Pascual de Andagoya (1495–1548) was a Spanish Basque

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, ...

. He was born in the village of Andagoya, in the valley of Cuartango (

Álava Álava ( in Spanish) or Araba (), officially Araba/Álava, is a Provinces of Spain, province of Spain and a historical territory of the Basque Country (autonomous community), Basque Country, heir of the ancient Basque señoríos#Lords of Álav ...

), in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

. As often happened at the time, Andagoya left as an explorer of 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. ...

at a very young age of 19, on April 11, 1514, under the command of

Pedro Arias de Ávila Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

. The expedition left carrying an army of over 2,000 in 22 ships, with the objective of colonizing

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

. The career of Andagoya commenced in

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

, whose capital

Panama City Panama City ( es, Ciudad de Panamá, links=no; ), also known as Panama (or Panamá in Spanish), is the capital and largest city of Panama. It has an urban population of 880,691, with over 1.5 million in its metropolitan area. The city is loca ...

he founded in 1519 with 400 settlers. Later he moved south 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 ...

n coast, until he reached San Juan, where he took charge as governor. This was when he learned of the existence of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

, in the distant territory called "Birú", or " Pirú". In 1522 he attempted a conquest, but it ended in failure. With his health deteriorating, he returned to Panama and spread word of his discoveries, in particular the existence of a land of enormous riches of

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...

and

silver Silver is a chemical element with the symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, white, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical ...

, namely, Peru. In 1524 Francisco Pizarro, in association with the soldier Diego de Almagro and the priest

Hernando de Luque Hernando de Luque (Unknown – 1532) was a Spanish priest who travelled to the New World in the 16th century. Luque was born in Olvera, Andalusia,Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and ...

, mounted an expedition using Andagoya's ships.Hemming, J., 1970, The Conquest of the Incas, New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, Inc., AndagoyaHerrera, Antonio de. ''Historia General de los Hechos de los Castellanos... Decada Quarta.'' 1601. This famous history cites Andagoya as a source: "Afirma Pascual de Andagoya, auer visto algunos igantesque los otros hombres eran enanos con ellos." p. 26. was rewarded in 1539 by

Carlos I Carlos I may refer to: *Carlos I of Spain (1500–1558), also Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire *Carlos I of Portugal ''Dom'' Carlos I (; English: King Charles of Portugal; 28 September 1863 – 1 February 1908), known as the Diplomat ( pt, ...

with the post of Representative of the Indians, which he performed with brutal zeal. In 1540 he proclaimed himself governor of Popayán, which he held until 1542, when the legitimate governor Sebastián de Belalcázar relieved him under pressure. Andagoya died in Cuzco on July 18, 1548.

Works

Narrative of the Proceedings of Pedrarias Davila

References

External links

1495 births 1548 deaths Royal Governors of Panama History of Peru Basque conquistadors 16th-century Spanish people People from Álava {{panama-politician-stub