Francisco de las Casas facts for kids

Francisco de las Casas (born 1461, died 1536) was a Spanish explorer and soldier. He played an important role in the early Spanish history of Mexico and Honduras.

Francisco de las Casas was born in Trujillo, Spain. He was married to Maria de Aguilar. They had a son named Gonzalo. Francisco was also a cousin of the famous Spanish explorer, Hernán Cortés. Maria was also Cortés' cousin.

Working with Hernán Cortés

In 1522, King Carlos chose Hernán Cortés to be the governor of New Spain (which is now Mexico). Francisco de las Casas and Rodrigo de Paz brought this important news from Spain to Mexico.

They first stopped in Cuba to tell Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar, who was a political rival of Cortés. When they arrived in Mexico City in 1523, everyone celebrated! Cortés was very happy. He made Francisco de las Casas a Captain. He also gave him control over the town of Yanhuitlan. This was called an encomienda, which meant he could collect taxes and use the labor of the local people. In 1524, Francisco was chosen as the Alcalde Mayor (like a chief mayor) of Mexico City.

Exploring and Settling Honduras

In 1524, Cortés sent another captain, Cristóbal de Olid, to start a new Spanish colony in Honduras. Olid sailed with many ships and over 400 soldiers. He stopped in Cuba to get supplies. But while there, Governor Velázquez convinced Olid to claim the new colony for himself, not for Cortés. Olid then sailed to Honduras and declared himself governor.

When Cortés heard about Olid's rebellion, he sent his cousin, Francisco de las Casas, to Honduras. Francisco's job was to remove Olid and claim the area for Cortés. However, Francisco's ships faced terrible storms along the coast of Belize and Honduras. Most of his fleet was lost. His remaining ships barely made it to the bay at Trujillo, where Olid had set up his main base.

Fighting Olid in Trujillo

When Las Casas arrived, many of Olid's soldiers were away. They were dealing with another Spanish group led by Gil González Dávila. Even so, Olid decided to attack Las Casas with two of his own ships. Las Casas fought back and sent boarding parties to capture Olid's ships.

Olid then suggested a truce, and Las Casas agreed. He did not land his soldiers. But during the night, a huge storm hit and destroyed Las Casas's remaining ships. About a third of his men were lost. The rest were captured after two days without food. They were forced to promise loyalty to Olid and then released. However, Las Casas was kept as a prisoner. Soon after, González, who had been captured by Olid's inland forces, also became a prisoner.

There are two different stories about what happened next:

• In one story, Olid's men rebelled against him. They swore loyalty to Las Casas. Olid was then put on trial and beheaded (executed) in Trujillo.
• In another story, Olid escaped and hid in a place called Naco. Las Casas found him there and killed him in a knife fight.

Cortés Arrives in Honduras

Meanwhile, Cortés himself marched overland from Mexico to Honduras, arriving in 1525. Cortés ordered two new cities to be founded: Nuestra Señora de la Navidad (near modern Puerto Cortés) and Trujillo. He named Francisco de las Casas as the governor of Trujillo.

However, both Las Casas and Cortés sailed back to Mexico before the end of 1525. In Mexico, Francisco was arrested and sent back to Spain as a prisoner. He returned to Mexico in 1527 and then went back to Spain with Cortés in 1528.

Later Life in Yanhuitlan

Back in Yanhuitlan, Cortés is said to have given Maria de Aguilar, Francisco's wife, mulberry seeds. These seeds helped start the silk industry in Yanhuitlan. This area became famous for its silk during the time of Spanish rule. In 1567, Francisco hired a painter named Andres de Concha. He wanted Concha to paint the images for the altarpiece in the church at Yanhuitlan, which was his encomienda.

See also

In Spanish: Francisco de las Casas para niños