Nicolás de Ovando
Nicolás de Ovando | |
|---|---|
| 4th Governor General of the Viceroyalty of the Indies | |
| In office 15 April 1502 – 10 July 1509 | |
| Monarchs | Isabella I & Ferdinand V (until 1504)
Joanna I (after 1504) co-monarch: Philip I (1506) |
| Preceded by | Francisco de Bobadilla |
| Succeeded by | Diego Columbus |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1460 Brozas, Crown of Castile |
| Died | 29 May 1511 (aged 50-51) Seville, Crown of Castile |
| Resting place | Church of San Benito de Alcántara |
Frey Nicolás de Ovando (c. 1460 – 29 May 1511) was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a military order of Spain. He was Governor of the Indies in the Columbian Viceroyalty (seated in Hispaniola) from 1502 until 1509, sent by the Spanish crown to investigate the administration of Francisco de Bobadilla and re-establish order. Ovando "pacified" the island of Hispaniola by force, subduing native Americans and rebellious Spaniards, with disorderly colonists being sent back to Spain in chains. He implemented the encomienda system with the native Taíno population.