Fray Tomás de Berlanga, O.P., (1487 – 8 August 1551) was the fourth Bishop of Panamá. ''(in Latin)''

Biography

Tomás de Berlanga was born in Berlanga de Duero in Soria,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

. On February 11, 1534,

Pope Clement VII Pope Clement VII (; ; born Giulio di Giuliano de' Medici; 26 May 1478 – 25 September 1534) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 19 November 1523 to his death on 25 September 1534. Deemed "the most unfortunate o ...

appointed him Bishop of Panama. On May 17, 1534, he was consecrated bishop by Francisco Mendoza de Bobadilla, Bishop of Coria. Francisco Mendoza, Bishop of Palencia, was co-consecrator, with Father Francisco de Navarra y Hualde assisting. In 1535, he sailed to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

to settle a dispute between

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

and Diego de Almagro over division of territory after the conquest of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

.Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, His ship stalled when the winds died and strong currents carried him out to the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands () are an archipelago of volcanic islands in the Eastern Pacific, located around the equator, west of the mainland of South America. They form the Galápagos Province of the Republic of Ecuador, with a population of sli ...

which he thus discovered on March 10, 1535. He sent an account of the adventure and discovery to Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain. Berlanga resigned his see in 1537. When Tomás de Berlanga returned to the Berlanga de Duero from America, he brought with him a cayman from the Chagres River in Panama. This cayman measured 3 meters. It is currently on display in the Colegiata de Nuestra Señora del Mercado in Berlanga de Duero.

References

External links and additional sources

* (for Chronology of Bishops) * (for Chronology of Bishops) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tomas de Berlanga 1487 births 1551 deaths People from Soria Spanish explorers of the Pacific 16th-century Roman Catholic bishops in Panama Spanish Roman Catholic bishops in North America Roman Catholic bishops of Panamá