Francisco Fernández de Bobadilla (c. 1448 – 1 July 1502) was an official under the

Crown of Castile The Crown of Castile was a medieval polity in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the third and definitive union of the crowns and, some decades later, the parliaments of the kingdoms of Castile and León upon the accessi ...

and a

knight A knight is a person granted an honorary title of knighthood by a head of state (including the Pope) or representative for service to the monarch, the church or the country, especially in a military capacity. Knighthood finds origins in the Gr ...

of the

Order of Calatrava The Order of Calatrava ( es, Orden de Calatrava, pt, Ordem de Calatrava) was one of the four Spanish military orders and the first military order founded in Castile, but the second to receive papal approval. The papal bull confirming the Orde ...

. He was also the brother of

Beatriz de Bobadilla Beatriz de Bobadilla (1440–1511) was a Spanish noble and courtier. She is known as the confidant of Queen Isabella I of Castile. She was the childhood friend of Isabella, and remained at her court as her adviser throughout her reign, once bein ...

marchioness A marquess (; french: marquis ), es, marqués, pt, marquês. is a nobleman of high hereditary rank in various European peerages and in those of some of their former colonies. The German language equivalent is Markgraf (margrave). A woman wi ...

(''marquesa'') of Moya and of Peñalosa, a patron of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

and close friend to Queen Isabella. He was sent to the island of

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

as a judge, where he arrested Columbus for official misconduct. He served as

Viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

from 1500 until 1502.

Biography

Early years

Francisco Fernández de Bobadilla was born between 1445 and 1450 in Bobadilla,

Kingdom of Castile The Kingdom of Castile (; es, Reino de Castilla, la, Regnum Castellae) was a large and powerful state on the Iberian Peninsula during the Middle Ages. Its name comes from the host of castles constructed in the region. It began in the 9th centu ...

. In 1480 he was named knight commander of the

in Auñón, Berninches, Castellanos y El Collado, which indicates that he was between 30 and 35 years old and possessed of some social standing, as this position would not have been given to someone young. In Auñón, residents revolted against his policies, including making attempts on his life.

Judge

On 21 May 1499, the

Catholic Monarchs of Spain The Catholic Monarchs were Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of Spain. They were both from the House of Trastámara and were second cousins, being both ...

named him as a judge with orders to investigate reports from

, namely numerous complaints about the policies of

and his brothers which included accusations that they accepted bribes, enslaved the natives, under-paid the

quinto real The ''quinto real'' or the quinto del rey, the "King's fifth", was a 20% tax established in 1504 that Spain levied on the mining of precious metals. The tax was a major source of revenue for the Spanish monarchy. In 1723 the tax was reduced to 10%. ...

for pearls and gold, mishandled the rebellion of

Francisco Roldán Francisco Roldán (circa 1450 - 11 July .S. 1 July1502) was a Spanish colonial administrator. Biography He was left as ' (local governor) of La Isabela when Christopher Columbus returned to Spain from his second voyage. In 1497, Roldán revolted ...

, and that they had committed treason.

Investigation of Columbus and his brothers

Bobadilla set sail for Hispaniola at the beginning of June, arriving on 23 August 1500. He brought with him 500 men and 14 Amerindians who had previously been Columbus' slaves, and who were now being returned to their home. Once in Santo Domingo he met with

Giacomo Columbus Giacomo is an Italian name. It is the Italian version of the Hebrew name Jacob. People * Giacomo (name), including a list of people with the name Other uses * Giacomo (horse), a race horse, winner of the 2005 Kentucky Derby * ''Giácomo'' (film ...

, younger brother of Christopher, who was governing the island at that time because of Christopher being in La Vega. Shortly after the meeting began, Bobadilla ordered Giacomo to leave the fortress in which he was living, but Giacomo refused to recognize Bobadilla's authority, believing his brother Christopher's to be superior. Fernandez de Bobadilla began his investigation, basing it on the accusations that had made their way to the Spanish crown, and he gathered a large number of complaints against Giacomo and Christopher. He reputed that their governance had been disastrous, with serious abuses of authority, and was angry at them for hanging five Spaniards who had committed atrocities against the natives. Bobadilla then ordered the arrest of both brothers and that they be taken to Spain. He also seized all assets belonging to the two. The neutrality and accuracy of the accusations and investigations of Bobadilla toward Columbus and his brothers have been disputed by historians, given the anti-Italian sentiment of the Spaniards and Bobadilla's desire to take over Columbus' position.

Arrest of Columbus and his brother

On Bobadilla's order, Christopher Columbus appeared before him in Santo Domingo in September 1500. Columbus was then jailed in the fortress there together with his other brother

Bartholomew Columbus Bartholomew Columbus ( lij, label= Genoese, Bertomê Corombo; pt, Bartolomeu Colombo; es, Bartolomé Colón; it, Bartolomeo Colombo; – 1515) was an Italian explorer from Genoa and the younger brother of Christopher Columbus. Biography Bor ...

, who had returned to Santo Domingo after a campaign against the natives in Jaragua. At the beginning of October, the pair was sent to Spain in the custody of Captain Alonso de Vallejo. They were then turned over to

Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca Juan Rodriguez de Fonseca (1451–1524) was a Spanish archbishop, a courtier and bureaucrat, whose position as royal chaplain to Queen Isabella enabled him to become a powerful counsellor to Ferdinand and Isabella, the Catholic Monarchs. He co ...

, who was becoming the informal head of Castile's colonial administration and was a public critic of Christopher. Despite everything, the Monarchs treated Columbus cordially and ordered his release, saying that the accusations against him were insufficient to warrant his imprisonment. They did not exonerate him, however.

Ferdinand Columbus Ferdinand Columbus (Spanish: ''Fernando Colón'' also ''Hernando'', Portuguese: ''Fernando Colombo'', Italian: ''Fernando Colombo''; c. 24 August 1488 – 12 July 1539) was a Spanish bibliographer and cosmographer, the second son of Christopher C ...

(second son to Christopher) was at that time a page to Queen Isabella. He would write in his father's biography that the Catholic Monarchs, seeing various factions in court alleging that payments were not being made and letters sent to Spain from people who were unhappy on Hispaniola, decided to send a judge to investigate what was happening. For Ferdinand, the visit from this judge must have seemed like a great relief for his father, since "the Admiral" seemed to be facing rebellious factions.Ferdinand Columbus. ''Historia del almirante Don Cristobal Colon en la cual se da particular y verdadera relacion de su vida y de sus hechos, y del descubrimiento de las Indias Occidentales, llamadas Nuevo-mundo''. According to Ferdinand, Bobadilla "recognized and favored the rebels" upon arriving in Santo Domingo, and absolved the population from tribute for 20 years in order to curry their favor.

Governor of Hispaniola

Bobadilla took over the governorship of Hispaniola on 23 August 1500, shortly after his arrival. During his tenure, he incentivized private enterprise and set a policy whereby natives would primarily work in gold extraction in the existing mines in

Haina Haina (Kloster) is a municipality in Waldeck-Frankenberg in northwest Hesse, Germany. Geography Location Haina lies in Waldeck-Frankenberg south of Frankenberg and east of Burgwald at the southwest slope of the Kellerwald range. It lies on the ...

and

Cibao The Cibao, usually referred as "El Cibao", is a region of the Dominican Republic located at the northern part of the country. As of 2009 the Cibao has a population of 5,622,378 making it the most populous region in the country. The region constit ...

. According to Ferdinand Columbus, Bobadilla spent rents and royal tributes in order to win the population's favor, alleging that the Monarchs only wanted to possess the land and were unconcerned about anything else. He further claimed that Bobadilla auctioned off land that Christopher had obtained for the Monarchs below market price and gave natives to various rich and powerful people on the condition that they share their slaves' earnings with him. Bobadilla did cancel mining taxes in a successful attempt to stimulate gold production.Peter Bakewell
"A History of Latin America to 1825: 3rd Edition"
pg 114 ''Wiley Blackwell'', 2010. Retrieved 6/12/2020. Bobadilla also pardoned

, who had established a competing regime in western Hispaniola in 1497.

End of governorship and death

In 1502, Bobadilla was replaced as governor of the Indies by

Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres Nicolas or Nicolás may refer to: People Given name * Nicolas (given name) Mononym * Nicolas (footballer, born 1999), Brazilian footballer * Nicolas (footballer, born 2000), Brazilian footballer Surname Nicolas * Dafydd Nicolas (c.1705–1774), ...

. One possible motive for his removal despite a "relatively peaceful" two years was his elimination of the gold taxes. Bobadilla died on 1 July 1502 during a

hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

that wrecked 20 vessels of the 31-ship convoy, including the flagship. Among the surviving ships was the ''Aguja'', the weakest ship of the convoy and which carried the gold Columbus was owed—spurring accusations that Columbus magically invoked the storm out of vengeance.Morison, Samuel Eliot (1942), p. 590.