In 1539, Maldonado defeated the last ruling Cacique of the Muisca, Saymoso.
14 Facts About Baltasar Maldonado
1.
2.
Baltasar Maldonado took part in a quest for El Dorado led by Hernan Perez de Quesada in the southern regions of present-day Colombia.
3.
Baltasar Maldonado was born in Salamanca in a family of hidalgos, the son of Francisco Baltasar Maldonado, who served under the Duke of Alba.
4.
Baltasar Maldonado married Leonor de Carvajal y Mendoza, and the couple had four children; two sons: Alfonso Maldonado y Carvajal and Alonso Maldonado; and two daughters: Maria Maldonado y Carvajal and Ana Maldonado de Carvajal.
5.
In 1535, Baltasar Maldonado traveled from Spain to Santo Domingo and then to Santa Marta.
6.
Baltasar Maldonado then joined the expedition led by Fernandez's de Lugo lieutenant, Gonzalo Jimenez de Quesada, whose purpose was to explore the Magdalena River and to find a land path to Peru.
7.
Baltasar Maldonado sent Maldonado ahead to search for other settlements in the area.
8.
Baltasar Maldonado tried to cross a river but he was halted by the indigenous people living there, who shot poisoned arrows at the conquistador, forcing him to retreat.
9.
Baltasar Maldonado walked for three days, finally encountering a lush valley in Sibundoy, terrain of the Inga and Kamentsa.
10.
Baltasar Maldonado was unaware of this and returned to his expedition leader Hernan to report the location of the valley.
11.
Baltasar Maldonado's expedition returned to Cali.
12.
Baltasar Maldonado, who had spent years in the conquest of Colombian terrain, returned to Bogota via Pensilvania.
13.
Notable is Francisco Baltasar Maldonado, who was a leader in the Revolt of the Comuneros.
14.
Various conquistadors and other people involved in the Spanish colonization of the Americas from the Baltasar Maldonado family are known in history.