Admiral of the Ocean Sea Viceroy of the Indies Diego Columbus | |
|---|---|
 Portrait of Diego Columbus | |
| 2nd Viceroy of the Indies | |
| In office May 5, 1511 – February 23, 1526 | |
| Monarchs | Joanna of Castile co-monarch: Charles I of Spain(1516–1526) |
| Preceded by | Christopher Columbus(1506) |
| Succeeded by | Antonio de Mendoza (in 1535 asViceroy of New Spain) |
| 2ndAdmiral of the Ocean Sea | |
| In office May 20, 1509 – February 23, 1526 | |
| Monarchs | Joanna of Castile co-monarchs Philip I of Castile(1506), Charles I of Spain(1516–1526) |
| Preceded by | Christopher Columbus |
| Succeeded by | Luis Colón de Toledo |
| 4th Governor of the Indies | |
| In office July 10, 1509 – late February, 1515 | |
| Appointed by | Ferdinand II of Aragon(as regent toJoanna of Castile) |
| Preceded by | Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres |
| Succeeded by | Cristóbal Lebrón |
| 8th Governor of the Indies | |
| In office November 14, 1520 – September 16, 1523 | |
| Appointed by | Charles I of Spain(as co-ruler of his mother Joanna) |
| Preceded by | Rodrigo de Figueroa |
| Succeeded by | Gaspar de Espinosa |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1479/1480 Porto Santo, Portugal |
| Died | February 23, 1526 (aged 45) |
| Spouse | María de Toledo y Rojas |
| Children | 5, includingLuis |
| Parent(s) | Christopher Columbus Filipa Moniz Perestrelo |
| Residence | Viceregal Palace of Columbus |
| Occupation | Navigator Explorer |
Diego Columbus[a] (1479/1480 – February 23, 1526) was a navigator and explorer under the kings of Castile and Aragón. He served as the 2nd admiral of the Indies, 2nd viceroy of the Indies and 4th governor of the Indies as a vassal to the kings of Castile and Aragón. He was the only child ofChristopher Columbus by his wifeFilipa Moniz Perestrelo.[3]
He was born inPorto Santo, Portugal in 1479 or 1480. He spent most of his adult life trying to regain the titles and privileges granted to his father for his explorations and then denied in 1500. He was greatly aided in this goal by his marriage toMaría de Toledo y Rojas, niece of the 2ndDuke of Alba, who was the cousin ofKing Ferdinand.
Diego was made apage at theSpanish court in 1492, the year his father embarked on hisfirst voyage. Diego had a younger half-brother,Fernando, by Beatriz Enríquez de Arana.
Diego Columbus was taught by Christopher Columbus's mistress, Beatriz De Arana, until he transferred to the Franciscan monastery of La Rabida, at the urging of Father Juan Perez and friar Horacio Crassocius, prominent Franciscans and occasional priests to his father.[4][5]
Ferdinand and Diego had been pages toPrince Don Juan, then became pages toQueen Isabella in 1497.[6]
In August 1508, he was namedGovernor of the Indies, the post his father had held, arriving inSanto Domingo in July 1509. He established his home (theAlcázar de Colón), which still stands in Santo Domingo, in what is now theDominican Republic. In 1511 as Viceroy of the Indies, Diego Columbus commissioned Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar to go on an expedition from Santo Domingo to the newly acquired Spanish island of Cuba.[7]
According to Floyd, Diego "... was accompanied by a splendid entourage: his wife, Doña Maria, the firstgran dama of the New World, the Duke of Alba's niece, with her own suite ofdoncellas; and his immediate relatives – Fernando his half-brother, his two uncles, Diego andBartolomé, and his cousins, Andrea and Giovanni. Also on the expedition were his criados and his father's old retainers:Marcos de Aguilar, his forthrightalcalde mayor, Diego Mendez, his business manager, and Gerónimo de Agüero, his former tutor. Other loyalColombistas met him at Santo Domingo – his uncle by marriage,Francisco de Garay, whom he namedalguacil mayor, and Bartolomé'scriados, Miguel Díaz,Diego Velázquez, andJuan Cerón. His coming represented the permanent establishment of the most titled and notable family in the islands, at least for many years."[2]: 137
In 1511, a royal council declaredHispaniola, Puerto Rico, Jamaica and Cuba under Diego's power "by right of his father." However,Uraba andVeragua were deemed excluded, since the council regarded them as being discovered byRodrigo de Bastidas. The council further confirmed Diego's titles ofviceroy and admiral were hereditary, though honorific. Furthermore, Diego had the right to one-tenth of the net royal income. However, factions soon formed between those loyal to Diego andFerdinand's royal officials. Matters deteriorated to the point that Ferdinand recalled Diego in 1514. Diego then spent the next five years in Spain "futilely pressing his claims." Finally, in 1520, Diego's powers were restored byCharles.[2]: 143–144, 148, 197
Diego returned to Santo Domingo on 12 November 1520 in the midst of a native revolt against Spanish rule in the area of theFranciscan missions on theCumana River, which was the site of Spanishslave raids, alongside the salt and pearl trades. Diego sent Gonzalo de Ocampo on a punitive expedition with 200 men and 6 ships. Then in 1521, Diego invested inBartolomé de las Casas's enterprise to settle the Cumana area. That failure, blamed on Diego, meant the loss of the king's confidence. That loss, plus Diego's defiance of royal power on Cuba, forced Charles to reprimand Diego in 1523 and recall him back to Spain.[2]: 204–210, 213, 215
The first majorslave rebellion in the Americas occurred in Santo Domingo on 26 December 1522, when enslavedJolof laborers working on Diego'ssugar plantation starteda revolt. During the rebellion, many formerly enslaved insurgents managed to escape into the mountainous interior of the colony, where they established independentmaroon communities amongst the survivingTaíno. However, a lot of rebels were captured, and the admiral had them hanged.[8][9]
After his death, a compromise was reached in 1536 in which his son,Luis Colón de Toledo, was named Admiral of the Indies and renounced all other rights for a perpetual annuity of 10,000ducats, the island ofJamaica as afief, anestate of 25 squareleagues on theIsthmus of Panama, then calledVeragua, and the titles ofDuke of Veragua andMarquess of Jamaica.
After Columbus's death on February 23, 1526, in Spain, therents,offices andtitles in the New World went into dispute by his descendants.
He initially planned to marry Mencia de Guzman, daughter of theDuke of Medina Sidonia,[10] but he was forced by King Fernando to marry the king's cousinMaría de Toledo y Rojas (c. 1490 – May 11, 1549), who secured the transportation and burial of her father-in-law, Christopher Columbus, in Santo Domingo. She was the daughter of Fernando Alvarez de Toledo, 1st Lord of Villoria, son ofGarcía Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba, and his first wife María de Rojas, and had the following children:[11]
| Government offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Governor of the Indies 1509–1511 | Extinct |
| Military offices | ||
| Preceded by | Admiral of the Indies 1508–1526 | Succeeded by |
| Regnal titles | ||
| In abeyance Title last held by Christopher Columbus | Viceroy of the Indies 1511–1526 | Extinct |
| Spanish nobility | ||
| New title | Duke of Veragua 1509–1526 | Succeeded by |
| Marquis of Jamaica 1509–1526 | ||
