He completed his primary education in Riobamba, the city of his birth, and in 1718, traveled to Quito where he attended the Colegio San Luis, where, under the supervision of the Jesuits, he learned arithmetic, geometry, Latin, astronomy, and music.

From an early age, Maldonado was interested in the mysteries of nature, and between 1722 and 1724 undertook many explorations of unknown regions to study the land’s geography in great detail; he completed his first map in 1725.

In Spain, in 1746, he was received by Philip V, who bestowed upon him the title of "Gentleman of the Royal Camera" and proclaimed him Governor of Atacames, with a state-sanctioned pension to last for two generations.

From Madrid, he traveled to Paris, where he was received as a member of the French Academy of Sciences on March 24, 1747 based on reports about his merits from other geologists who knew him in Quito, giving him the opportunity to print his "General Map."

That same year he traveled through the Netherlands and in August 1748, was transferred to London, where he was invited to participate in meetings of the Royal Society as one of its members,[1] but he died before he could be inducted.