Nicolás de Ovando

Anonymous: Portrait of Nicolás de Ovando

Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres (* 1451 in Brozas , Cáceres , Spain , † May 29, 1511 in Madrid ) was a Spanish soldier and knight of the Alcántara Order . From 1502 to 1509 he was governor of the island of Hispaniola . The systematic development of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies began under his aegis . He implemented the encomienda system , "pacified" the island, founded numerous cities there, introduced the slave trade and gave agriculture a significant boost.

Knight of the Order of the Alcántara

Nicolás de Ovando came from a wealthy aristocratic family and grew up in a strictly religious environment in the Cáceres region. A loyal follower of Queen Isabella I during the War of the Castilian Succession , Ovando joined the Alcántara Order , an order that was about as powerful and influential as the Knights Templar at the time . Here he performed many important tasks, so that in 1478 the Order gave him the Lares Commandery and thus awarded one of its highest honors, the title of Encomendor de Lares . When in 1492 the order finally passed to the crown and Ferdinand II was appointed grand master for life, Ovando u. a. entrusted with the reform of the order, later also with the reconstruction of the city of Alcántara , which was partially destroyed in the War of the Castilian Succession.

Governor of Hispaniola

Departure to America

Due to his close collaboration with the Catholic Monarchs , Nicolás de Ovando was appointed governor of the Spanish colonies in the West Indies on September 3, 1501 ( Gobernador de las Islas y Tierra Firme ). He succeeded the examining magistrate Francisco de Bobadilla , who in turn deposed Christopher Columbus as viceroy , put him in chains and ordered him back to Spain.

Under the command of Antonio de Torres, an experienced captain who had already accompanied Columbus on his second voyage and was appointed mayor of La Isabela by him, the largest fleet from Sanlúcar de Barrameda laid down on February 13, 1502 , the up to then set sail in the New World . Around 2,500 colonists were transported on the roughly thirty ships, who were handpicked to represent a representative cross-section of Spanish society. Among them were the Dominican and later chronicler Bartolomé de las Casas , the discoverer of Florida , Juan Ponce de León , and the later conqueror of Peru , Francisco Pizarro .

Encomiendasystem and central administration

In the first few months, hundreds of the settlers perished from the hardships that life in the colonies brought with it - from the unfamiliar climatic conditions, the unknown diseases and, last but not least, the generally prevailing deficiency. The Indians, who were arbitrarily forced into forced labor under the viceroyalty of Columbus, increasingly withdrew by taking refuge in the mountains and hiding there. In order to change this unfortunate situation (among other things), the colonists turned to Queen Isabella I. On December 20, 1503, she signed a royal decree that allowed the colonists to give a certain number of the Indians assigned to them labor services - and if they could not afford to pay tribute - to use them. In return, the settlers had to undertake to protect the Indians and to instruct them in the Christian faith. This decree called Repartimiento (Spanish division ) formed the starting point for the encomienda system , the enforcement of which was forced by the new governor. This also provided that the colonists submitted to the central administration by the Spanish crown: If they had lived scattered all over the island until then, they were now encouraged to settle in the areas or towns assigned to them; those who refused were immediately sent back to mainland Spain.

The settlements, mostly newly established for this purpose - such as Santo Domingo (which was rebuilt by Ovando on the western bank of the Ozama River after the destruction by a hurricane in 1502 ) - were first designed on the drawing board and planned with compasses and ruler, like the urban planners of the Renaissance demanded it for the ideal city . Right-angled streets and a central square ( Plaza de Armas or Plaza Mayor ) are characteristic of the cities of Latin America to this day .

Pacification and settlement of Hispaniola

The emergence of these new settlements can largely be traced back to the final pacification of the island: the Indians, who were initially friendly to the Spanish newcomers, had come together after the countless attacks and mistreatment by the latter to offer resolute resistance. The new governor took action against the insurgents with great intransigence and brutality: As the Dominican Bartolomé de las Casas describes in his brief report of the devastation of the West Indian countries , he left indigenous people in the Higüey region against the Spanish settlers had raised, 400 soldiers advanced, slaughtered the insurgents and reduced their settlements to rubble and ashes. On another occasion, during a festival, unarmed Indians were rounded up by mounted soldiers without warning and burned alive. The Kazikin Anacaona , who was held in high regard by her tribal members, was publicly hanged in order to permanently dishonor her by such a shameful death.

One consequence of this brutal approach was that on Hispaniola, Indians never again rose up against the Spanish conquerors - but neither did Spanish colonists against the Spanish central administration or its representatives, as had happened under the rule of Christopher Columbus.

Numerous new settlements were founded to finally pacify the regions: in the Higüey region the cities of Salvaleón and Santa Cruz de Aycayagua , in the region of Jaragua in the southeast of the island the cities of Santa María de la Vera Paz , Salvatierra de la Sabana , Santa María de la Yaguana , San Juan de la Maguana and Arzúa de Compostela , and in the north of the island the towns of Puerto Real and Lares de Guahaba . These in turn formed the basis for further expeditions on the island of Hispaniola itself as well as for the final conquest and colonization of neighboring islands. One result of these voyages of discovery and exploration is the first complete map of the island of Hispaniola. Ovando thus ended a project that had already started under Columbus.

Economic development and slave trade

The Repartimiento of Isabella I made it easier for Ovando to make decisive progress in the economic development of the new colony: He promoted mining - especially gold mining - and gave agriculture new impetus. Sugar cane imported from the Canary Islands was introduced as a crop and the first plantations were created. European farm animals such as pigs , cattle , horses and donkeys also appear for the first time in the New World.

Due to the worsening labor shortage - the indigenous indigenous people died en masse from the physical abuse inflicted on them by the Europeans and the infectious diseases brought in , especially smallpox - Ovando also allowed the systematic trade in slaves for the first time . For this purpose, conquest expeditions were undertaken on the neighboring islands, the sole purpose of which was to capture Indians who were then sold on as slaves. Only later were slaves increasingly shipped across the Atlantic from sub-Saharan Africa .

Rivalry with Columbus

The relationship between Nicolás de Ovando and Christopher Columbus was marked by deep enmity: When Columbus warned the new governor shortly after his arrival in Santo Domingo on April 15, 1502 of an approaching hurricane , he did not listen to the advice of the experienced sailor, he refused it Shiffen the protection in the safe harbor and just let the fleet, with which he had just landed and which was supposed to transport important treasures back to the motherland, run out. Almost the entire fleet sank. Francisco de Bobadilla and Antonio de Torres were among the victims. Ironically, only Columbus' ship survived the storm. When on another occasion in 1503 Columbus was shipwrecked on his fourth voyage off Jamaica and the sailor Diego Méndez rowed in a canoe to Hispaniola Island at the risk of his life, Ovando did not respond to his rival's request for help, but left the stranded to their fate. It was only months later that the castaways could be rescued.

Ovando's term of office ended

In 1509 Ovando was ordered back to Spain by King Ferdinand . His successor in the New World was Diego Columbus , the son of Christopher Columbus.

Apart from the criticism that Bartolomé de las Casas exercised on his Indian policy, the term of office of Nicolás de Ovando was rated as positive overall by his contemporaries. The island of Hispaniola was home to an estimated 3,000 colonists, and about 15 settlements had been established that were permanent. For the first time it was possible to create a complete map of the island. Ovando also wrote his memoirs, which were never published.

Nicolás de Ovando died on May 29, 1511. He was buried in the Convento de San Benito de Alcántara.

annotation

Ovando awarded Hernán Cortés the title of notary and the property belonging to it. In doing so, he laid the foundation for his later career as a conquistador . With the older sister of Miguel de Cervantes Saavedra , Andrea de Cervantes , he had an illegitimate daughter, Constanza de Ovando .

Web links

Commons : Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres  - Collection of images, videos and audio files

• Nicolás de Ovando in the catalog of the Ibero-American Institute, Berlin
• Entry on Nicolás de Ovando in Biografías y Vidas (Spanish)

Remarks

1. ↑ 1460 is also mentioned as the year of birth.
2. ↑ ^{a b} According to other information, he died in 1518.