The process of the conquering of Costa Rica and the domination of the native tribes is normally divided in two phases. The first phase started in 1522 with the initial explorations made by Andres Niño and Gil Gonzalez Davila, both of whom navigated along the Pacific Coast of the country all the way to Nicaragua.
In 1524 the first settlement, called Villa Bruselas, was established in the present days area of Guanacaste; it was abandoned some years later. The second phase started in 1540 when Carlos V, King of Spain, grants the title of Governor of the Province of Cartago and Costa Rica to Diego de Gutierrez, whom in 1543 founded the town of Villa Santiago on the Atlantic shore near the Suerre river, and later in 1544 founded the town of San Francisco some thirty kilometers inland. Both towns were dismantled upon his death in that same year.
In 1561, Juan de Cavallon and Juan de Estrada Ravago started again the process of the conquest with explorations on the Atlantic side and on the Guanacaste area, and later in the Central Valley were he founded Garcimuñoz. By 1562 Juan Vasquez de Coronado is appointed as new Governor and he moves the town of Garcimuñoz to the Guarco Valley and changed its name to Cartago. In 1601 the first Camino Real or Royal Road is established with Panama.