Luis Lanchero, also known as Luis Lancheros (?, Castile - 1562,

Tunja Tunja () is a city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 it had a population of 172,548 inhabitants. It is the capital of Boyacá department an ...

New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada ( es, Nuevo Reino de Granada), or Kingdom of the New Granada, was the name given to a group of 16th-century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Royal Audience of Santa ...

) 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 the founder of the town of Trinidad de los Muzos, Boyacá, the most important

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr. and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991) ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York, p ...

settlement in Colombia. Muzo was founded after twenty years of unsuccessful attempts to subjugate the

Muzo Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo is ...

to Spanish rule. Lanchero arrived in the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

in 1533 and died impoverished in Tunja in 1562.

Biography

Early career

Luis Lanchero was born in Castile in a noble family. As a young man he was employed in the guard of Spanish king

Carlos V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infant ...

, in which role he participated in the Sack of Rome in 1527.Luis Lanchero
-

Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic ( es, Banco de la República) is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress a ...

In 1533, searching for adventure, Lanchero left Europe for what would later become

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 ...

with a conquest expedition led by Jerónimo Ortal.

American expeditions

Once there, Lanchero joined the expedition led by

Nikolaus Federmann Nikolaus Federmann ( es, link=no, Nicolás Féderman, ) (c. 1505, Ulm – February 1542, Valladolid) was a German adventurer and conquistador in what is modern-day Venezuela and Colombia. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedi ...

towards the

Colombia Colombia (, ; ), officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country in South America with insular regions in North America—near Nicaragua's Caribbean coast—as well as in the Pacific Ocean. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Car ...

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, reaching the newly founded capital of the

in 1538. He became

encomendero 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 ...

Susa Susa ( ; Middle elx, 𒀸𒋗𒊺𒂗, translit=Šušen; Middle and Neo- elx, 𒋢𒋢𒌦, translit=Šušun; Neo-Elamite and Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼𒀭, translit=Šušán; Achaemenid elx, 𒀸𒋗𒐼, translit=Šušá; fa, شوش ...

.Rodríguez Freyle, 1979 (1638), p.56 When in 1539

Hernán Pérez de Quesada Hernán Pérez de Quesada, sometimes spelled as Quezada, (c. 1515 – 1544) was a Spanish conquistador. Second in command of the army of his elder brother, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Hernán was part of the first European expedition towar ...

took over the governance of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city of Colombia, and one of the larges ...

from his elder brother and founder

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (;1496 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory named ...

he organised various expeditions in search of valuables and above all for ''

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king o ...

''. While de Quesada was not satisfied with Lanchero, he was sent towards the territories of the

in western Boyacá in the first months of 1540.Description of the conquest of the Muzo
/ref> Expeditions into Muzo territories were difficult because of the terrain. Due to a lack of food Lanchero's party had to slaughter some horses.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.35 After two unsuccessful attempts to subjugate the more than 10,000 Muzo, Lanchero marched through Panche territory to the south, the western portion of the current department of Cundinamarca, back towards Bogotá.

Founding of Muzo

In early 1559, fifteen years after the discovery of the rich emerald deposits by Diego Martínez, Lanchero returned to Muzo terrain and passed through

Maripí Maripí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Department of Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. The town hosts an important emerald mine; La Pita. See also * La Pita * Muzo, Chivor, Somondoco Somondo ...

. He founded Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de los Muzos, today known as Muzo, on February20, 1559.Uribe, 1960, p.2Official website Muzo
/ref>Muzo Patrimonio Histórico y Cultural para Colombia y el Mundo
/ref> On this expedition, Lanchero was accompanied by conquistador

Pedro de Ursúa Pedro de Ursúa (1526 – 1561) was a Spanish conquistador from Baztan in Navarre. He is best known for his final trip with Lope de Aguirre in search for El Dorado, where he found death in a plot. He was born in Arizkun, Baztan, to a Beaum ...

.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.37 Muzo was first unsuccessfully founded as Tudela.Puche Riart, 1996, p.100 During the battles against the Muzo, Lanchero was wounded by an arrow in his chest.De Piedrahita, 1688, Chapter VI In 1560 Lanchero handed the governance of Muzo over to the ''

encomenderos 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 ...

'', leading to successive struggles over the rich emerald grounds.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.46 On October 17, 1560, Lanchero also passed the control of Curipí to the ''encomienda''.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.52

Later career

After Miguel Diez de Armendariz took control of the area, Lanchero lost all his possessions. Luis Lanchero died in poverty in Tunja in 1562, leaving a wife and one daughter.

Conquest by Luis Lanchero

Encomiendas

References

Bibliography

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