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Alonso de Ojeda

 
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Alonso de Ojeda (c. 1465 – 1515) was a Spanish
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
 explorer born of noble parentage in Cuenca
Cuenca

Cuenca may refer to:In Ecuador:* Cuenca, EcuadorIn the Philippines:* Cuenca, BatangasIn Spain:* Cuenca, Spain, the original city to receive this name, which is the capital of the province of Cuenca...
. His name is sometimes spelled Alonzo and Oxeda.

He came from an impoverished noble family, but had the good fortune to start his career in the household of the Duke of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli

Duke of Medinaceli was a Spain nobility title given to Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega on 31 October 1479, by the Catholic Kings, Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon when the old title of Count of Medinaceli , awarded to his grand father, a Bernal de Foix, in 1368, whereby was transformed into Duke of Medinaceli....
. Early on he gained the patronage of Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca
Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca

Juan Rodr?guez de Fonseca was a Spanish prelate, a courtier and bureaucrat whose position as chaplain to Isabella I of Castile enabled him to become the powerful counsellor to the Reyes Cat?licos Ferdinand and Isabella, who entrusted him with the building of a colonial administration, from as early as Christopher Columbus' second voyage...
, bishop of Burgos and later Patriarch of the Indies, who made it possible for Ojeda to accompany Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 in his second voyage to the New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
 in 1493.






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Alonso de Ojeda (c. 1465 – 1515) was a Spanish
Spanish people

Spanish people or Spaniards are a nation or ethnic group native to Spain, in the Iberian Peninsula of southwestern Europe. They are often considered an amalgam of different ethnic groups, rather than an ethnic group by itself....
 explorer born of noble parentage in Cuenca
Cuenca

Cuenca may refer to:In Ecuador:* Cuenca, EcuadorIn the Philippines:* Cuenca, BatangasIn Spain:* Cuenca, Spain, the original city to receive this name, which is the capital of the province of Cuenca...
. His name is sometimes spelled Alonzo and Oxeda.

He came from an impoverished noble family, but had the good fortune to start his career in the household of the Duke of Medinaceli
Duke of Medinaceli

Duke of Medinaceli was a Spain nobility title given to Luis de la Cerda y de la Vega on 31 October 1479, by the Catholic Kings, Isabel of Castile and Ferdinand II of Aragon when the old title of Count of Medinaceli , awarded to his grand father, a Bernal de Foix, in 1368, whereby was transformed into Duke of Medinaceli....
. Early on he gained the patronage of Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca
Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca

Juan Rodr?guez de Fonseca was a Spanish prelate, a courtier and bureaucrat whose position as chaplain to Isabella I of Castile enabled him to become the powerful counsellor to the Reyes Cat?licos Ferdinand and Isabella, who entrusted him with the building of a colonial administration, from as early as Christopher Columbus' second voyage...
, bishop of Burgos and later Patriarch of the Indies, who made it possible for Ojeda to accompany Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus was a Republic of Genoa navigator, colonialist and explorer whose voyages across the Atlantic Ocean?funded by Queen Isabella of Spain?led to general European awareness of the America in the Western Hemisphere....
 in his second voyage to the New World
New World

The New World is one of the names used for the non-Eurasian/non-African parts of the Earth, specifically the Americas and Australasia. When the term originated in the late 15th century, the Americas were new to the Europeans, who previously thought of the world as consisting only of Europe, Asia, and Africa ....
 in 1493. Ojeda distinguished himself there by his daring in battle with the natives, towards whom, however, he was unduly harsh and vindictive. He returned to Spain in 1496.

After three years, in May 1499, he again journeyed to the New World, this time on his own account with three vessels and accompanied by the cosmographer Juan de la Cosa
Juan de la Cosa

Juan de la Cosa was a Spain cartography, conquistador and exploration. He made the earliest extant European world map to incorporate the territories of the Americas that were discovered in the 15th century, sailed first 3 voyages with Christopher Columbus, and was the owner/captain of the Santa Mar?a ....
 and Amerigo Vespucci
Amerigo Vespucci

Amerigo Vespucci was an Italian explorer and cartographer. The continents of The Americas are popularly understood to derive their name from the Grammatical gender Latin version of his given name ....
, who discovered that, contrary to Columbus's beliefs, the land was not Asia. In little over three weeks he sighted the mainland near the mouth of the Orinoco River, and after landing at Trinidad
Trinidad

Trinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and islands of Trinidad and Tobago which make up the country of Trinidad and Tobago....
 and other such places, discovered a bay which he called Venezuela
Venezuela

Venezuela , officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a country on the northern coast of South America.The country comprises a continental mainland and numerous islands located off the Venezuelan coastline in the Caribbean Sea....
 (little Venice
Venice

Venice is a city in northern Italy, the capital city of the Italian regions Veneto, a population of 271,251 . Together with Padua, Italy, the city is included in the Padua-Venice Metropolitan Area ....
), from its resemblance to the bay of Venice. There he married an Indian maiden called Guaricha. After some further exploration, he made his way to the island of Hispaniola
Hispaniola

Hispaniola is the second-largest and most populous island of the Antilles, lying between the islands of Cuba to the west, and Puerto Rico to the east....
, where he was received far from cordially, as it was thought that he was infringing upon the exploring privileges of Christopher Columbus. On his return to Spain in 1500, he took many captives whom he sold as slaves
Slavery

Slavery is a form of forced labor where a person is compelled to Labor for another . Slaves are held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase, or birth, and are deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to receive Remuneration in return for their labor....
. Even so the voyage was not financially successful, netting some fifteen thousand maravedis in profit to be divided among the fifty-five surviving crew-members (since forty maravedis per day was an average wage for skilled labor, they could have made more money staying at home). Returning on the heels of Peralonso Nino's smaller but far more lucrative voyage magnified this disappointment.

Having influential friends at home, he was appointed Governor of Coquibacoa and was able to fit out a new expedition, which left Cadiz
Cádiz

C?diz is a city and port in southwestern Spain. It is the capital of the province of C?diz, one of eight which make up the Autonomous communities of Spain of Andalusia....
 in 1502 and made a landing on the American continent at a place which he named Santa Cruz. There he established a colony which did not last long. Mutiny erupted, and he was hauled to Santo Domingo in shackles where a judge stripped him of his titles and properties before allowing him to return to Spain.

Somehow he made his way back to Hispaniola, where he rejoined former associate Juan de la Cosa. There he conceived the idea of establishing colonies on the mainland between Cabo de Vela and the Gulf of Urabá
Gulf of Urabá

The Gulf of Urab? is a gulf on the northern coast of South America. It is a long narrow inlet in the coast of Colombia, close to the connection of the continent to the Isthmus of Panama....
, and after some time spent in petitioning the Government, the two comrades finally obtained the necessary permission.

He went back to Spain and after great effort organized his third and last expedition in 1509. Among those who embarked in his four vessels was Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro Gonz?lez, 1st Marqu?s de los Atabillos was a Spain conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru....
, the future conqueror of Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
. Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés

Hern?n Cort?s de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marqu?s del Valle de Oaxaca was a Spain conquistador who led an expedition that caused the conquest of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the Crown of Castile, in the early 16th century....
, who was later to dominate Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
, would have been among the soldiers of fortune engaged in this adventure, had not a sudden illness prevented him from sailing. With about 300 men, he sailed from Hispaniola to take possession, as Governor, of Nueva Andalucía, which comprised the territory between the gulfs of Urabá (Darién
Gulf of Darién

The Gulf of Dari?n is the southernmost region of the Caribbean Sea, located north and east of the border between Panama and Colombia. Within the gulf is the Gulf of Urab?, a small lip of sea extending southward, between Caribana Point and Cape Tibur?n, Colombia, on the southern shores of which is the port city of Turbo, Colombia....
) and Maracaibo
Maracaibo

Maracaibo is the second-largest city in Venezuela after the national capital Caracas and is the capital of Zulia state. Based on the 2001 census information, the estimated population of Maracaibo in 2007 is 3,200,000 inhabitants....
. Near the site of the present city of Cartagena
Cartagena, Colombia

Cartagena de Indias , is a port city on the northern coast of Colombia and capital of Bol?var Department. The metropolitan area has a population of 1,240,000, and the city proper 1,090,000 ....
 he landed with a party of about 70 men to capture Indians for slaves. Ojeda found the natives very hostile; they attacked his force and killed every man except Ojeda and one other. Not yet despairing, he founded a new colony at San Sebastian, but provisions soon ran low. It became necessary for him to go to Hispaniola to obtain supplies for the settlement, which he left in the charge of Francisco Pizarro. He was shipwrecked on the way, and only after suffering great privations did he finally reach Santo Domingo
Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, or in full, Santo Domingo de Guzm?n, is the Capital and largest city in the Dominican Republic, and the second largest city in the Caribbean....
, where he died.

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