Francisco de las Casas
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Francisco de las Casas y Saavedra (1461–1536) 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 ...
in
Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
and
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. Francisco de las Casas was born in Trujillo, Spain. By 1513 las Casas was married to Maria de Aguilar, daughter of Geronimo de Aguilar, and they maintained a house in Trujillo, where she sold a block of land in Trujillo that she owned. They had a son, Gonzalo. Cortés refers to Francisco de las Casas as "mi primo" in his fifth letter to the Spanish Crown. Maria is also Cortés' cousin.


In the service of Hernán Cortés

In October, 1522, King Carlos wrote, appointing Hernan Cortés as governor of New Spain. Francisco de las Casas, along with
Rodrigo de Paz Rodrigo is a Spanish language, Spanish, Portuguese language, Portuguese and Italian language, Italian name derived from the Germanic name ''Roderick'' (Gothic name, Gothic ''*Hroþareiks'', via Latinized ''Rodericus'' or ''Rudericus''), given speci ...
brought this news from Spain to Mexico, by way of
Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...
, where they stopped to notify Cortés's political enemy
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar Diego Velázquez de CuéllarPronounced: (1465 – c. June 12, 1524) was a Spanish conquistador and the first governor of Cuba. In 1511 he led the successful conquest and colonization of Cuba. As the first governor of the island, he establi ...
. They arrived in
Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...
in 1523 and their news was a cause for celebration. Cortés rewarded Francisco de las Casas by appointing him a Captain, and giving him the town of Yanhuitlan in
encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. The labourers, in theory, were provided with benefits by the conquerors for whom they laboured, including military ...
. Francisco was elected Alcalde Mayor of Mexico City in 1524.


The colony of Honduras

In January, 1524, Cortés directed captain
Cristóbal de Olid Cristóbal de Olid (; 1487–1524) was a Spanish adventurer, conquistador and rebel who played a part in the conquest of Mexico and Honduras. Born in Baeza, Olid grew up in the household of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. In ...
to establish a colony for him in
Honduras Honduras, officially the Republic of Honduras, is a country in Central America. The republic of Honduras is bordered to the west by Guatemala, to the southwest by El Salvador, to the southeast by Nicaragua, to the south by the Pacific Oce ...
. Olid sailed with a force of several ships and over 400 soldiers and colonists. He sailed first to Cuba, to pick up supplies Cortés had arranged for him, where Governor Velázquez convinced him to go and claim the colony he was to found as his own. Olid sailed from Cuba to the coast of Honduras, coming ashore at Triunfo de la Cruz where he initially settled and declared himself governor. Hernán Cortés, however, in 1524, got word of Olid's insurrection and sent his cousin, Francisco de las Casas, along with several ships to Honduras to remove Olid and claim the area for Cortés. Las Casas, however, lost most of his fleet in a series of storms along the coast of Belize and Honduras. His ships limped into the bay at Trujillo, where Olid had established his headquarters. When Las Casas arrived at Olid's headquarters, a large part of Olid's army was inland, dealing with another threat from a party of Spaniards under
Gil González Dávila Gil González Dávila or Gil González de Ávila (b. 1480 – 21 April 1526) was a Spanish conquistador and the first European to explore present-day Nicaragua. Early career González Dávila first appears in historical records in 1508, when he ...
. Nevertheless, Olid decided to launch an attack with two
caravel The caravel (Portuguese: , ) is a small maneuverable sailing ship used in the 15th century by the Portuguese to explore along the West African coast and into the Atlantic Ocean. The lateen sails gave it speed and the capacity for sailing win ...
s. Las Casas returned fire and sent boarding parties which captured Olid's ships. Under the circumstances, Olid proposed a truce to which Las Casas agreed, and he did not land his forces. During the night, a fierce storm destroyed his fleet and about a third of his men were lost. The remainder were taken prisoner after two days of exposure and without food. After being forced to swear loyalty to Olid, they were released. However, Las Casas was kept a prisoner, soon to be joined by González, who had been captured by Olid's inland force. The Spanish record two different stories about what happened next. In one version, Olid's men rebel and swear allegiance to las Casas, and Olid is tried and beheaded in Trujillo. In another version, Olid escapes and hides in Naco, where las Casas finds him, and kills him in a knife fight. In the meantime, Cortés had marched overland from Mexico to Honduras, arriving in 1525. Cortés ordered the founding of two cities, Nuestra Señora de la Navidad, near modern
Puerto Cortés Puerto Cortés, originally known as Puerto de Caballos, is a port city and municipality on the north Caribbean coast of Honduras, right on the Laguna de Alvarado, north of San Pedro Sula and east of Omoa, with a natural bay. The present city ...
, and Trujillo, and named Francisco de las Casas Governor. However, both las Casas and Cortés sailed back to Mexico before the end of 1525, where Francisco was arrested and sent back to Spain as a prisoner by Estrada and Alboronoz. Francisco returned to Mexico in 1527, and returned again to Spain with Cortés in 1528.


Settling down and growing old

In Yanhuitlan, Cortés is credited with giving Maria de Aguilar, Francisco's wife, the mulberry seeds for starting the silk industry for which Yanhuitlan became famous in the colonial period. In 1567, Francisco hired the painter, Andres de Concha, to paint the images on the retablo in the church at Yanhuitlan, Oaxaca, his encomienda.


References

*Cortés, Hernán, ''Letters from Mexico'', Translated and Edited by A. R. Pagden, Grossman Publishers, New York (1971) *Duncan, David Ewing, ''Hernando de Soto - A Savage Quest in the Americas - Book II: Consolidation'', Crown Publishers, Inc., New York (1995) *Scanlan, Thomas, ''Colonial Writing and the New World, 1583-1671'', New York: Cambridge University Press (1999)


External links

*Altman, Ida
The Library of Iberian Resources Online, Emigrants and Society
Extremadura and America in the Sixteenth Century *Kerr, Robert
A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels, Vol. IV
{{DEFAULTSORT:Casas, Francisco de las 1460s births 1536 deaths People from Tierra de Trujillo History of Honduras Spanish colonial governors and administrators 15th-century Castilians 16th-century Spanish people People of New Spain Extremaduran conquistadors