Between 1537 and 1543, six Spanish expeditions entered highland Colombia, subdued the Muisca Indians, and created the New Kingdom of Granada. Of the nearly 2,000 men who set out to conquer and colonize the region, 658 survivors of the six expeditions are identified and studied in this first-ever collective biography of these "conquistadores" of northern Spanish America. Also delineated is the society they created in the postconquest period. This volume helps us see that from the very first Spanish contacts, the settlement of New Granada differed from that of Mexico and Peru. The background of the Spanish "conquistadores" along with the nature of the Indian societies they encountered made New Granada unique in many ways. Investigated in detail are the particular patterns followed in establishing an urban society, organizing Indian labor and tribute, and especially in creating class and social relations. Because of the power of local elites in the twenty-four municipalities founded in the first fifty years, New Granada was characterized by a regionalism not found elsewhere.

"The scholarship is superior. An exciting new work."--Jane Rausch, University of Massachusetts at Amherst