Pedro Velazquez de Cuellar (1498-15) was the Governor of Cuba from 1521 to 1552 and Viceroy of New Spain from 1552 until his death. The son of Diego Velazquez, he served as Governor (heir apparent) and became Viceroy upon his father's death.
He had many children with Engracia Velazquez:
- Mallobo Descriua (born 1510)
- Pasqual de Feques (born 1549, son-in-law)
- Jocabo Velazquez (born 1553)
Biography[]
Pedro Velazquez de Cuellar was the son of Diego Velazquez de Cuellar, born in 1498 in Spain. He accompanied his father on his expedition to Cuba in 1521, and commanded an army on the outskirts of the capital of Havana. Following in the footsteps of his father, Pedro Velazquez brought a Spanish expeditionary army of 4,000 troops from Cuba to Mexico in 1527. Velazquez conquered Tabasco Province with the capture of Coatzalcoalcos and Potonchan from the Chontal Maya and their allies. By 1530, the Tabasco region was in Spanish hands, and after 1533 he fought campaigns against the Mayans of the Yucatan Peninsula under Emperor Bolontiku. He captured the cities of Tikal (1533), Canpech (1539), and Uxmal (1542) during his search for the fabled cities of gold, but faced only stiff Mayan resistance and never found a paradise where everything was golden.