Pedro de Ursúa (1526 – 1561) was a Spanish Basque conquistador from Baztan (Navarre) in the 16th century. In Panama, Ursúa subdued a Cimarron (ex-slave) revolt by tricking Cimarron leader Bayano into coming unprepared to negotiate a truce, but then captured him and sent him back to King Philip II of Spain.[1] Ursúa also searched the Amazon region for El Dorado and the Omaguas with Lope de Aguirre. Aguirre, commonly portrayed as a monomaniac, assassinated Ursúa: perhaps because Ursúa wouldn't let him take his mistress on the expedition, perhaps merely as a ploy for power.[2]
A fictional version of Ursúa and Aguirre's story is depicted in the Werner Herzog film, Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes and in the Carlos Saura film El Dorado.
The novel "Ursúa" by William Ospina has become one of the main references about Pedro de Ursúa. The book provides details about the life of Ursúa and makes a general account of the events happening in the New World during the mid 1500s.
References
- ^ Sportfishing charters Page about fishing on Rio Chepo with a section on history of Ursúa and the Cimarrons.
- ^ Descendants of Juan de Ursua
- Translation of Illustrated Encyclopedia of the Basque Country article on Lope de Aguirre - contains large segment on Ursúa's Dorado expedition
- (Spanish) Pedro de Ursua at Artehistora.com
- (Spanish) El Asesinato de Pedro de Ursua
- Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes at the Internet Movie Database
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