Francisco de Bobadilla

Francisco de Bobadilla (*?; † 1502 ) was a Spanish colonial administrator, examining magistrate and governor of the West Indies . He deposed Christopher Columbus as viceroy and had him, together with his two brothers Diego and Bartolomeo , put in chains and sent back to Spain .

Live and act

Early years

The date and place of birth of Bobadilla are unknown. However, he came from Aragon and was probably a long-time favorite of the royal family. In addition, there are many indications that he was a knight of the Order of Calatrava .

Mismanagement in the colonies

After the second trip of Christopher Columbus, during which La Isabela was the first colony to be established in the New World , there were frequent complaints about the authoritarian leadership style of the Columbus brothers and the alleged mismanagement in the colonies. Armed colonists rose against the viceroy several times, forcing concessions and more autonomy. Finally, allegations were raised, albeit unfounded, that Columbus had embezzled gold and pearl finds and was running into his own pocket.

However, the Catholic Kings had a keen interest in maintaining economic and political control over the newly discovered territories in the New World. They therefore decided to investigate the incidents more closely and - at first rather reluctantly - to depose Columbus as governor and viceroy.

The examining magistrate and governor

To this end, Francisco de Bobadilla was appointed governor of the overseas territories ( Las Indias ) and examining magistrate ( juez pisquisidor ) on May 21, 1499 , and was given all royal powers. However, the crown hesitated another year with the implementation of this decision, so that Bobadilla only on 23 August 1500 with two caravels , 500 soldiers and 14 Taínos originally enslaved by Columbus , who were sent back to their homeland by Queen Isabella I , Santo Domingo on the island of Hispaniola . After trying unsuccessfully for a month to persuade Columbus to voluntarily resign from his position as governor and viceroy, he had Christopher Columbus and his two brothers Bartolomeo and Diego chained, confiscated their belongings and sent them back to Spain. There Columbus had to answer to the bishop and statesman Juan Rodríguez de Fonseca , who would soon rise to the highest authority of all matters of the Spanish colonies overseas.

However, since Bobadilla did not succeed in pacifying the newly discovered territories and subordinating the rebellious colonists in the sense of the crown to the Spanish central administration, he was replaced as governor in 1502 by Nicolás de Ovando .

Return to Europe and death at sea

On his return to Europe, Bobadilla's ship got caught in a cyclone ; he drowned himself. Ironically, it was the rehabilitated Christopher Columbus who, as an experienced sailor, had warned of an approaching hurricane and urgently advised against leaving the fleet.

Bobadilla discovered the gold deposits of San Cristoforo and began their exploitation, which was continued by his successors.

literature

• Consuelo Varela: La caída de Cristóbal Colón. El juicio de Bobadilla. Marcial Pons, Madrid 2006, ISBN 978-84-96467-28-6

Web links

• Entry on Francisco de Bobadilla in Biografías y Vidas (Spanish)
• Entry on Francisco de Bobadilla in the Spanish edition of MSN Encarta