Gonzalo García Zorro

Spanish conquistador

Diego Alonso El Zorro (father)
Teresa González de Sancha (mother)

RelativesAntonio García Zorro (brother)
Unnamed (sister)Encomendero of BogotáIn office
1544–1545Preceded byJuan Ruiz de OrejuelaSucceeded byJuan Ruiz de OrejuelaIn office
1545–1546Preceded byJuan Ruiz de OrejuelaSucceeded byJuan de CéspedesIn office
1548–1548Preceded byJuan Muñoz de CollantesSucceeded byJuan Ruiz de OrejuelaIn office
1550–1551Preceded byJuan de AvellanedaSucceeded byJuan de AvellanedaIn office
1553–1554Preceded byJuan de RiveraSucceeded byJuan TafurIn office
1556–1556Preceded byAntonio RuizSucceeded byDomingo LozanoIn office
1564–1564Preceded byJuan Ruiz de OrejuelaSucceeded byAndrés de Molina

Notes

^[1]^[2]

Gonzalo García Zorro (c. 1500 – 1566) was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the Spanish conquest of the Muisca people. García Zorro was encomendero (mayor) of Santa Fe de Bogotá for seven terms, and received the encomiendas of Fusagasugá and Fosca.

He married three times, twice with Muisca women, and had one daughter, Francisca, and a son, Diego. García Zorro died of wounds he suffered in a duel with Alonso Venegas. Venegas was the son of fellow conquistador Hernán Venegas Carrillo and the grandson through his mother of Sagipa, the last zipa (leader) of the Muisca, whom García Zorro had helped to kill.

Knowledge of the life of García Zorro comes from the works Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias (1589) and El Carnero (1638), by Juan de Castellanos and Juan Rodríguez Freyle respectively.

Biography

Gonzalo García Zorro was born around 1500 in Guadalcanal, at the border between Extremadura and Seville.^[2] His parents were Teresa González de Sancha and Diego Alonso El Zorro. Gonzalo García Zorro had a brother, Antonio, and a sister.^[1]

García Zorro joined the expedition led by Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada from Santa Marta towards the Muisca Confederation in April 1536 as a cavalry leader.^[3]^[4]^[5] García Zorro was later convicted of crimes against the last zipa, Sagipa.^[6]

Gonzalo García Zorro was seven times encomendero of Santa Fe de Bogotá: in 1544 succeeding Juan Ruiz de Orejuela, who succeeded García Zorro again; from 1545 to 1546, succeeding the second term of Juan Ruiz de Orejuela and preceding Juan de Céspedes; in 1548 between the reign of Juan Muñoz de Collantes and the third term by Juan Ruiz de Orejuela; from 1550 to 1551 in between the terms of Juan de Avellaneda; between 1553 and 1554 succeeding Juan de Rivera and preceding Juan Tafur; in 1556 between the terms of Antonio Ruiz and Domingo Lozano; and finally in 1564 succeeding Juan Ruiz de Orejuela again and preceding Andrés de Molina.^[7]

Gonzalo García Zorro received the encomiendas of Fusagasugá,^[3]^[8] and Fosca.^[9] The encomienda of Suesca was shared between Gonzalo García Zorro and Juan Tafur.^[10]

Gonzalo García Zorro died in 1566 at Santa Fe de Bogotá of wounds he received in a duel with Alonso Venegas. Venagas was the son of Magdalena de Guatavita, daughter of Sagipa, and Hernán Venegas Carrillo.

References

^ ^a ^b Gonzalo García Zorro – Geni
^ ^a ^b (in Spanish) Gonzalo García Zorro – Banco de la República – Soledad Acosta de Samper
^ ^a ^b Acosta, 1848, p.399
^ De Piedrahita, 1676, p.102
^ (in Spanish) Lista de los que consiguieron el descubrimiento del Reino de Granada con el General don Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada, en el año de 1538 Archived 2016-03-09 at the Wayback Machine – Banco de la República
^ Ocampo López, 1996, p.55
^ (in Spanish) List of mayors of Bogotá – 1538–1599
^ (in Spanish) Los caballeros de la conquista
^ De Castellanos, 1589, p.418
^ Rodríguez Freyle, 1638, p.112

Bibliography

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 2017-03-06.
De Castellanos, Juan. 1857 (1589). Elegías de varones ilustres de Indias, 1–567. Accessed 2017-03-06.
Fernández de Piedrahita, Lucas. 1676. VI. Historia general de las conquistas del Nuevo Reino de Granada. Accessed 2017-03-06.
Ocampo López, Javier. 1996. Leyendas populares colombianas – Popular Colombian legends, 1–384. Plaza y Janes Editores. Accessed 2017-03-06.
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 2017-03-06.
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 2017-03-06.

Jiménez de Quesada, Gonzalo. 1576. Memoria de los descubridores, que entraron conmigo a descubrir y conquistar el Reino de Granada. 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.
N, N. 1979 (1889) (1539). Epítome de la conquista del Nuevo Reino de Granada, 81–97. Banco de la República. Accessed 2017-03-01.

Muisca

Topics

General	Agriculture Architecture Art Astronomy Calendar Cuisine Economy Mummification Music Muysccubun Mythology Numerals Religion Society Toponyms Warfare Women
Specific	Battle of Pasca (~1470) Battle of Chocontá (~1490) Chicha Duit Emeralds Muisca raft Ruana Tejo Tunjo Zoratama
The Salt People	Zipaquirá Nemocón Tausa Sesquilé

Geography and history

Altiplano
Cundiboyacense

Bogotá River
- Frío
- Fucha
- Juan Amarillo
- Soacha
- Teusacá
- Torca
- Tunjuelo
Bogotá savanna
- Suba Hills
- Wetlands
Eastern Hills
Flora & fauna
Suárez River
Ubaté-Chiquinquirá Valley

Neighbouring areas

History

Prehistory (<10,000 BP)	Lake Humboldt El Abra Tibitó Sueva Tequendama
Lithic (10,000 - 2800 BP)	Piedras del Tunjo Checua Galindo Nemocón Sáchica Aguazuque Lake Herrera El Infiernito
Ceramic (>800 BC)	Herrera (800 BC - 800) Early Muisca (800 - 1200) Muisca Confederation (~1450 - 1540) Cabildo Mayor (>2002)

Religion and mythology

Deities

Sacred sites

Built	Sun Temple Moon Temple Cojines del Zaque Goranchacha Temple Hunzahúa Well
Natural	Fúquene Guasca Guatavita Iguaque Siecha Suesca Tota Ubaque Tequendama Falls

Mythology

Myths	El Dorado Monster of Lake Tota
Mythological figures	Goranchacha Idacansás Pacanchique Thomagata

Caciques and neighbours

Northern caciques

zaque of Hunza	Hunzahúa Michuá Quemuenchatocha Aquiminzaque
iraca of Suamox	Nompanim Sugamuxi
cacique of Tundama	Tundama

Southern caciques

zipa of Bacatá	Meicuchuca Saguamanchica Nemequene Tisquesusa Sagipa
cacique of Turmequé	Diego de Torres y Moyachoque

Neighbours

Chibcha-speaking	U'wa Sutagao Guane Lache
Arawak-speaking	Achagua Tegua Guayupe
Cariban-speaking	Panche Muzo Yarigui

Spanish conquest

Conquistadors

Major	Gonzalo de Quesada Hernán de Quesada Baltasar Maldonado Gonzalo Suárez Rendón Juan de Céspedes Juan de San Martín
Minor	Antonio Díaz de Cardoso Antonio de Lebrija Bartolomé Camacho Zambrano Gonzalo García Zorro Gonzalo Macías Hernán Venegas Carrillo Juan de Albarracín Juan del Junco Juan Tafur Lázaro Fonte Luis Lanchero Martín Galeano Martín Yañéz Tafur Miguel Holguín y Figueroa Ortún Velázquez de Velasco Pedro Fernández de Valenzuela Pedro Ruíz Corredor

Neighbouring conquests

Research and collections

Scholars	Acosta Acosta Samper De Aguado Arango Broadbent De Castellanos Celis Correal Duquesne Freyle Friede Gamboa Groot Hammen Humboldt Izquierdo Langebaek De Lugo Ocampo De Piedrahita De Quesada Reichel-Dolmatoff Schrimpff Simón Triana Uricoechea Zerda
Publications	Elegías (1589) El Carnero (1638) Epítome (1889)
Research institutes	ICANH Universidad Nacional Universidad de los Andes Universidad La Javeriana University of Pittsburgh UPTC
Collections	Museo del Oro Archaeology Museum of Sogamoso Archaeology Museum of Pasca Metropolitan Museum of Art