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Diego Velzquez De Cullarfor the Spanish painter, see Diego Velazquez.
Diego Velzquez de Cullar (1465 - 1524), Spanish Conquistador, conqueror and governor of Cuba for Spain. Diego Velzquez was born in Cullar, in the Segovia region of Spain. He first visited the New World with the crew of Christopher Columbus in 1493. He settled in Hispaniola, then was active in leading the conquest of Cuba in 1511. He founded a number of new Spanish settlements and cities on the island, most notably Santiago de Cuba in 1514 and Havana in 1515. Velzquez was appointed governor of Cuba. He authorized various expeditions to explore lands further west, including the 1517 Francisco Hernndez de Crdoba expedition to Yucatn (see: Spanish Conquest of Yucatan). He initially backed Hernn Corts's famous expedition to Mexico, but when Corts tried to seize and claim Mexico for himself, Velzquez charged Corts with exceeding his authority and ordered his arrest. Those sent to arrest Corts were either defeated or persuaded to join Corts, so Velzquez saw none of the riches which came from Mexico. Diego Velzquez de Cullar died in Santiago de Cuba in 1524. Cullar, Diego Velzquez de
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