Juan Velázquez de León

Juan Velázquez de León took part with Hernán Cortés in the third Spanish expedition to the American mainland, to present-day Mexico, in 1519. Though a relative of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, he served Cortés and the cause of the conquest; after the Tlaxcalans made peace, Cortés gave him the daughter of Maxixcatzin, baptised Doña Elvira.

He played a decisive part in the defeat of Pánfilo de Narváez's army, when Cortés sent him to win friends in Narváez's camp. He died in 1520 when the Aztecs attacked the Spaniards fleeing Tenochtitlan on La Noche Triste.

How the name is written

Castilian Velázquez, "de León" marking the family's origin.

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

Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar — Conquistador and first governor of Cuba, who chartered the expeditions that reached the Aztec Empire.
Juan Velázquez Tlacotzin — Cihuacoatl of Tenochtitlan and its first indigenous ruler after the conquest.
Loreta Janeta Velázquez — Author of The Woman in Battle (1876), who claimed to have fought and spied in the Civil War disguised as a Confederate officer.
José Velásquez Bórquez — Chilean artillery general of the War of the Pacific, deputy and Minister of War and Navy under Balmaceda.
José Velásquez — Soldier-explorer of the Californias who scouted the mission sites of El Rosario, Santo Domingo and San Vicente.

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