Cosa but upon their return to Spain he was incarcerated along Christopher Columbus. The village of Santa Marta was founded on July 29, 1525. A year before Rodrigo de Bastidas signed a capitulation with the King of Spain on November 6, 1524 establishing himself as the first governor of Santa Marta. Discovery The first Spanish to arrive in the area was Pedro de Vadillo in 1528 arriving from Santa Marta. Conquest and foundation The foundation of Valledupar was ordered by Miguel Diez de Aramendiz in 1550. Soon after the German conqueror Ambrosius Ehinger stormed the region coming from Coro after crossing the Serranía del Perijá mountain range. Ehinger savagely conquered the region burning down entires indigenous villages and taking the indigenous peoples as slaves. Ehinger burned down the villages of Eupari and Thamara, also sentenced to death the Cacique Upar. Independence from Spain On January 29, 1813, the Cabildo of Justice of Valledupar invited neighboring towns to elect their local town magistrates. The Cabildo was integrated by Antonio Fernandez de Castro, Jose Vicente Ustariz, Jose Vicente Maestre and Rafael Diaz Granados. On February 4, 1813 the Cabildo publicly declared the independence of Valledupar. Members of the Cabildo organized a committee which was to visit María Concepción Loperena who had direct contact with the leader of the independence movement Simón Bolívar. The Cabildo celebrated the independence at the house of the local Scrivener screaming hails to the President of the United Provinces of New Granada, Jorge Tadeo Lozano, and the President of Cartagena, Manuel Rodríguez Torices. Jose Eugenio Garcia then asked the Cabildo to authorize a contingent of 200 troops to liberate the village of San Juan del Cesar. Andres Medina, grandson of the Cacique of La Guajira and loyal to the Spanish monarchy, confronted Garcia and the contingent from Valledupar, defeating them. News of the confrontation spread through the region, particularly in villages considered loyal to the Spanish crown such as Barrancas, Fonseca and Riohacha. On February 20, 1813 commissioners from these towns created Ayuntamientos in accordance with the Spanish constitution and protested against the events of Valledupar. Notes References .