Luis Lanchero, also known as Luis Lancheros (?, Castile - 1562,

Tunja Tunja () is a municipality and city on the Eastern Ranges of the Colombian Andes, in the region known as the Altiplano Cundiboyacense, 130 km northeast of Bogotá. In 2018 the municipality had a population of 172,548. It is the capital of B ...

New Kingdom of Granada New or NEW may refer to: Music * New, singer of K-pop group The Boyz * ''New'' (album), by Paul McCartney, 2013 ** "New" (Paul McCartney song), 2013 * ''New'' (EP), by Regurgitator, 1995 * "New" (Daya song), 2017 * "New" (No Doubt song), 1 ...

) 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 ...

and the founder of the town of Trinidad de los Muzos, Boyacá, the most important

emerald Emerald is a gemstone and a variety of the mineral beryl (Be3Al2(SiO3)6) colored green by trace amounts of chromium or sometimes vanadium.Hurlbut, Cornelius S. Jr., and Kammerling, Robert C. (1991). ''Gemology'', John Wiley & Sons, New York ...

settlement in Colombia. Muzo was founded after twenty years of unsuccessful attempts to subjugate the

Muzo Muzo () is a town and municipality in the Western Boyacá Province, part of the department of Boyacá, Colombia. It is widely known as the world capital of emeralds for the mines containing the world's highest quality gems of this type. Muzo ...

to Spanish rule. Lanchero arrived in the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

in 1533 and died impoverished in Tunja in 1562.

Biography

Early career

Luis Lanchero was born in Castile in a noble family. As a young man he was employed in the guard of Spanish king

Carlos V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, in which role he participated in the Sack of Rome in 1527.Luis Lanchero
-

Banco de la República The Bank of the Republic () is the central bank of Colombia. It was initially established under the regeneration era in 1880. Its main modern functions, under the new Colombian constitution were detailed by Congress according tLey 31 de 1992 O ...

In 1533, searching for adventure, Lanchero left Europe for what would later become

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 ...

with a conquest expedition led by Jerónimo de Ortal.

American expeditions

Once there, Lanchero joined the expedition led by

Nikolaus Federmann Nikolaus Federmann (, ) (c. 1505, Ulm – February 1542, Valladolid) was a German adventurer and conquistador in what is modern-day Venezuela and Colombia. He is a significant figure in the history of Klein-Venedig (1528–1546), the concessio ...

towards the

Colombia Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia, is a country primarily located in South America with Insular region of Colombia, insular regions in North America. The Colombian mainland is bordered by the Caribbean Sea to the north, Venezuel ...

Andes The Andes ( ), Andes Mountains or Andean Mountain Range (; ) are the List of longest mountain chains on Earth, longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range ...

, reaching the newly founded capital of the

in 1538. He became

encomendero The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

Susa Susa ( ) was an ancient city in the lower Zagros Mountains about east of the Tigris, between the Karkheh River, Karkheh and Dez River, Dez Rivers in Iran. One of the most important cities of the Ancient Near East, Susa served as the capital o ...

.Rodríguez Freyle, 1979 (1638), p.56 When in 1539

Hernán Pérez de Quesada Hernán Pérez de Quesada, sometimes spelled as Quezada, (c. 1515 – 1544) was a Spanish conquistador. Second in command of the army of his elder brother, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, Hernán was part of the first European expedition towards ...

took over the governance of

Bogotá Bogotá (, also , , ), officially Bogotá, Distrito Capital, abbreviated Bogotá, D.C., and formerly known as Santa Fe de Bogotá (; ) during the Spanish Imperial period and between 1991 and 2000, is the capital city, capital and largest city ...

from his elder brother and founder

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada y Rivera, also spelled as Ximénez and De Quezada, (; 1509 – 16 February 1579) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in northern South America, territories currently known as Colombia. He explored the territory n ...

he organised various expeditions in search of valuables and above all for ''

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

''. While de Quesada was not satisfied with Lanchero, he was sent towards the territories of the

in western Boyacá in the first months of 1540.Description of the conquest of the Muzo
/ref> Expeditions into Muzo territories were difficult because of the terrain. Due to a lack of food Lanchero's party had to slaughter some horses.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.35 After two unsuccessful attempts to subjugate the more than 10,000 Muzo, Lanchero marched through Panche territory to the south, the western portion of the current department of Cundinamarca, back towards Bogotá.

Founding of Muzo

In early 1559, fifteen years after the discovery of the rich emerald deposits by Diego Martínez, Lanchero returned to Muzo terrain and passed through

Maripí Maripí is a town and municipality in the Colombian Departments of Colombia, Department of Boyacá Department, Boyacá, part of the subregion of the Western Boyacá Province. The town hosts an important Colombian emeralds, emerald mine; La Pita. ...

. He founded Villa de la Santísima Trinidad de los Muzos, today known as Muzo, on February20, 1559.Uribe, 1960, p.2Official website Muzo
/ref>Muzo Patrimonio Histórico y Cultural para Colombia y el Mundo
/ref> On this expedition, Lanchero was accompanied by conquistador

Pedro de Ursúa Pedro de Ursúa (1526 –January 1, 1561) was a Spanish list of conquistadors in Colombia, conquistador from Baztan (municipality), Baztan in Navarre. He is best known for his final trip with Lope de Aguirre in search for El Dorado, where he w ...

.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.37 Muzo was first unsuccessfully founded as Tudela.Puche Riart, 1996, p.100 During the battles against the Muzo, Lanchero was wounded by an arrow in his chest.De Piedrahita, 1688, Chapter VI In 1560 Lanchero handed the governance of Muzo over to the ''

encomenderos The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

'', leading to successive struggles over the rich emerald grounds.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.46 On October 17, 1560, Lanchero also passed the control of Curipí to the ''encomienda''.Tequia Porras, 2008, p.52

Later career

After Miguel Diez de Armendariz took control of the area, Lanchero lost all his possessions. Luis Lanchero died in poverty in Tunja in 1562, leaving a wife and one daughter.

Biography

Early career

American expeditions

Founding of Muzo

Later career

Conquest by Luis Lanchero

Encomiendas

See also

References

Bibliography

Further reading