Bastidas, Rodrigo de

Bastidas, Rodrigo de rôᵺrēˈgō dā bästēˈᵺäs [key], c.1460–1526, Spanish conquistador in Colombia. In 1501, accompanied by Balboa and Juan de la Cosa, he discovered the mouths of the Magdalena River. Because of difficulties with the Spanish crown, it was 1525 before he returned to found Santa Marta. He prohibited exploitation of Native Americans and so dissatisfied his followers that they tried to murder him. Wounded, he fled to Santo Domingo, but bad weather forced him to land in Cuba, where he died.

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