Order of Alcántara, who took possession of the fortress in 1445. However, the The ambiguity of his last name revolves around the fact that both refer to place names, the first being a Castilian town and the second a large town in Córdoba. Historians have debated the accuracy of the reference, with Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo supporting the first case and Inca Garcilaso and Juan de Castellanos the second. The debate is not sealed since it is known that Belalcázar was illiterate and the signed documents were made by his secretaries, confusing the forms for the greater difficulty of his later historiographical definition. In his first letter, he nevertheless signed himself as Benalcázar which is the way he is known in Ecuador, where he founded many of his important cities. In addition, Garcilaso said about him that he had a twin brother, and that at birth Sebastián was the second.
Trip to America and first campaigns
Arrival and conquest of Panama and Nicaragua
According to various sources, he may have traveled to the New World with Christopher Columbus as recently as 1498, on the third Columbian voyage to the Americas. He would end up joining the military campaigns fleeing the pressing poverty due to the complicated situation in which he found himself due to his family origin and the accident with the mule. He traveled with Pedrarias Dávila to Darién, in 1514, and was appointed captain, however this would end with the execution of Balboa in Acla during the struggle with Pedarias, of whom Belalcázar was unconditional, which would allow him to participate in the actions of the Governorate that They founded Panama in 1519 and later in the great expedition of Gaspar de Espinosa that would be directed to the territory of Azuero, where he would manage to get an indigenous encomienda in Natá. During this time two of his children named Francisco and Sebastián would be born to him, the first Creoles born in America. During this time he probably met Francisco Pizarro, with whom he would become friends, and Diego de Almagro with whom he would participate in Almagro's founding of Santiago de Quito. Several years later, in 1524, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba took him with him to the conquest of Nicaragua, after which he was appointed mayor of the city of León. He remained in office until 1527, when he traveled to Honduras due to internal disputes among the Spanish governors.
Alderman of León and family life
He would develop his campaigns in Panama thanks to the work of Gil González Dávila that he had deployed in Nicaragua. Along with Francisco Hernández de Córdoba, he would go to that territory to secure it, which allowed him to tour part of Central America, participating in the founding of León and Granada and also in the discovery of the Desaguadero River. At the end of the loan he would return to Nicaragua to settle in the new city of León where he would witness the death of Hernández de Córdoba who would be executed after the accusation of rebellion against Pedrarias. This would be one of the first fights between conquistadors that Belalcázar would witness, followed by the famous fight between Pizarro and Almagro. Years later, in 1527, he would be sent to what is now Honduras together with Albítez in order to demand that Hernando de Saavedra not take control of the port of Trujillo for himself. Instead they found Diego López de Salcedo who had been appointed governor of Honduras who ordered his arrest. Belalcázar would be tried but he would run with good luck since one of the judges was his friend, Gaspar de Espinosa. This would change the fate of his life that he could have ended at that moment. After this he would leave Santo Domingo at the end of the year 1527 in the direction of León and found Pedrarias as governor of Nicaragua. He would stay there with his friend for seven years, where he would enjoy the encomienda that he had won and also the position of regidor of León. He would have more children named: Lázaro, Catalina, María and Magdalena (the latter to be confirmed). He would move his two older children there as well to live for a few years as a family. He had prestige and was nominated for mayor. March 6, 1531 would be an important date in the life of Belalcázar since his friend Pedrarias Dávila would die at ninety-one years of age. He sought succession in office but when it was denied he decided to leave Central America in the direction of Peru since the conquest of the Inca empire was taking place and Francisco Pizarro, whom he had known some time before, had called him. He sold his properties, recruited seventy men with their horses and equipment and left Nicaragua in May 1532 to Puerto Viejo where he would join Pizarro's armies under the important command of the cavalry together with Hernando Pizarro and also the important conquistador Hernando de Soto.. Belalcázar arrived as a proven soldier with experience and prestige unlike his first arrival in America from Seville.
The Conquest of the North of the Inca Empire
The capture of Atahualpa
By joining this campaign he would become one of the great conquerors of the Inca, to increase the fame he had gained in Central America. He would initially arrive in Cajamarca where they had Atahualpa on November 15, 1532. The following day the famous battle between the hosts of the Inca and the conquerors would take place. They took Atahualpa prisoner thus threatening the future existence of the indigenous empire. To avoid it, he would offer himself a ransom that would end up being distributed among the conquerors the next day. The part that Belalcázar managed to enjoy consisted of 407 marks, 2 silver castellanos and 9,909 pesos. Something high, in honor of his rank and of similar magnitude to that of Pedro de Candía, only surpassed by the Pizarro brothers and Hernando de Soto. Later he would also receive an additional 1,250 marks from the treasury that they managed to recover in Cuzco. In this way, he would confirm the prestige previously gained with military results and would gain the confidence of Pizarro and Almagro for the rest of the campaigns. At the end of this, Pizarro would head south to maintain control of the capital, but to prevent the northern area of Tahuantinsuyo from being left defenseless, he would send Almagro and Belalcázar to defend against possible interference now by other conquerors who wanted a part of the booty. now that the most critical part of the conquest had been accomplished. Mainly after the news that Pedro de Alvarado was going to the territories of present-day Ecuador and Colombia. He would be first assigned to San Miguel as a bridge with Panama for the reception of reinforcements that are needed in the conquest of Peru. However, it would be there where the differences with Francisco Pizarro would begin, since Belalcázar's friend Gaspar de Espinosa acted as an intermediary in court, manipulating him for not knowing how to read or write. It is believed that under Espinosa's influence, the letter to the Emperor was written with the help of his secretaries in which he announced that Francisco Pizarro had sent him to San Miguel, he called himself Pizarro's lieutenant governor and announced that he was containing the town and the province. and that he was aware that the governor of Guatemala Pedro de Alvarado wanted to go to that land because he argued that it had not been conquered. This would later cause him legal problems since he would be identified as a possible rebel conqueror in the wars between the conquerors.
Santiago de Quito Foundation
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He initially accompanied Diego de Almagro in his defense of the north of the Incario who, to get ahead of Alvarado, would found the city of Santiago de Quito on August 15, 1534 and days later would establish the town council. This would be in the central area of present-day Ecuador in Colta, near Riobamba. During this stage he would start the battle with the indigenous tribes and the military strategy to conquer this area. They first arrived at Chanchan, an Inca military tambo and then headed to Tiocajas where they would face the hosts of Rumiñahui, a general loyal to Atahualpa who had not surrendered despite the Inca's death. The general had prepared a battle for them with thirty thousand natives with a series of holes in the field that served as traps for horses. However, the alliances with the natives would be very useful to them since one of them would guide them along a road that led to the rear of the army, near Guamote. There they managed to drive away the Inca troops and seize what was the Rumiñahui quartermaster: forty thousand llamas, one hundred and sixty thousand food rations and five thousand women. Later they would undertake the trip towards Riobamba while fighting on the road with ten thousand warriors who responded to General Zocozopagua while Rumiñahui attacked like a pincer from behind. The roads were also full of holes, so some horses were disabled. In addition, the Cañaris alerted them to other traps south of the Colta lagoon, so they undertook a turn around Riobamba where they would be expected by the armies of the three great indigenous generals: Rumiñahui, Quizquiz and Zocozopagua. They managed with difficulties to impose themselves and emerge victorious, so they would finally enter the city on May 3.
Foundation of San Juan Bautista de Ambato
They would continue through the rest of the Andes heading north, passing through Ambato, Cutuchi, Mulaló and Uyumbicho on the way. The town of Ambato would be founded on the first of these on August 24, 1534, barely nine days after the founding of Riobamba (with the name of Santiago de Quito). It was located on the right bank of the river of the same name, in the neighborhood that today is known as Socavón. The foundation works would formally begin in later years, reaching 1570 when by order of the president of the Royal Audience of Quito, Antonio de Clavijo came with the task of delineating the streets, squares and indicating the site where the church should be built.
Foundation of San Francisco de Quito
After this they would seek to do battle in the northern city, where the last concentration of the Inca armies was believed to be. In this place, Rumiñahui's attempt to stop them would take place since he received them with arrowmen and slingers, who were chased away by the horses. He would finally enter a city that was in ruins since the general preferred to burn it down than see it fall into the hands of Belalcázar, his army and the indigenous people who had betrayed him. According to the chroniclers, he had taken the gold, four thousand wives and eleven children who had belonged to Atahualpa. Upon his capture, one of them, Francisco de Atahualpa, would later be evangelized and educated by the Franciscan Jodoco Ricke. While they settled in the city they were ambushed by the caciques of Chillos and Latacunga at night. They fought on foot for fear of using their horses in the absence of light and at the end of the night they managed to get on them and ended the siege. The next day seven caciques arrived to ask for peace and it was learned that the Inca army was fleeing to Quijos, in the Amazon. Afterwards he would look for the treasure that had been hidden by the general so he would reach what is now the city of Quinche where he would simply find women and children since the men had been recruited by Rumiñahui. In this place he would have the women and children killed in retaliation and would continue to Cayambe where he would loot the temple in the sun.
Before continuing north, he would stay a moment in Quito to help Diego de Almagro who had to face Pedro de Alvarado, who had set sail from Guatemala to conquer the territories again and be rewarded. He joined Almagro and about one hundred and forty infantry and thirty horsemen who came from the south, in the city of Jauja. Alvarado then disembarked in Puerto Viejo and headed towards the Andes to reach Ambato. On the way he found horse tracks, which disappointed him since he verified that he had been anticipated by other conquerors. He found the army of Almagro and Belalcázar in the Moche where he asked for passage in peace. The three met in Santiago de Quito where they reached an agreement in which Alvarado gave in since the city had already been founded on August 15 in what is now Colta, near Riobamba. He sold part of what he had brought for the company such as ships, slaves, horses and weapons for only 100,000 pesos and returned to Guatemala, signing a deed on August 26, 1534. In this way, Belalcázar would also remain as lieutenant governor of Francisco Pizarro. in Quito. Something that he needed since he had acted with autonomy and possible rebellion by having left San Miguel without Pizarro's permission.
With this he continued the conquest of Quito, depopulating the city of Santiago that had been founded mainly to deal with Alvarado and headed for Píllaro since he still had to face Rumiñaui's army. Meanwhile, General Quizquiz had been assassinated by his captains and his army had dispersed. He sent Captain Luis de Daza to capture Rumiñahui who was in Muliambato and managed to capture him in the lagoon south of Píntag. It is not known how he was killed. Later Ampudia, captain of Belalcázar's army, managed to capture the last general Zocozopagua and was burned alive in Quito, putting an end to the indigenous resistance. After this, he would finally return to Quito on December 6, 1534 and would found the homonymous city on the ruins of the old Inca population, calling it San Francisco de Quito, in honor of the Franciscan missionaries, for which reason the city's coat of arms includes the traditional Franciscan cord.
San Gregorio de Portoviejo Foundation
He failed in the attempt to send his collaborator Pedro de Puelles to found a town in Puerto Viejo, which was finally achieved by Francisco Pacheco from San Miguel de Piura. The latter had been sent by Almagro for the same purpose. This would happen on the coast of Ecuador on March 12, 1535. The city would originally be founded approximately 25 km from the current location in the sector known as El Higuerón. Its main function was to be the outpost of the conquerors and to confront the natives of the Manta and Picoazá tribes. Its relocation was due to the fact that it was continuously attacked by English and French pirates, so the settlements gradually changed until they reached their current location. Portoviejo later received the title of Very Loyal and Noble City of San Gregorio de Puerto Viejo, and was especially esteemed by Carlos I of Spain, who knew of this feat and that it was done in his name.
Santiago de Guayaquil Foundation
After this, another foundation organized by Diego de Almagro would begin, which initially headed towards the southwest. He arrived in the north of present-day Peru where he would reinforce himself with provisions and men, and then head to the coast where a series of battles would begin seeking to settle a new city before the indigenous people of the area, who were mainly the Huancavilcas. Previously these indigenous tribes had resisted the conquest of the Incas on three occasions. From Huayna Cápac's campaigns the first two times to the last one against Atahualpa when he was still young. In addition, Pizarro's expeditions on Puná Island to face the tribe of the same name had been difficult, so Belalcázar sought complete preparation. His objective then was to create a port that would serve to supply the new territories and also communicate with Central America from where reinforcements arrived. This expedition would be led by Belalcázar who would end up entering the Gulf of Guayaquil, in the same way that Pizarro would have tried before, however now he managed to prevail initially. The first settlement would be made in the Estero de Dumas, near the Amay River. He would leave Diego de Daza as manager of the administration and he would set out on his way to Quito. In this way the foundation of Santiago de Guayaquil would be made. It would not be the final one since a definitive battle was not fought, as if it would happen in Quito where the three indigenous generals were eliminated, there would be significant resistance from the natives. For this reason, the Chonos would initially kill half of the population, forcing a subsequent relocation (in honor of this indigenous tribe, the city of Chone would later be created in the province of Manabí). In addition, tropical diseases due to the high humidity of the area would present difficulties for the first conquerors. It would be relocated a total of five times, one of them by the famous conquistador Francisco de Orellana, before his expeditions to the Amazon. Finally, it would be Francisco de Olmos who would found the city at the foot of Cerro Santa Ana, where it has been located since 1947. It would take the name of the Huancavilca tribe, which would be placed before Santiago, in honor of Santiago de Compostela, which kept to the Spanish military since the reconquest of the peninsula. In this way, the old city of Santiago de Quito would be divided into San Francisco de Quito and Santiago de Guayaquil, before continuing with the expeditions to the north.
Santiago de Cali Foundation
He would learn about the legends of El Dorado and the Country of Cinnamon around this time and would start looking for them. In October while he was in San Miguel, his friend Gaspar de Espinosa would help him by writing to the Queen on the following November 6 from where he was at that time, Panama, with the report of the preparations to search for the golden land. He would be accepted and then he would communicate to Pizarro as well. In this way he would begin the conquest of it in 1536 with about three hundred soldiers and some indigenous people who had joined. He sought to follow the tracks that his predecessors had left: Añasco and Ampudia. However, he failed to find anything. He reached the eastern highlands of the Magdalena River and later he would reach the Cauca River valley. He would come to find both in Villa del Ampudia where they would begin the exploration of the Cauca River. In that region, the last indigenous person who was worth as a defender was the cacique Petecuy and his indigenous population that is located between the Lilí river and the Andes mountain range. They managed to make a confederation of tribes to face the conquerors, however the latter managed to prevail in battle. On the other hand, an indigenous tribe called Gorrones easily surrendered upon seeing the fate of the previous ones. Once this happened, Belalcázar would order the founding of Santiago de Cali on July 25, 1536. He would have many children with indigenous women, like his soldiers. At the beginning this city was near Vijes and Riofrío. Later it would be relocated thanks to the work of Captain Miguel Muñoz in the current place. There the chaplain Fray Santos de Añasco would celebrate mass in the place today occupied by the Church of La Merced. Belalcázar appointed Pedro de Ayala as the first municipal authority.
Foundation of Asunción de Popayán
Six months later he would found Popayán in a valley to the south on December 24 of that year. The process would take time and it would not be until August 15, 1537, that the total conquest of the area would have been achieved. Once this was done, the solemn founding ceremony of "the new villa" took place. For this they decided to keep the indigenous name of "Popayán" and before they put the name of Asunción in honor of the Assumption of Mary, a festival that was celebrated on this day. The mass with which the ceremony was celebrated was sung and had García Sánchez as the protagonist. For this, a temporary temple was built to function as a Cathedral on the south side of the future square.
Timana Town Foundation
In these campaigns he lost people for which he would return to Quito to have reinforcements: two hundred soldiers and five thousand indigenous people with whom he would return in 1538 to continue his campaigns. There he would manage to find the source of the Magdalena river that would follow him until he founded Timana on December 18, 1538. He sought to continue his conquests to the north until, like Alvarado, he discovered horse tracks since Jiménez de Quesada was in a similar campaign in search of El Dorado for which he had undertaken a campaign towards the Chibcha territory. This would be baptized as the New Kingdom of Granada. They would be found by Nicolás de Federmann, who was also looking for the same city from Venezuela. The three were in similar situations since they had disobeyed their governors Fernández de Lugo, Pizarro and Spira to undertake the search. They agreed to leave the situation there and travel to the Peninsula in order to claim their rights. It was also possible to make the loot after the conquest of the Chibchas, which included about 20,000 pesos for each of the chiefs.
Appointments, wars between the conquerors and death
Advanced and Governor of Popayán
In May 1540, King Carlos I of Spain named him adelantado of Spain, granting him the position of governor of Popayán and a large territory located in present-day Ecuador and Colombia. The royal edict that named him that way is the following: "Emperor Carlos V of Germany and Carlos I of Spain granted him the royal decree of March 10, 1540, which says:
"Don Carlos, for the Divine Clement, Emperor always Augustus King of Germany; Doña Juana his mother, and Don Carlos himself, for the Grace of God, King of Navarre, of Mallorca, of Seville, of Sardinia, of Castile, of Leon, of Aragon, of the two Sicilies, of Jerusalem, etc., for you Captain Sebastian of Belalcázar, continue your services with people on foot and
This appointment led to territorial disputes between Belalcázar and a neighboring governor, Pascual de Andagoya, something very common in the early years of the conquest. Belalcázar was able to stop the territorial claims of his neighbor, in turn occupying several lands belonging to his rival, after having filed a claim with the Panamanian Court. Later he continued arguing his precedence in Cali, which was favorable to him and he would be recognized as governor of Popayán.
Civil wars between the conquerors of Peru
Later, Belalcázar found himself immersed in the disputes between the Pizarro and Almagro families in Peru, helping Pedro de la Gasca to defeat Gonzalo Pizarro. This occurred after the assassination of Francisco Pizarro because the Mozo Almagro had rebelled. Belalcázar sought to side with the King and remain faithful, but at the same time sought to meet with the Young Man, who was his godson. He was not granted permission in the midst of all the chaotic situation, so he had to accompany the visitor from Popayán to Quito, since he was suspected, due to his precedents, of being another undercover rebel. He managed not to be forced to appear, claiming his age and returned to Popayán where he wrote again to the King on September 20, 1542 his desire to search for El Dorado and the Country of Cinnamon. While he was in the preparations, he received a letter from Gonzalo Pizarro in which he learned of the bad results of the expedition undertaken in that direction and of what Francisco de Orellana had found with the brigantines that were to go to the North Sea. For this reason he would give up and dedicated himself to his government where he frequently encountered problems and the need for pacification. He later founded the city of Arma and began a military campaign against the Paez. Thus, with the conquered territories, Miguel Díaz de Armendáriz would arrive in Cartagena in 1544, who would be the visitor who would be in charge of exercising the laws in the newborn Kingdom. Accusations began to surface against his government. He received letters from Pizarro asking him to kill the viceroy, arguing that it would be for the good of the Kingdom. However, he remained faithful to the King despite his close relations with the rebels. He would join the viceroy's troops in Pasto. They would face each other in the battle of January 18, 1545, which would be unfavorable. He was wounded by a shot from an arquebus, he fell to the ground wounded. He was recognized and the hosts of Gómez de Alvarado took him to ask Gonzalo Pizarro to spare his life. After that he would allow her to return to his governorate, once she finished curing on her two-month break in Quito. For this reason he would later raise suspicions of cooperation with the rebels. A year later, Pedro de la Gasca would arrive, the peacemaker who had been sent in order to end the wars between conquerors started by the rebel Gonzalo Pizarro. It was here that he benefited as the resistance trial he faced was put on hold as he was needed. For this reason, in 1547 he would start the campaign together with La Gasca in Quito. A year later he would join an army loyal to the King in Peru, along with Pedro de Valdivia and Lorenzo de Aldana. He was fifty-eight years old and had managed to prove his worth so now he commanded the Cavalry squadron with a total of one hundred and fifty soldiers responding to him. They managed to prevail for what would end the lives of the rebels Gonzalo Pizarro, Francisco de Carvajal and Juan de Acosta.
Sentenced to death by the Spanish court
After this, however, he would have to face justice, something that he delayed in which he also received help from La Gasca. He would finally arrive on July 13, 1549. The charges against him were that in 1546 he ordered the execution of Jorge Robledo, a neighboring provincial governor, in another territorial dispute. For this reason, he was tried in absentia for this crime, found guilty and sentenced to death for this murder, as well as convicted of ill-treatment committed against the indigenous people of the New World and for participating in the fights that occurred between the conquerors.
Death during appeal trip
The adelantado Sebastián de Belalcázar died in the year 1551 in the city of Cartagena de Indias, before embarking on the return trip to Spain to appeal the court's decision.
On the descendants of the conquistador, the Colombian historian Margarita Diez-Colunje y Pombo elaborated a genealogical study published in the magazine Popayán in 1910, within the framework of the commemorations for the first centenary of the Independence of Colombia. In said investigation it is established that Belalcázar is the common trunk of several of the heroes of Colombian emancipation, including Silvestre Ortiz, Fidel Pombo O'Donnell, Miguel de Pombo, Francisco Antonio de Ulloa, José María Quijano, Francisco José de Caldas, Camilo Torres Tenorio and Joaquín Cayzedo y Cuero.
He died without having been able to enjoy his reward or lead a life as Governor due to the problems that arose as a result of the wars between the conquerors, his excesses during the conquest, the struggles for power that he had during his tenure in Popayán. He managed to get the position, he was the protagonist of the conquest of the Inca and changed his luck as he surrounded himself with adversities in the Peninsula, all this having been illiterate. He formed alliances with other conquerors but knew how to stay loyal to the King when it mattered. He rebelled against Pizarro to continue the conquest to the north, but he was skilled enough to achieve military victories and legally justify his precedence.
Legacy and memory
Legacy as a Conqueror
Sebastián de Belalcázar participated in the following important battles in the conquest of the north of Tahuantinsuyo:
- Atahualpa capture
- Third Battle of Tiocajas
- Battle of Iñaquito
- Battle for the foundation of Guayaquil
- Expedition in search of El Dorado
- Battle for the Popayán Foundation
- Battle for the Cali Foundation
Memory of Belalcazar
Diego de Almagro, Francisco de Orellana and Sebastián de Belalcázar were the most important conquerors in the history of Ecuador. The first to guarantee the initial campaigns of conquest of the north of the Inca and the foundation of the first city of Ecuador, Santiago de Quito. The second instead for the expeditions carried out in the eastern zone, which would lead him to discover the Amazon River. Belalcázar would be at the same time a conqueror since he was one of the main soldiers in the founding of Quito and Guayaquil, and also an explorer since his search for El Dorado and El País de la Canela would take him north and he would found Cali and Popayán. Currently the Quito festivities celebrate the foundation that he made on December 6 together with Almagro. In addition, the "plaza chica" which is located in the historic center of Quito is dedicated to him. One of the most important municipal schools takes its name from him. In Cali there is an important monument in his honor, as in Popayán where he was Governor. There are also presidents of Colombia who are descendants of Belalcázar.
| Predecessor: No. (Charge creation) |  1533-1538 | Successor: Lorenzo de Aldana 1538 - 1540 |
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