Rodrigo del Junco (born in

Ribadesella Ribadesella (Asturian: Ribeseya) is a small municipality in the Autonomous Community of the Principality of Asturias, Spain. Known for its location on the Cantabrian Sea, at the outlet of the River Sella, Ribadesella is a town that forms part ...

Asturias Asturias (, ; ast, Asturies ), officially the Principality of Asturias ( es, Principado de Asturias; ast, Principáu d'Asturies; Galician-Asturian: ''Principao d'Asturias''), is an autonomous community in northwest Spain. It is coextensi ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' ( Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

, died 1592) was a Spanish soldier, a

factor Factor, a Latin word meaning "who/which acts", may refer to: Commerce * Factor (agent), a person who acts for, notably a mercantile and colonial agent * Factor (Scotland), a person or firm managing a Scottish estate * Factors of production, ...

(mercantile agent) and Overseer of the Royal Estate in '' La Florida'', and governor of the province in 1592.

Biography

Rodrigo del Junco was baptized in the Roman Catholic church of Santa Maria de Junco in Ribadesella. He had one brother, Juan del Junco. Rodrigo del Junco attained the rank of captain in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

and before 1550, served

Philip II of Spain Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal fro ...

as an agent of the

Kingdom of Naples The Kingdom of Naples ( la, Regnum Neapolitanum; it, Regno di Napoli; nap, Regno 'e Napule), also known as the Kingdom of Sicily, was a state that ruled the part of the Italian Peninsula south of the Papal States between 1282 and 1816. It was ...

, and later became a factor in Florida. He settled in San Agustín as a factor and Overseer of the Royal Estate of La Florida. In late June 1579, King

sent one hundred soldiers to Florida to reinforce the province's defenses. Nearly 50 of them drowned when the galleon ''Santiago el Menor'' sank near the port of San Augustine. Governor

Pedro Menéndez de Márquez Pedro is a masculine given name. Pedro is the Spanish, Portuguese, and Galician name for ''Peter''. Its French equivalent is Pierre while its English and Germanic form is Peter. The counterpart patronymic surname of the name Pedro, meaning ...

sent a request to Rodrigo de Junco for fifty more soldiers to replace the soldiers who had died; Junco complied with his request. When the

presidio A presidio ( en, jail, fortification) was a fortified base established by the Spanish Empire around between 16th and 18th centuries in areas in condition of their control or influence. The presidios of Spanish Philippines in particular, were ce ...

's soldiers balked at laboring on construction of a new wooden fort because such work was not, according to them, part of their duties, Rodrigo de Junco asked Philip II to send 30 slaves from

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

for that purpose. Consequently, Philip issued an order for the slaves to be sent to Florida for 4 years. Most of them worked under harsh conditions, and twenty of them were sent to Santa Elena to repair the fort there. In 1550, Rodrigo del Junco returned to

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsul ...

, where on 16 March he was granted, before the notary Diego de la Barrera, a new fiduciary power to take effect in Florida. On February 7, 1587, he was given, along with his wife, permission before the clerk Martin Calvo de la Puerta to sell some houses that they owned in Seville. About 1590 Rodrigo del Junco returned with his family to Florida, where, according to Francisco Xavier de Santa Cruz y Mallén in his ''Historia de familias cubanas'', he was appointed governor in 1592, but died the same year in a shipwreck off the coast of Florida. Rodrigo del Junco was the second husband of Francisca de Miranda Santo Domingo. They had at least two children, Bartolomeo del Junco y Miranda and Maria del Junco-Miranda.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Junco, Rodrigo del Year of birth unknown 1592 deaths People from Asturias People from Ribadesella Royal Governors of La Florida