Manaure Indian

Manaure Indian

Manaure was cacique of the caquetíos who
They occupied the northwest of present-day Venezuela
Facing the Caribbean Sea. He acted from
Town of Todariquiba, near the current

Sabaneta. He was a political boss with powers
Exceptional and divine, his subjects believed
That he was the maker of natural phenomena
(Storms, droughts, etc.) and they had it for God, respecting it
And revering

Juan de Castellanos in his Elegies of men
Illustrious of the Indies, presents him with a personality
Overwhelming, impeccable conduct and excessive power
Manaure was a man of great moment, of clarity and of
Shrewd understanding. He had soft works with Spaniards

Words well measured and ordered, in all their conquests
And demands trembled from the altered people, never
I saw a virtue that he did not praise nor a sin that did not correct him
He never gave a word that would break it or promised anything that
He didn't comply

The Spanish began the occupation of the region
From the islands Aruba and Curaçao off the coast
In 1523, Manaure, trying to avoid conflict, sent
Emissaries to the islands to invite Juan de Amplíes to
He will visit you in Todariquiba. The good relationship between the two

He preserved his people from the slave business of the armies
From the Caribbean that lashed his domains. In 1525, they were
Taken prisoners to Santo Domingo more than 150 indigenous
To be sold as slaves; among them were relatives

From Manaure. Amplíes managed to rescue several of them and
Returning them to his town, the act sealed an alliance between
The warlords. On July 26, 1527, Amplíes founded
Santa Ana de Coro in Tierra Firme respecting the authority of

Manaure on the indigenous people of the region. He this moves
To the new city and he is baptized with the name of Martin
Good relations with the Spanish would soon end
In 1528, Carlos V, faced with the enormous debts he had contracted
With the German bankers, he decided to cede the administration to them

And conquest of the Province of Venezuela to the Welser House of
Augsburg. Juan de Amplíes had to return to Curaçao. The
Germans did not respect the existing alliance. Started a
Significant indigenous depopulation in the area

In 1530 the Germans seized canoes that were
Property of Manaure, who when claiming them is imprisoned
Released after a management by Amplíes, he decided to retire with his
People about 300 km inland, the pact with the Europeans
It was broken. He takes refuge in the lands of the Yaracuyes, he will die in
1549 in combat with the Spanish in El Tocuyo