Eugenio de Espinosa was a Spanish soldier who served with

Nicolás Ponce de León 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), ...

as interim co-governor of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida () was the first major European land-claim and attempted settlement-area in northern America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba in the Viceroyalty of New Spain, and th ...

from September 21, 1631 to July 29, 1633.Ben Cohoon
U.S. States F-K
At a young age, Espinosa joined the

Spanish army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

and soon attained the rank of

sergeant major Sergeant major is a senior Non-commissioned officer, non-commissioned Military rank, rank or appointment in many militaries around the world. History In 16th century Spain, the ("sergeant major") was a general officer. He commanded an army's ...

. On September 21, 1631, he and the official ''Contador'' (accountant) of the province, Nicolás Ponce de León, were appointed as interim co-governors of ''La Florida'' to replace the incumbent governor,

Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas (1580 – July 1631) was a Spanish soldier who served as governor and captain-general of the Province of Isla Margarita, Venezuela (1619–1626) and as governor of Spanish Florida (1630–1631). Biography Early ...

, perhaps because of illness. During his administration, Espinosa was subjected to a ''residencia'' (court of inquiry). He was accused of having spent 14,078 “ reales” (1,280

ducats The ducat ( ) coin was used as a trade coin in Europe from the later Middle Ages to the 19th century. Its most familiar version, the gold ducat or sequin containing around of 98.6% fine gold, originated in Venice in 1284 and gained wide inter ...

) more than the previous governor, Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas, from the so-called "Indian fund" appropriated as aid to the neighboring Indian provinces, assigned and administered by the Spanish government. The fund, disbursed as a portion of the ''situado'', the annual royal subsidy, was intended to buy trade goods to be distributed as gifts among the various chiefs of the regional tribes, and thus secure their loyalty and encourage them in submission to the Crown and the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. Governor Rodríguez de Villegas died in 1633 and was replaced by

Luis de Horruytiner Luis Benedit y Horruytiner (? – ?) was a Spanish colonial administrator who held office as governor of Spanish Florida (July 29, 1633 – November 26, 1638), and viceroy of Sardinia. He was the uncle of Pedro Benedit Horruytiner, who succeeded h ...

; consequently, the interim co-governorship of Espinosa and Nicolás Ponce de León came to an end.

References

{{Reflist Royal governors of La Florida