Joan Orpí

Joan Orpí i del Pou, also Juan Orpín or Juan Urpín (1593 in

New Barcelona in Venezuela, and for founding the short-lived Province of New Catalonia

In 1623 he journeyed to

Lieutenant General of the province, a position he held until 1627/8. That year the Real Audiencia of Santo Domingo

recognised the law degree he had obtained in Barcelona, and he began acting as a legal representative of the Audiencia in Caracas.

In 1631 he moved to Santo Domingo, where the difficulty of communication between the

Cumanagotos, and was granted the royal privilege to do so, despite opposition from others. His expedition began in 1632 but had to be called off when the privilege was revoked, and he had to plead a case to the Audiencia and to the Council of the Indies

to regain it, which he was able to do in 1636.

A second expedition was launched in 1637, and Orpí founded

Orinoco River. After his death in 1645 the Province did not last long, being merged into New Andalusia Province

in 1654, while New Barcelona had to be refounded in 1671.

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