The Columbian Viceroyalty, Viceroyalty of the Indies or First Viceroyalty in the Indies is the name that designates the number of
titles and
rights
Rights are law, legal, social, or ethics, ethical principles of freedom or Entitlement (fair division), entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal sy ...
granted to
Christopher Columbus
Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...
by the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 on the lands discovered and undiscovered, before embarking on his first trip that culminated in the colonization of the Americas.
Origins
The titles and powers over discovered lands granted to Christopher Columbus were entered in the
capitulations of Santa Fe
The Capitulations of Santa Fe between Christopher Columbus and the Catholic Monarchs, Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, were signed in Santa Fe, Granada on April 17, 1492. They granted Columbus the titles of admiral of t ...
agreed on April 17 of 1492.
Under them, the
Catholic Monarchs
The Catholic Monarchs were Isabella I of Castile, Queen Isabella I of Crown of Castile, Castile () and Ferdinand II of Aragon, King Ferdinand II of Crown of Aragón, Aragon (), whose marriage and joint rule marked the ''de facto'' unification of ...
,
Isabella and
Ferdinand
Ferdinand is a Germanic name composed of the elements "journey, travel", Proto-Germanic , abstract noun from root "to fare, travel" (PIE , "to lead, pass over"), and "courage" or "ready, prepared" related to Old High German "to risk, ventu ...
, awarded ''for the period of his life, and after his death, to be conferred on his heirs or Successors one after the other perpetually'':
* The title of
Admiral
Admiral is one of the highest ranks in many navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force. Admiral is ranked above vice admiral and below admiral of ...
of the Ocean Sea over all the islands and the mainland that discovered or won in this sea.
* The titles, always referred to together, of "
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 Anglo-Norman ''roy'' (Old Frenc ...
and
Governor General".
In addition, other powers and economic prerogatives.
These titles would be confirmed by the monarchs on his return from his first voyage in May 1493. Of these, the best known in Castile, which paid the most attention both Columbus and the monarchs, was the Admiral.
History
According to the capitulations of Santa Fe, all lands discovered by Christopher Columbus were part of his viceroyalty:
In his first trip to the
Americas
The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...
(it got to
Guanahani
Guanahaní (meaning "small upper waters land") was the Taíno language, Taíno name of an island in the Bahamas that was the first land in the New World sighted and visited by Christopher Columbus' Voyages of Christopher Columbus#First voyage (14 ...
on 12 October 1492), Columbus discovered the
Bahamas
The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of its population. ...
,
Cuba
Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
and
The Hispaniola, exerting his position as viceroy and governor in them, leaving to return to Spain to 39 men in
La Navidad
La Navidad ("The Nativity", i.e. Christmas) was a Spanish fort that Christopher Columbus and his crew established on the northwest coast of Hispaniola (near what is now Caracol, Nord-Est, Caracol, Nord-Est (department), Nord-Est Department, Hait ...
in Hispaniola, which was founded on December 25, 1492. the fort was destroyed shortly then by the
Indians of the island, killing all its occupants.

On his second trip in 1493 Christopher Columbus discovered
Guadalupe and other islands located on the side of Atlantic Ocean between it and
Puerto Rico
; abbreviated PR), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, is a Government of Puerto Rico, self-governing Caribbean Geography of Puerto Rico, archipelago and island organized as an Territories of the United States, unincorporated territo ...
, where he arrived on 19 November 1493. Later he found Jamaica and explored Cuba. On his return to Spain in 1496 he discovered the
Lesser Antilles
The Lesser Antilles is a group of islands in the Caribbean Sea, forming part of the West Indies in Caribbean, Caribbean region of the Americas. They are distinguished from the larger islands of the Greater Antilles to the west. They form an arc w ...
located on the side of
Caribbean Sea
The Caribbean Sea is a sea of the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean in the tropics of the Western Hemisphere, located south of the Gulf of Mexico and southwest of the Sargasso Sea. It is bounded by the Greater Antilles to the north from Cuba ...
between Puerto Rico and
Dominica
Dominica, officially the Commonwealth of Dominica, is an island country in the Caribbean. It is part of the Windward Islands chain in the Lesser Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean Sea. The capital, Roseau, is located on the western side of t ...
.
On his third trip in 1498 he discovered Trinidad,
Paria Peninsula and the
Island of Margarita, remaining until 1500 in Hispaniola.
The kings sent to the Spanish as pesquisador judge (with government functions) to
Francisco de Bobadilla in 1500, which upon arrival (August 23) arrested Columbus and his brothers and sailed Spain, dismissing him from the government. Columbus refused to be removed the shackles around his trip to Spain, during which he wrote a long letter to the Catholic Monarchs. Upon arriving to Spain he regained his freedom, but had lost prestige, its powers and the viceroyalty.
Bobadilla was also relieved of his government and replaced by
Nicolas de Ovando in 1502.
On his fourth trip, in 1502, he found
St. Lucia
Saint Lucia is an island country of the West Indies in the eastern Caribbean. Part of the Windward Islands of the Lesser Antilles, it is located north/northeast of the island of Saint Vincent (Saint Vincent and the Grenadines), Saint Vincent ...
and
Martinique
Martinique ( ; or ; Kalinago language, Kalinago: or ) is an island in the Lesser Antilles of the West Indies, in the eastern Caribbean Sea. It was previously known as Iguanacaera which translates to iguana island in Carib language, Kariʼn ...
. He then toured the Central American coast from the
Bay Islands to
Gulf of Urabá. He remained in Jamaica until 1504 and then returned to Spain died on May 20, 1506, in
Convent of San Francisco of
Valladolid
Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...
.
Since 1499 the kings authorized other trips of discovery without the authorization of Columbus, including those of
Alonso de Ojeda
Alonso de Ojeda (; c. 1466 – c. 1515) was a Spanish explorer, governor and conquistador. He is famous for having named Venezuela, which he explored during his first two expeditions, for having been the first European to visit Guyana, Curaçao ...
and
Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, creating for them governments in the territories they discovered: the
governorate Coquibacoa on the coast of Venezuela, except Paria discovered by Columbus was for De Ojeda and Pinzón the
governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
off the coast of Brazil between the Amazon river and the
Cape Holy Mary of Consolation. These governorates were exempted from the Viceroyalty of the Indies.
The Viceroyalty after the death of Columbus
On Christopher Columbus's death his eldest son
Diego Columbus inherited his father's rights in the Americas, including the viceroyalty. However, King Ferdinand refused at first to transfer all rights of his father and appointed him governor of Hispaniola in 1508. Diego began a series of lawsuits against the
crown known as the
Columbian Lawsuits, and in 1511 his rights as viceroy were recognized, but with limited jurisdiction over those territories that had been officially discovered by his father. Consequently, Diego Columbus became the second Viceroy of the Indies. He died in 1526 bequeathing his rights to the viceroyalty to his son
Luis Colón.
During the minority of Luis Colón the transaction occurred and arbitration that ended Columbian Lawsuits with the Spanish crown and in 1537 he received the knighthood of this
I Duke of Veragua and
Manor territorial six hundred twenty-five square leagues, composed of lands of ancient Veragua and
Castilla del Oro. He was also graced with the hereditary dignity of I Marquis of Jamaica and the lordship of the island, putting an end to the Viceroyalty of the Indies
References
Bibliography
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{{Thirteen Colonies
Spanish West Indies
Spanish colonization of the Americas
Viceroyalties of the Spanish Empire
Former colonies in North America
Former countries in the Caribbean
Christopher Columbus
Spanish Puerto Rico
Colony of Santiago
History of the Colony of Santo Domingo
Spanish colonial period of Cuba
1490s in the Spanish West Indies
1500s in the Spanish West Indies
1510s in the Spanish West Indies
1520s in the Spanish West Indies
1530s in the Spanish West Indies
1492 establishments in North America
1535 disestablishments in North America
1530s disestablishments in New Spain
1490s establishments in the Spanish Empire
1535 disestablishments in the Spanish Empire
1490s establishments in the Spanish West Indies
1530s disestablishments in the Spanish West Indies
15th century in the Caribbean
16th century in the Caribbean
Former Spanish colonies