 His rule as governor of Cartagena lasted 22 years, before perishing on his return to Spain in 1544.Cartagena was founded on 1 June 1533 by the Spanish commander, Pedro de Heredia, in the former location of the indigenous Caribbean Calamarí village.The town was named after the port city of Cartagena, in Murcia in southeast Spain, where most of Heredia's sailors had resided.