Antonio Díaz de Cardoso

Encomendero of BogotáIn office
1540–1541Preceded byJuan ArévaloSucceeded byJuan TafurIn office
1562–1563Preceded byJuan de RiveraSucceeded byAlonso de OlayaIn office
1567–1568Preceded byAntón de OlayaSucceeded byGonzalo de Ledesma Notes

Antonio Díaz de Cardoso (1495, in Santa Comba, Portugal –1573 in Santafe de Bogotá) was a Portuguese conquistador who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Muisca people.

Antonio Díaz de Cardoso is mentioned as Cardosso in the early chronicles of the Spanish conquest, a work of uncertain authorship; Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada.^[3]

Biography

Birth and name

Antonio Díaz de Cardoso, whose surnames are alternatively spelled Díaz Cardoso, Díaz de Cardozo or Díaz Cardozo, was born in Santa Comba in the Kingdom of Portugal.^[2] His parents were Diego Díaz and Marquesa Cardoso.^[1]

American expeditions

Díaz de Cardoso joined the expedition in search of El Dorado, the journey led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada which left Santa Marta in April 1536.^[4] Antonio Díaz de Cardoso was one of the captains of the three brigs that De Quesada sent up the Magdalena River; the other two were Gómez del Corral and Juan de Albarracín.^[5]

From La Tora, present Barrancabermeja, De Quesada sent troops ahead to investigate routes towards the then unknown Andes. Díaz de Cardoso and De Albarracín found the loafs of high quality salt that would lead the conquistadors along the Camino de la Sal ("Salt Route") into the Muisca Confederation.^[6]

Mayortlties

Díaz de Cardoso received the encomienda (mayoralty) of Suba, and ruled over 900 to 1000 Muisca.^[7]

Antonio Díaz de Cardoso was three times encomendero (mayor) of Santa Fe de Bogotá; from 1540 to 1541 between the terms of Juan Arévalo and Juan Tafur, between 1562 and 1563 succeeding Juan de Rivera and preceding Alonso de Olaya and from 1567 to 1568 as successor to Antón de Olaya and succeeded by Gonzalo de Ledesma.^[8]

Personal life

Díaz de Cardoso was married to Felipa Almeida,^[2] or Felipa de Almeyda Cabral,^[1] and the couple had two daughters, Marquesa and Isabel Cardozo Almeyda, who married the two sons of Luis Fernández de Acosta.^[1]

See also

• List of conquistadors in Colombia
• Spanish conquest of the Muisca
• Hernán Pérez de Quesada
• Gonzalo Suárez Rendón, Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada

References

Bibliography

• N, N. 1979 (1889) (1539). Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada, 81-97. Banco de la República. Accessed 2017-03-06.

Further reading

• Acosta, Joaquín. 1848. Compendio histórico del descubrimiento y colonización de la Nueva Granada en el siglo décimo sexto - Historical overview of discovery and colonization of New Granada in the sixteenth century, 1-460. Beau Press. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• De Castellanos, Juan. 1857 (1589). Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias, 1–567. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• Fernández de Piedrahita, Lucas. 1676. VI. Historia general de las conquistas del Nuevo Reino de Granada. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• Jiménez de Quesada, Gonzalo. 1576. Memoria de los descubridores, que entraron conmigo a descubrir y conquistar el Reino de Granada. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• De Plaza, José Antonio. 1810. Memorias para la historia de la Nueva Granada desde su descubrimiento el 20 de julio de 1810, 1-464. Imprenta del Neo-Granadino. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• Rodríguez Freyle, Juan, and Darío Achury Valenzuela. 1979 (1859) (1638). El Carnero - Conquista i descubrimiento del nuevo reino de Granada de las Indias Occidentales del mar oceano, i fundacion de la ciudad de Santa Fe de Bogota, 1-592. Fundacion Biblioteca Ayacuch. Accessed 2017-03-01.
• Simón, Pedro. 1892 (1626). Noticias historiales de las conquistas de Tierra Firme en las Indias occidentales (1882-92) vol.1-5. Accessed 2017-03-01.