Gonzalo Piña Ludueña

Who was Gonzalo Piña Ludueña?

Gonzalo Piña Ludueña or Lidueña was a Spanish conquistador and colonial administrator in the Province of Venezuela between 1597 and 1600.

Gonzalo Piña Ludueña was born in Gibraltar in 1545 which was then part of Spain. He moved to the New World and settled down in Mérida, currently Western Venezuela, becoming one of the first Spanish inhabitants of the town. He was since then responsible of establishing several new towns and hamlets in the area, such as Nuestra Señora de Pedraza, or San Antonio de Gibraltar. San Antonio de Gibraltar was named after Gonzalo Piña Ludueña's hometown as authorised by the city council of Mérida which, in need of a new harbour, commissioned its foundation on shore of Lake Maracaibo in 1592.

Upon the promotion of the former governor of the Province of Venezuela, Diego de Osorio, to head of the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo, Piña Ludueña was appointed Governor by the king Philip II on April 17, 1597, and remained in office until his death, on March 28, 1600. He also wrote a Description of the Lake Maracaibo and Magdalena River.