Pedro de Ursúa (1526 – 1561) was a Spanish

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, ...

from Baztan in

Navarre Navarre (; es, Navarra ; eu, Nafarroa ), officially the Chartered Community of Navarre ( es, Comunidad Foral de Navarra, links=no ; eu, Nafarroako Foru Komunitatea, links=no ), is a foral autonomous community and province in northern Spain, ...

. He is best known for his final trip with

Lope de Aguirre Lope de Aguirre (; 8 November 1510 – 27 October 1561) was a Basque Spanish conquistador who was active in South America. Nicknamed ''El Loco'' ("the Madman"), he styled himself "Wrath of God, Prince of Freedom." Aguirre is best known for his ...

in search for

El Dorado El Dorado (, ; Spanish for "the golden"), originally ''El Hombre Dorado'' ("The Golden Man") or ''El Rey Dorado'' ("The Golden King"), was the term used by the Spanish in the 16th century to describe a mythical tribal chief (''zipa'') or king ...

, where he found death in a plot. He was born in

Arizkun Arizkun is a village located in the municipality of Baztan, Navarre, Spain. Hamlets Arizkun is composed of the following hamlets: * Aintzinalde * Arizkun (main village) * Bozate * Ordoki * Pertalats See also * Cagot The ''Cagots'' () ...

, Baztan, to a Beaumont family who supported the Spanish occupation of Navarre, benefiting directly from the Navarrese loyalist defeat at Amaiur in July 1522. In Panama, Ursúa subdued a Cimarron (ex-slave) revolt by tricking Cimarron leader Bayano into coming unprepared to negotiate a truce. He then captured Bayano and sent him back to King

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...

. Together with

Ortún Velázquez de Velasco Ortún Velázquez de Velasco (, Cuéllar, Castile – 4November 1584, Pamplona, New Kingdom of Granada) was a Spanish conquistador. He is known as the co-founder and first governor of Pamplona in the Norte de Santander department of Colombia, ...

, Pedro de Ursúa founded the city of

Pamplona Pamplona (; eu, Iruña or ), historically also known as Pampeluna in English, is the capital city of the Chartered Community of Navarre, in Spain. It is also the third-largest city in the greater Basque cultural region. Lying at near above ...

New Kingdom of Granada The New Kingdom of Granada ( es, Nuevo Reino de Granada), or Kingdom of the New Granada, was the name given to a group of 16th-century Spanish colonial provinces in northern South America governed by the president of the Royal Audience of Santa ...

, on November 1, 1549.Official website Pamplona
/ref> Ursúa later searched the Amazon region for ''

'' with

. When Ursúa would not allow Aguirre's mistress on the expedition, Aguirre conspired with another officer, Fernando de Guzman, to use this rejection as a pretext to start a riot in which they assassinated Ursúa and seized power.Descendants of Juan de Ursúa
/ref>

Pedro de Ursúa in fiction

A fictional version of Ursúa and Aguirre's story is depicted in the

Werner Herzog Werner Herzog (; born 5 September 1942) is a German film director, screenwriter, author, actor, and opera director, regarded as a pioneer of New German Cinema. His films often feature ambitious protagonists with impossible dreams, people with u ...

film, '' Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes'' and in the

Carlos Saura Carlos Saura Atarés (born 4 January 1932) is a Spanish film director, photographer and writer. Along with Luis Buñuel and Pedro Almodóvar, he is considered to be one of Spain’s most renowned filmmakers. He has a long and prolific career t ...

film ''

''. The novel ''Ursúa'' by

William Ospina William Ospina (born 2 March 1954) is a Colombian poet, essayist and novelist. He was born in Herveo, Tolima. He won the Romulo Gallegos Prize for his novel , part of a trilogy about the invasion and conquest of South America. Life William Os ...

has become one of the main references concerning Pedro de Ursúa. The book provides details about the life of Ursúa and makes a general account of the events happening in the New World during the mid 16th century.

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References

External links

Translation of Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Basque Country article on Lope de Aguirre
- contains large segment on Ursúa's Dorado expedition *

* ttp://www.editorialbitacora.com/bitacora/mas_alla/aguirre/aguirre.htm El Asesinato de Pedro de Ursua* 1526 births 1561 deaths Spanish conquistadors Explorers of Amazonia People from Baztán (comarca) History of Colombia 16th-century people from the Kingdom of Navarre {{Spain-bio-stub

Pedro de Ursúa in fiction

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Further reading

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