Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada (1509-1579) was a major Spanish conquistador. His conquest of the Chibchas brought one of the important American culture areas under Spanish rule.

Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was born at Cordova, probably of a converted Jewish family. He studied at a university, presumably Salamanca, and practiced law for several years before the Royal Audiencia of Granada. In 1535 Pedro Fernández de Lugo, newly appointed governor of Santa Marta on the Caribbean, offered Jiménez de Quesada the post of chief magistrate there, and he accepted.

When Lugo's large expedition reached Santa Marta, it found the infant colony in bad condition, with food scarce and disease prevalent. The governor's son, Alonso de Lugo, soon absconded to Spain with the first gold supply discovered, but the elderly Don Pedro remained hopeful. He sent Quesada, in whom he had discovered qualities of...