Inés Suárez was a Spanish conquistador born in Plasencia (Extremadura) in 1507. She participated very actively in the conquest of Chile together with Pedro de Valdivia and in the defense of the cities founded by the Spaniards when they were attacked by the Mapuches. Perú She was born into a simple family
General
The Indianan Doubt
The Indian doubt is the crisis of conscience that assailed the Spanish kings Carlos I and Felipe II in the mid-sixteenth century about the legitimacy or not of the conquest of America and the maintenance of their sovereignty in those territories. In the same way, it also subjected to analysis
The New Indias Law of 1542
The New Indian Laws of 1542 or "New Indian Laws and ordinances newly made by their majesty for the governorship of the Indies and good treatment and conservation of Indians" are a compilation of the legislation that has been applied in the New World since the beginning of the conquest.
Biography of Gonzalo Pizarro
Biography of Gonzalo Pizarro Location of birth: Gonzalo Pizarro was born in 1510 in Trujillo (Cáceres - Spain) Location of death: Gonzalo Pizarro died on April 10,1548 in Cuzco, Peru. Positions held: - Governor of Quito from 1540 to 1542. - Lieutenant governor general of Cuzco in 1544. - Governor of Peru from 1544 to 1548. - Encomendero en
Biography of Bartolomé de las Casas
Biography of Fray Bartolomé de las Casas Location of birth: Bartolomé de las Casas was born in 1484 in Seville (Spain). Location of death: Bartolomé de las Casas died in 18th July 1566 in Madrid (Spain). Positions held: - Ordained priest in 1506. - Bishop of Chiapas (Nueva España) from March 30th,1544 to August 1550. - Protector of
The Council of the Indies, the government of Spanish America
The Royal and Supreme Council of Indies was the most important regulatory organization for political, administrative and legal activities in the Indies. Among its functions were executive, legislative and judicial, as well as advising the King on decisions affecting the Spanish overseas territories. From the beginning of the conquest and colonization
The first round-the-world tour: the expedition of Ferdinand Magellan and Juan Sebastián Elcano
The expedition organized and led by the Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan was the first circumnavigation of the World of history. But he could not complete it because he died in a confrontation with the natives in the Philippines Islands. Juan Sebastian Elcano, who captained the expedition from Tidore to Spain,
The Burgos Laws of 1512
As I already mentioned in the entry on the Request in the Spanish crown, serious concerns had arisen about the ill-treatment of some encomenderos against the Indians. These facts would delegitimize the conquest and colonization of the new lands, since this legitimation was based on the papal bulls of
Governor Bobadilla and Columbus to Castile
After the investigation in which the bad habits of the admiral Christopher Columbus and his brothers in government were made very clear, Bobadilla set about his task without further delay. He tried to normalize relations between the Spaniards and the Spanish government by granting everything in his power so that
The government of Nicolas de Ovando (1502-1509)
Frey Nicolás de Ovando arrive in Santo Domingo in 1502 with the very clear orders of the Catholic Monarchs of what their government would be in the Indies. They can be summarized in two points: putting order in the administration, after the disastrous management of the brothers Columbus and Francisco
The Residencia Trials, the power against the power
A legal institution that played a major role in the political management and real control over the officials who performed their functions in the New World was the Residencia Trial. This was a judicial procedure by which officials of a certain rank (Virreyes, Presidents of Real Audiencia, mayors and bailiffs)
Juan Ponce de León explores and conquers Borinquen (Puerto Rico)
Ponce de León, Valladolid, arrived in the New World in 1502 together with the new governor of the Indies Nicolás de Ovando. He was forty-one years old and had participated in the guerra de Granada. He was of noble ancestry and was a page in the Court of Fernando el
Contour of Cuba sailed by Sebastián de Ocampo
It's the year 1508. Once the political and economic situation normalized in the Hispaniola island Nicolás de Ovando ordered to extend the borders of the new Castilian lands sending expeditions to Cuba and Borinquén (now Puerto Rico). For the first expedition, he sent the Galician navigator Sebastian de Ocampo. On this
Nicolás de Ovando, new governor and supreme judge of the Indies
On September 3th,1501, taking only one year in power Don Francisco de Bobadilla, the Catholic Monarchs decided to dispense with their services and name the commendator of Lares Frey Nicolás de Ovando governor of Indias and Tierra Firme, except for the two governorates granted to Alonso de Ojeda (Coquibacoa) and Vicente Yáñez
Religious unity: the expulsion of Jews
At the end of the 15th century in Spain, the three great monotheistic religions coexisted together: Christianity, Judaism and Islamism. The conditions imposed on Muslims after losing the war of Granada allowed them to maintain their cults and customs in a climate of supposed religious tolerance. However, not only was