Pedrarias Dávila

Pedrarias Dávila, full name Pedro Arias de Ávila (c. 1440-1531), Spanish conquistador. Born in Segovia and educated at the court of John II of Castile, he participated in the conquest of Granada (1481-1492) and, from 1508 to 1511, in the campaigns in North Africa against the Moors.

In 1513 Ferdinand V of Aragón named him governor and commander-in-chief of Darién (present-day Panama). Pedrarias weighed anchor from the coastal port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda (near Cádiz) on April 11, 1514, at the head of an expedition composed of 25 ships and around 2,000 men, among whom were Sebastián de Belalcázar, Bernal Díaz del Castillo, and Hernando de Soto. On June 19 they arrived at Santa María la Antigua, which at that time was under the governorship of Vasco Núñez de Balboa, the Spanish discoverer of the Pacific Ocean.

The colony was going through difficult times, and the climate was very demanding for the colonizers, who had to endure hunger and disease. Between 1514 and 1515 Pedrarias sent his captains to explore the neighbouring territories, but mostly these were just looting expeditions in search of gold and slaves and ended in failure. Pedrarias himself explored Comogre and Pocorosa, directed a nine-month campaign against the tribe of Cacique (Chief) Urracá, and founded, 80 km (50 mi) from Santa María la Antigua, the city of Acla, the second Spanish settlement on the Isthmus of Panama (Tierra Firme). The wars, looting, and abuses allowed by the governor did not help to improve the chaotic situation of the colony. With the aim of exploring the Pacific (then called the South Sea), in 1516 Pedrarias formed a partnership with Núñez de Balboa, who that same year was betrothed to his daughter. Nevertheless, strong disagreements and rivalry soon began to arise between the two men, which culminated with Pedrarias ordering Balboa’s execution in January 1519.

His conduct in Darién, characterized by its harshness and cruelty, had earned Pedrarias enemies at court. Charles I (Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire) named Lope de Sosa as governor of Darién in 1518, but when he died before taking the position, Pedrarias was reconfirmed as governor. In 1519 he went north and founded Nuestra Señora de la Asunción de Panamá (present-day Panama City). In 1522 the expedition of Gil González Dávila and Andrés Niño set out from Panama to Nicaragua, in search of a passage to the Pacific. A year later Pedrarias sent Francisco Fernández de Córdoba, who, instead, entered into partnership with Hernán Cortés who had also reached the same territory from Mexico.

In 1526 Pedrarias travelled to Nicaragua and ordered the execution of Fernández de Córdoba. The same year he was replaced as governor of Darién by Pedro de los Ríos, but he remained in Nicaragua as governor and commander-in-chief. Under his governorship important colonization work was carried out: he introduced agriculture and cattle ranches to the new territory, and developed the towns of Villahermosa, León, and Granada.

Historians have tended to consider Pedrarias to be one of the crueller conquistadors, especially because of the appraisal made by historian and missionary Bartolomé de Las Casas of his activities. Pedrarias died on March 6, 1531, in León.