Invading Colombia: Spanish Accounts of the Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada Expedition of Conquest

Latin American Originals

by J. Michael Francis

In early April 1536, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada led a military expedition from the coastal city of Santa Marta deep into the interior of what is today modern Colombia. With roughly eight hundred Spaniards and numerous native carriers and black slaves, the Jiménez expedition was larger than the combined forces under Hernando Cortés and Francisco Pizarro. Over the course of the one-year campaign, nearly three-quarters of Jiménez's men perished, most from illness and hunger. Yet, for the 179 survivors, the expedition proved to be one of the most profitable campaigns of the sixteenth century. Unfortunately, the history of the Spanish conquest of Colombia remains virtually unknown.

Through a series of firsthand primary accounts, translated into English for the first time, Invading Colombia reconstructs the compelling tale of the Jiménez expedition, the early stages of the Spanish conquest of Muisca territory, and the foundation of the city of Santa Fé de Bogotá. We follow the expedition from the Canary Islands to Santa Marta, up the Magdalena River, and finally into Colombia's eastern highlands. These highly engaging accounts not only challenge many current assumptions about the nature of Spanish conquests in the New World, but they also reveal a richly entertaining, yet tragic, tale that rivals the great conquest narratives of Mexico and Peru.

Genres: History

152 pages, Paperback

First published May 1, 2007

Reviews

[David · Rating 3 out of 5]

Ok, so I've been investigating this subject for a while so I was really hyped when I saw this book being cited by some authors I know. Also because reading about such a topic in English is not common so it's interesting to think that foreigners investigate your history.

The book adds very interesting ideas to reconstruct Don Gonzalo's expedition, first, by transcribing the capitulación between Don Pedro Fernández de Lugo and King Carlos, and the travel from Canarias to the Caribbean; and second, by citing probanzas de mérito (proofs of merit) from common soldiers and not only from high-rank expeditionaries. So by reading this I realized I've got to read every available proof of merit of Don Gonzalo's soldiers in the Archivo General de Indias de Sevilla. I'm sure plenty of unknown details are still there yet to be discovered. One of those very good ideas was to explain the fate of the brigantines and the expeditionaries who were unable to enter the Magdalena river, and also the ones who were left at La Tora waiting. I had no idea about the fate of those and I don't remember other books mentioning that specific subject. That being said, my expectations were not fulfilled with some other parts of the book. The book is of course, mainly based on primary sources and it doesn't use chronicles as sources, also a good idea, but I think that it failed to provide some detail of the expedition that could have been mentioned as part of the author's comments when a source ends and another starts. The crossing of the Opón and the arrival to Muisca territory was richly described, but then when have no mention of the first six months of Spanish presence in the New Kingdom of Granada. A lot of important stuff took place during that timeframe, yet there's nothing about it.

Another important subjects like the foundation of Santafé de Bogotá or the expedition to Sugamuxi's House of the Sun are also almost ignored, that was disappointing, again, I know that Francis could have provided some commentary from his investigation. The last part of the book focuses mainly on Sagipa's story and as I mentioned, everything else is left without much mention. The arrival of Nikolaus Federmann and Sebastián de Belalcázar don't have much coverage either.

I understand that this is part of some "introduction" books and the purpose of the series is to provided accessible and affordable sources for people into the matter, and also that the author mentioned that at first he wasn't even going to do a book on Don Gonzalo's expedition, but the details I mentioned can be described without much trouble. I also appreciate the fact that this expedition is at least having some attention again, something necessary when in a bit less than two decades we'll be having the 500th anniversary of it, more investigation needs to take place!

Good new ideas added to the discussion, but lacking parts of the story. Read it if you're into the subject, but you have to read other books by people like Jorge Gamboa, José Ignacio Avellaneda, and Juan Friede.

[Rusty del Norte · Rating 5 out of 5]

Invading Colombia is an interesting book, especially if one is interested or studying 16th century exploration & rising imperialism in the Americas. Much of what is read has some similarities with the conquests of the Aztecs & the Inca - a small force of men upend a vast empire by 'decapitation' - killing the emperor, taking the precious metals, & setting up a governorship that is under the Spanish crown.

But while this part is similar, there are differences. Here, the men are younger & many more die due to malnutrition, disease, and a smaller number from hostilities. We, also, have no 'Sahagun-like' figure that comes in & records anything at this time. But the lust for gold is there. However, the Muisca people, ruled by the "Bogota" seems to have less than those in Peru & Mexico. His successor, Sagipa, promises gold but cannot deliver the amount he said he would to the Spanish conquistadors. And, of course, there is the Magdalena River - called the "Rio Grande" at times & its swamp & flooding features.

This conquest starts in the Canary islands with Pedro Fernandez de Lugo, age 60, & his son Alonso. They enter into contract with the Spanish crown. They promise men, a cut for the crown, in exchange for a governorship in Santa Marta & for Alonso to be governor in perpetuity in the event of Pedro's death. The crown has stipulations in the number of slaves they can bring (1/3 must be women) & to bring along Catholic priests in any expedition they take.

An expedition is arranged that stats with 800 men. But there are great losses, not through attrition, but other reasons. Less than 200 venture into Muisca territory - 8 months into adventure. And there the tale becomes about gold & emeralds acquired, with some minor detail about battles between the "Indians" & the "Christians". And the descriptions of their enemies, the Panches, makes them out to be a naked, savage people who possibly ate human flesh.

It is an interesting glimpse into this era & the early recorded history of Colombia. It doesn't detail the history beyond this conquest. Nor does it show the history of Santa Marta or its relationship with the other parts of this growing confederation of of semi-kingdoms in the Spanish Empire. But that is not what this book is about.

With that said, I would definitely recommend this book.

[Mont Lloyd · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very intersting accounts from different primary sources throughout and after the expedition of Jiminéz' expedition/conquest/pillaging. It text written by the auther frequently peppered with whole chunks of original texts that sometimes overlapped accounts of the same information. This made it either a bit repetative or just plain difficult to read the old fadhioned writing at times but overall very fascinating information about the beggining of Spanish colonization in inland present-day Colombia.

[Jonathan · Rating 5 out of 5]

Incredible first-hand accounts from first-time encounters between two disparate cultures. Gives an unfiltered perspective of what really went down.

[Leo · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was extremely well written and researched.