Olid, Cristóbal De (1488–1524)

Cristóbal De Olid (b. 1488; d. 12 May 1524), conquistador of Mexico and Central America. A trusted captain of Hernán Cortés, Olid later betrayed him in order to claim for himself regions he had explored in Honduras.

Born in Baeza, in the Andalusian region of Spain, Olid left for America in 1518 to search for gold and other wealth. Arriving in Cuba, he joined Cortés's expedition to Mexico. Olid was made quartermaster of Cortés's army, and in 1519 participated in the founding of Veracruz and in campaigns to Tlaxcala and Tenochtitlán (the capital city). Cortés appointed Olid captain of the guard in Tenochtitlán, and when the Spaniards captured Motecuhzoma II, Olid became the ruler's personal guard.

During the siege of Tenochtitlán, Olid became one of Cortés's most trusted captains. He distinguished himself as a loyal and capable soldier, rising quickly to the rank of camp commander, a position of both administrative and judicial power. In addition, he was given the command of a large company of his own, heading campaigns in Texcoco, Chapultepec, and Coyoacán. Following the conquest of Tenochtitlán in 1521, Olid led an expedition to Michoacán, extending Spanish control outward from the Mexican capital.

In 1524 Cortés sent Olid south to take possession of Honduras, which was believed to contain great wealth. He was also instructed to capture Gil González Dávila, a conquistador who had claimed for himself the area surrounding Lake Nicaragua. After gathering provisions in Cuba, Olid sailed down the coast, arriving in the Gulf of Honduras in May 1524. He claimed the land in Cortés's name and established the town of Triunfo de la Cruz. Soon after, he renounced Cortés's authority and claimed the region for himself. When Cortés learned of his captain's betrayal, he sent out an expedition under the leadership of Francisco de las Casas with instructions to capture Olid. Cortés began his own journey south in November 1524 to handle the matter.

Olid moved west into the Valley of Naco, where he encountered González Dávila. The arrival of Francisco de las Casas in the Gulf of Honduras, however, prevented an immediate pursuit. Olid tried to stall de las Casas's landing by proposing a truce. The ploy proved successful. A storm decimated de las Casas's forces, giving Olid the chance to capture both de las Casas and González Dávila. The two men later managed to escape, attempting unsuccessfully to assassinate Olid, who fled, seriously wounded, to the mountains. He soon was found, however. After a perfunctory trial, Olid was sentenced to death and beheaded.

See alsoCortés, Hernán; Explorers and Exploration: Spanish America; Michoacán; Tenochtitlán.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Rafael Heliodoro Valle, Cristóbal de Olid, conquistador de México y Honduras (1950).

Bernal Díaz Del Castillo, The Discovery and Conquest of Mexico, 1517–1521, edited by Genaro García, translated by A. P. Maudslay (1956).

Robert S. Chamberlain, The Conquest and Colonization of Honduras, 1502–1550 (1966).

William H. Prescott, The History of the Conquest of Mexico (1966), edited by C. Harvey Gardiner.

Additional Bibliography

Montell, Jaime. México: El inicio, 1521–1534. Mexico City: Editorial Joaquín Mortiz, 2005.

                                             Sara Fleming