Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar

Born in Cuéllar, in the Segovia region of Castile, around 1465, Diego Velázquez served in the Spanish military in Naples and lived in Seville before sailing with Columbus's second voyage in September 1493, one of some 1,500 men. He never returned to Spain. On Hispaniola he survived the hardships that killed or drove home many colonists, earned the confidence of Bartholomew Columbus, who left him acting governor in his absences, and became a trusted lieutenant of governor Nicolás de Ovando, for whom he put down the Taíno revolt at Jaragua in 1503 and founded new towns in the west of the island.

By 1511 he was among the wealthiest men on Hispaniola, with encomiendas and mining interests. That year, charged by Diego Columbus on the king's instructions, he financed and led the conquest and colonisation of Cuba with four ships and three hundred men, and as the island's first governor founded several municipalities that remain important today, making Cuba a centre of trade and a staging point for further conquests.

From Cuba he chartered the expeditions that led to the Spanish discovery and conquest of the Aztec Empire. He died in Cuba around 12 June 1524.

How the name is written

The oldest famous Velázquez: Castilian spelling with z, and "de Cuéllar" for the Segovian town of his birth.

Sources

Facts in this profile are drawn from the Wikipedia article(s) linked below, consulted on 21 September 2026; the text is original. Wikipedia (English) · Wikipedia (Spanish)

More people named Velasquez — History & exploration

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José Velásquez Bórquez — Chilean artillery general of the War of the Pacific, deputy and Minister of War and Navy under Balmaceda.
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Profiles are compiled from public sources for general information. They are not affiliated with or endorsed by the people described. Corrections are welcome at carol@velasquez.info.