Joan Orpí i del Pou, also ''Juan Orpín'' or ''Juan Urpín'' (1593 in Piera – 1 July 1645 in Barcelona, Venezuela) was a Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

, known for founding New Barcelona in

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

, and for founding the short-lived '' Province of New Catalonia'' (1633–1654). In 1623 he journeyed to Araya. In 1624 the Governor of New Andalusia Province, Diego de Arroyo Daza, named Orpí

Lieutenant General Lieutenant general (Lt Gen, LTG and similar) is a military rank used in many countries. The rank traces its origins to the Middle Ages, where the title of lieutenant general was held by the second-in-command on the battlefield, who was norma ...

of the province, a position he held until 1627/8. That year the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo recognised the law degree he had obtained in Barcelona, and he began acting as a legal representative of the Audiencia in Caracas. In 1631 he moved to Santo Domingo, where the difficulty of communication between the Venezuela Province (Caracas) and the New Andalusia Province (

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 Sout ...

) was a matter of some concern. He agreed to launch an expedition to secure the territory between the Unare River and the Neverí River, inhabited by the Cumanagotos, and was granted the royal privilege to do so, despite opposition from others. His expedition began in 1632 but had to be called off when the privilege was revoked, and he had to plead a case to the Audiencia and to the Council of the Indies to regain it, which he was able to do in 1636. A second expedition was launched in 1637, and Orpí founded New Barcelona (''Nueva Barcelona del Cerro Santo'') in February 1638. New Barcelona became the capital of the Province of Nueva Cataluña he created in 1633, extending along the coast from ''San Felipe de Austria'' ( Cariaco) to Cabo Codera, and down to the

Orinoco River The Orinoco () is one of the longest rivers in South America at . Its drainage basin, sometimes known as the Orinoquia, covers approximately 1 million km2, with 65% of it in Venezuela and 35% in Colombia. It is the List of rivers by discharge, f ...

. After his death in 1645 the Province did not last long, being merged into New Andalusia Province in 1654, while New Barcelona had to be refounded in 1671.

Further reading