Francisco Fajardo (

Isla Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

Nueva Esparta The Nueva Esparta State (in Spanish: ''Estado Nueva Esparta'', ), is one of the 23 states of Venezuela. It comprises Margarita Island, Coche, and the largely uninhabited Cubagua. The state has the smallest area, and is located off the northe ...

Colonial Venezuela Spanish expeditions led by Columbus and Alonso de Ojeda reached the coast of present-day Venezuela in 1498 and 1499. The first colonial exploitation was of the pearl oysters of the "Pearl Islands". Spain established its first permanent South Ameri ...

c. 1524 -

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 ...

Sucre Sucre () is the Capital city, capital of Bolivia, the capital of the Chuquisaca Department and the List of cities in Bolivia, 6th most populated city in Bolivia. Located in the south-central part of the country, Sucre lies at an elevation of . T ...

, Colonial Venezuela 1564) was a Spanish conquistador active in

Venezuela Venezuela (; ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela ( es, link=no, República Bolivariana de Venezuela), is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in th ...

. He was an example of a ''

mestizo (; ; fem. ) is a term used for racial classification to refer to a person of mixed Ethnic groups in Europe, European and Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous American ancestry. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also r ...

'' (mixed race) conquistador. Fajardo was the son of a Spanish lieutenant of the same name and an indigenous Indian woman, Isabel of the Waikerí. In 1555 to 1557 he made several expeditions from Margarita to conquer the ''Caracas'' tribe around the valleys of present-day

Caracas Caracas (, ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas, abbreviated as CCS, is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the ...

, even before the city was formally founded by conqueror

Diego de Losada Diego de Losada y Cabeza de Vaca (1511 – 1569) was a Spanish conquistador and the founder of Santiago de León de Caracas, the current capital of Venezuela. Losada was born in Rionegro del Puente, in what is now the province of Zamora. H ...

. As a ''mestizo'' (person of mixed race) he was able to blend in with the indigenous tribes of the coast physically and culturally. After murdering a local

cacique A ''cacique'' (Latin American ; ; feminine form: ''cacica'') was a tribal chieftain of the Taíno people, the indigenous inhabitants at European contact of the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles. The term is a Spa ...

he had to flee back to Margarita in 1558. He returned to the mainland in 1560, becoming lieutenant-general of

Valencia, Venezuela Valencia () is the capital city of Carabobo State and the third-largest city in Venezuela. The city is an economic hub that contains Venezuela's top industries and manufacturing companies. It is also the largest city in the Valencia-Maracay m ...

, before going back to Margarita to defend it against

Lope de Aguirre Lope de Aguirre (; 8 November 1510 – 27 October 1561) was a Basque Spanish conquistador who was active in South America. Nicknamed ''El Loco'' ("the Madman"), he styled himself "Wrath of God, Prince of Freedom." Aguirre is best known for his fi ...

. On a new expedition to the mainland he discovered a gold mine in the territory of the ''Teques'', in the Caracas region near present-day

Los Teques Los Teques ) is the capital of the state of Miranda and the municipality of Guaicaipuro Municipality. It is located in the capital region of north-central Venezuela. More specifically, southwest of Caracas, 10° 21' 00" N latitude and 67° 02' 3 ...

. Early attempts at settlement had to be abandoned in 1562 when an uprising led by

Guaicaipuro Cacique Guaicaipuro was a legendary native (indigenous) Venezuelan chief of both the Teques and Caracas tribes. Though known today as Guaicaipuro, in documents of the time his name was written Guacaipuro.http://www.saber.ula.ve/bitstream/handle/ ...

forced Fajardo to retreat again to Margarita, an expedition by

Luis de Narváez Luis de Narváez ( fl. 1526–1549) was a Spanish composer and vihuelist. Highly regarded during his lifetime, Narváez is known today for '' Los seys libros del Delphín'', a collection of polyphonic music for the vihuela which includes the ear ...

to reinforce Fajardo having been destroyed. After setting out on a new expedition from Margarita in 1564, he was arrested and executed in

by Alonso Cobos after a sham trial. Cobos was arrested in Cumana by outraged residents of Margarita, and after a trial in Margarita was executed for the murder of Fajardo. mcnbiografias.com
Fajardo, Francisco (1530-1564)
/ref> The major highway of Caracas, the

Francisco Fajardo Highway The Francisco Fajardo Highway is the most important freeway of Caracas, connecting the west and east sides of the city. The national freeways and many of the avenues of Caracas are not designated with a system of codification or numbering; inste ...

, is named after him.'' El Universal'', 26 April 2010
The Mestizo Conqueror
/ref> Tunel El Paraiso

Books

* Juan Ernesto Montenegro (1974), ''Francisco Fajardo: origen y perfil del primer fundador de Caracas'', Caracas: Concejo Municipal del Distrito Federal

References

Spanish conquistadors 1564 deaths Year of birth unknown Year of birth uncertain {{Spain-bio-stub