Nicolás de Ovando

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Nicolás de Ovando
Nicolás de Ovando

Fray don Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres (Castile, 1460 – Madrid, May 29, 1518) was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara. He was Governor of the Indies (Hispaniola) from 1502 until 1509.

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[edit] Early life

Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres was born in 1460 Castile. Born into a noble and pious family, son of don Diego Fernández de Cáceres y Ovando, 1st Lord of the Manor House del Alcázar Viejo, and first wife doña Isabel Flores de las Varillas, a distant relative of Hernán Cortés, he entered the Military Order of Alcántara, where he became a Master (Mestre or Maitre) or a Commander-Major (Comendador-Mayor). This brotherhood, founded in 1156, could be compared with the Order of Templars. His first born brother was don Diego de Cáceres y Ovando.

[edit] Selection as governor

As Commander of Lares, he was a very appreciated man of the Spanish Catholic Kings and in particular of Queen Isabella. So, on September 3, 1501, The Spanish Crown decided to replace Francisco de Bobadilla and make Ovando the third Governor and Captain-General of the Indies, Islands and Firm-Land of the Ocean Sea from complaints from Christopher Columbus in 1502.

[edit] Expedition to the Americas

Thus, on February 13, 1502, he sailed from Spain with a fleet of thirty ships. It was the largest fleet that had ever sailed to the New World.

The thirty ships carried 2,500 colonists. Unlike Columbus's earlier settlements, this group of colonists was deliberately selected to represent an organized cross-section of Spanish society. Ovando's plan was to develop the West Indies economically and thereby expand Spanish political, religious, and administrative influence in the region. Along with him also came Francisco Pizarro, who would later explore western South America and conquer the Inca Empire. Another ship also carried Bartolomé de las Casas later known as the 'Protector of the Indians'. Plans were made in 1502 also for Hernán Cortés to sail to the Americas with him, a family acquaintance and twice distant relative, but an injury he sustained while hurriedly escaping from the bedroom of a married woman of Medellín prevented him from making the journey.

[edit] Administration

When Ovando arrived in Hispaniola in 1502, he found the natives in a state of revolt. He ruthlessly suppressed this rebellion through a series of bloody campaigns. The administration of Ovando in Hispaniola was one of great cruelty toward the Indians. When the Spaniards arrived in 1492, the native population was estimated to be about 500,000. According to a census taken in 1507, the native population had been reduced to 60,000.

Ovando founded several cities on Hispaniola and also developed the mining industry, introduced the cultivation of sugar cane with plants that he imported from the Canary Islands, and commissioned expeditions of discovery. The Spanish Crown was not only interested in using the natives to help provide food but also wanted to exploit native labor to extract the gold from the nearby mines.

Ovando ordered the first importation of Spanish-speaking slaves of African descent (Ladinos) into the Americas in 1501. Many of the Spanish elite ordered small numbers of slaves to work as servants in their homes. Most of the slaves were sent to work in the sugar cane fields.

Ovando was recalled to Spain in 1509 by King Ferdinand, who was keeping a promise that he had made to Queen Isabella on her death-bed. He was succeeded by Diego Columbus, but was permitted to retain possession of all his property.

He died on May 29, 1518 in Madrid, Spain and was buried in the church of San Benito d'Alcantara.

[edit] Note

Ovando made Hernán Cortés a notary and gave him a grant of land. This provided Cortés with the start of his career as a conquistador.

[edit] Sources

This article incorporates text from the public domain Appleton's Cyclopedia of American Biography.

  • Cunha, Fernando de Castro Pereira Mouzinho de Albuquerque e (1906-1998), Instrumentário Genealógico - Linhagens Milenárias. MCMXCV, pp. 311

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