Cuman� was the first settlement founded by Europeans in main land America, in 1501 by Franciscan friars, but due to successful attacks by the indigenous people (such as the Cumanagoto people), it had to be refounded several times, until Diego Hern�ndez de Serpa's foundation in 1569. Bartolom� de las Casas, attempting a peaceful colonization scheme, was pre-empted by Gonzalo de Ocampo's 1521 punitive raids against the local indigenous people, in retaliation for the destruction of the Dominican convent at Chiribichi. In 1537 New Andalusia Province was established, with Cuman� its capital (for which the Province was also known as the Province of Cuman�).
After Amerindian attacks became less of a threat, the city was on several occasions destroyed by earthquakes. Thus the oldest part of the city is late 17th and 18th century; almost none of the 16th century architecture survived
