Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was a Spanish explorer and conquistador in Colombia. He explored the northern part of South America. While successful in many of his exploits, acquiring massive amounts of gold and emeralds, he ended his career disastrously; and has been suggested as a possible model for Cervantes' Don Quixote. He was a descendant of Henry the Navigator. His father was a hidalgo relative of Gonzalo Fransisco de Cordoba, and his mother was a descendant of El Cid. He has two known distant cousins: Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizarro. Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada was born in Cordova, Spain, into a Jewish family which had converted to Catholicism before he was born.... More • http://en.wikipedia. ... de_Quesada View • Books • Images • Videos • Search Related • Conquistadors • Explorers • Founders • Jurists • Soldiers • Bogotá • Colombia • Colonialism • Exploration • New Spain • Renaissance • Spain • 15th Century • 16th Century • People