Diego Hernández de Serpa (; 1510 – May 10, 1570) was a Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

and explorer, who under the patronage of

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

was part of the European conquest and colonization of the New Andalusia Province (Venezuela region) in northern South America.

Biography

Diego Hernández de Serpa was born in Palos de la Frontera, Spain, around the year 1510. Since his youth, he had traveled to the Spanish Americas. He and his brother, Ginés Hernández de Serpa, went in 1524 to the small island of

Cubagua Cubagua Island or Isla de Cubagua () is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Margarita Island and Coche Island. It is located north of the Araya Peninsula, the closest ...

, off the coast of present-day Venezuela. The island was thriving from the pearl industry. The two brothers prospered there. Hernández accompanied Diego de Ordás in the Spanish expedition up the Orinoco River in 1530, searching for fabled ''El Dorado''. Until 1537, during his return to Cubagua, Hernández was responsible for defending against

pirates Piracy is an act of robbery or criminal violence by ship or boat-borne attackers upon another ship or a coastal area, typically with the goal of stealing cargo and other valuable goods. Those who conduct acts of piracy are called pirates, v ...

and for seven years he traveled the

Caribbean The Caribbean (, ) ( es, El Caribe; french: la Caraïbe; ht, Karayib; nl, De Caraïben) is a region of the Americas that consists of the Caribbean Sea, its islands (some surrounded by the Caribbean Sea and some bordering both the Caribbean Se ...

in pursuit of corsairs. In 1537, the crisis intensified in New Cadiz, and there was a discovery of oyster beds in the Cabo de La Vela, where the majority of colonists in Cubagua were sent. Around 1539, he went to

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley o ...

, where he lived some eight years with his family. His travels took him to

Santa Marta Santa Marta (), officially Distrito Turístico, Cultural e Histórico de Santa Marta ("Touristic, Cultural and Historic District of Santa Marta"), is a city on the coast of the Caribbean Sea in northern Colombia. It is the capital of Magdalena ...

, and then in 1564 to Cartagena, both in Colombia. He then went to Panama, and back to Spain for two years. In Spain, in 1550, Hernández married Constanza Alonzo. They had a son, Garcí, who was born around 1545 in Palos de la Frontera, and a daughter, Leonor, born in 1551. During his constant travels, he established a friendship with Juan Caballero, son and heir of don

Diego Caballero Diego Caballero (died 1560) was a Spanish merchant and conquistador in the Caribbean Sea, Caribbean area and in islands off the coast of Venezuela. He organized raids on natives, whom he then enslaved in pearl fishing and other enterprises. He e ...

, one of the wealthiest men in the Antilles and of the new colony of Paria. This relationship gave Diego notable political and economic influence. Hernández had spent forty-eight years in the Americas and demanded as a reward for his services to the

Spanish crown , coatofarms = File:Coat_of_Arms_of_Spanish_Monarch.svg , coatofarms_article = Coat of arms of the King of Spain , image = Felipe_VI_in_2020_(cropped).jpg , incumbent = Felipe VI , incumbentsince = 19 Ju ...

that he be appointed governor of Paria and

Cumaná Cumaná () is the capital city of Venezuela's Sucre State. It is located east of Caracas. Cumaná was one of the first cities founded by Spain in the mainland Americas and is the oldest continuously-inhabited Hispanic-established city in South ...

. He negotiated with the

Royal Audiencia of Santo Domingo The Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo was the first court of the Spanish crown in America. It was created by Ferdinand V of Castile in his decree of 1511, but due to disagreements between the governor of Hispaniola, Diego Colon and the Crown, it ...

over a new enterprise, the conquering of Guayana in northern South America. Negotiations began in 1544, and it was eventually authorized in 1549. He was granted troops and named captain of the Conquest of Guayana. There was a quick suspension, due to lack of royal authorization and opposition from the colonial governor of Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea. Finally he was able to pass Isla Margarita and was named Mayor and Captain of the War of Maracapana (''Tierra Firme''). He then took up the expedition towards El Tocuyo on the

Tocuyo River The Tocuyo River ( es, Río Tocuyo) is a river of Venezuela. It drains into the Caribbean Sea. The river drains part of the Lara-Falcón dry forests ecoregion. See also *List of rivers of Venezuela This is a list of rivers in Venezuela. By d ...

. After a long march of six months he arrived at his destination in the middle of 1552. He participated in the founding of Nueva Segovia de Barquisimeto, present day Barquisimeto, in 1552 on the Turbio River. Diego Hernández de Serpa died on May 10, 1570.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hernandez de Serpa, Diego Spanish conquistadors 1510 births 1570 deaths 16th century in Venezuela Colonial Venezuela People from Palos de la Frontera Spanish explorers of South America