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Sebastián de Benalcázar  When Francisco Pizarro marched south from Cajamarca in 1533, he sent the seasoned conquistador Sebastián de Benalcázar to accompany treasure back to the port of San Miguel. Benalcázar responded to the news of Alvarado's unauthorised invasion of Quito in 1534 by launching his own unauthorised invasion.After the success of the Quitan campaign, Benalcázar settled in Quito and launched small expeditions into modern-day Colombia. He was eventually forced to flee from Quito to escape arrest by Francisco Pizarro, who had wearied of his unauthorised expeditions. When the legend of El Dorado, the fabled city of fabulous riches, began to appear in 1540, Benalcázar claimed that this had been the goal of all his expeditions, hoping to establish a prior claim to the city should it eventually be discovered. Benalcázar even journeyed to Spain to argue that the city must lie within his territory. He was awarded the governorship of Popayán with a royal licence to market cinnamon, whilst the city of El Dorado proved to be nothing more than a myth. |
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