Juan de la Cámara

Juan Gómez de la Cámara (1525–1602) was a Spanish conquistador and an hidalgo. Born in Alcala de Henares, Spain, he arrived in New Spain (present day Mexico) in 1539 and joined the Spanish Conquest of Yucatán. He was one of the founders of Mérida, Yucatán.

Military campaigns

Juan de la Cámara took part in the conquest of "Las provincials de Grimel de Chetumal de los Zubeniques y de los Chaulacas" under direct orders of Captain Gaspar Pacheco. This was among the bloodiest phases in the conquest of Yucatan. Juan de la Cámara founded the City of Salamanca de Bacalar on the shores of the lagoon of Culo, near the city of Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico.

Juan de la Cámara also participated in the conquest of Provincia del Golfo Dulce next to the Lake of Izabal, now part of Guatemala, under the orders of Captain Don Francisco de Montejo and Captain Don Cristobal Maldonado. He also founded the city of Nueva Seville (Nueva Sevilla).

Under the orders of Captain Francisco Bracamonte, Juan de la Cámara participated in the general rise and rebellion of the Maya.

After the foundation of the city of Salamanca de Bacalar, the Spanish nobility awarded Juan de la Cámara the encomienda of the towns of Cahabon (today Guatemala) and Tituz. When he returned to Mérida after the rebellion of the Maya, the Spanish Crown awarded him the encomienda of the towns of Euan and Sinanche.

Coat of Arms of the de la Cámara family

Personal life

Don Juan de la Cámara was married in 1563 to Doña Francisca de Sandoval, daughter of the conquistador and hidalgo Don Gonzalo Méndez y Dona Ana Sandoval. His descendants have lived in Mexico for 13 generations, belonging to the Mexican nobility.

See also

Further reading

  • Robert S. Chamberlain Conquest and Colonization of Yucatán 1517-1550, 1947, Washington DC.
  • Jorge Rubio Mañé Alcaldes de Mérida Yucatan -Page 48, Mexico D.F. 1948.
  • Francisco Jose Morales Roca Caballeros de la Espuela Dorada del Principado de Cataluña dinastia de TRASTAMARA 1412-1555. Madrid 1988.
  • Archivo General de Indias - México 971 - Page 330.
  • Yucatán en el tiempo, enciclopedia alfabética. México, 1998. ISBN 970-9071-04-1.
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