Person
Velázquez de Cuéllar, Diego (ca. 1465-1524)Other forms
Cuéllar (Segovia, España) 1465 - Santiago de Cuba (Cuba) 1524-06-12
He was a conqueror, an "adelantado"* and the first spanish governor of the Island of Cuba between 1511 and 1524. He participated in Cristopher Columbus' second trip (1493), and when he arrived in La Española, he contributed to the pacification of the island's western half. Once he was there, the new governor, Diego Colón, told him to take the charge of an expedition to conquer and populate Cuba in 1511. He was, firstly, the captain and, later, the island's first governor. In recognition of his services, the king gave him the title of the island's adelantado. He married María de Cuéllar, daughter of the accountant Cristóbal de Cuéllar. She died one week after their marriage.
*Title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages.