Francisco de Bobadilla Selected For Mission To New World: May, 1499

An exception rather than the general rule of promoting new men as corregidores and alcalde within Greater Spain, Francisco de Bobadilla, was one of those that were promoted from within the Spanish court of Ferdinand and Isabella. Both his father and grandfather had served at the Castilian court, and as a young man of twenty-five or thirty had been named a commander in the Military Order of Calatrava. He had proved his mettle in battle against local Moors by 1483 and then made alcalde in Jaèn west of Cordoba. When the new complex called Santa Fe outside Granada was built in order to take that city in 1492, Bobadilla was made mayor of this manufactured city, at the spearpoint of the siege against Alhambra, this last holdout of the Nasrid dynasty. His sister Beatriz was said to be Queen Isabella's best friend.

In 1499, Francisco was called again, this time to squelch a rebellion, find the perpetrators, and 'proceed against them'. This time his duties would send him to the New World. These royal plans and directives were drawn up by May of the same year. The rebellion of Francisco Roldàn in Hispaniola first began with a rebellion of locals, and the subsequent march ordered against them which was led by this same Roldàn in order to counter their attacks. As the chief magistrate of La Isabela (the town which ordered into existence by Cristobal Colon - aka Christopher Columbus - on his second voyage), the defense of that post was part of Roldàns responsibilities. But, since Colon had left, he had placed his brother Bartolomeo Colon in charge.

The island of modern Hispaniola is comprised of both Haiti and the Dominican Republic, but in 1497 there was a great dispensation of lands on La Española by Bartolomeo, to ease his own load of responsibilities and reward loyal members of his fellow conquistadores. Bartolomeo himself began building what became Santo Domingo, a chief administrative center meant to replace La Isabela. [p. 200]. The real cause of personal animosity between the two men is still mysterious but, Roldàn found himself at odds with Bartolomeo again and again, over leadership, and even how the brother's Columbus were using the locals for personal profit.

There was a stand-off in Concepcion. Here, a break in how these two, Bartolomeo Colon and Francisco Roldàn set out in different directions, also began an age old difference in how things were done. Roldàn refused to compromise with Colon, wanted just to return to Spain, but would not resign his 'state magistrate'. He ended up going back to Jaragua where he worked at making repartimiento arrangements with 'settlers' and the locals without express permission to do so, and no grant or charter approving this activity from the Crown in Spain. [p. 201] Colon went back to Santo Domingo and began to build seven forts along the west end of the island.

"Roldàn, in his part of the island, also took an important step in establishing a division of land, giving... [locals] and property to followers. But the decision to do this was taken without viceregal, much less royal, consent. Roldàn as chief magistrate acted as the controller of his division,  while he allowed it to be understood that the holdings which he allocated would be hereditary." [p.202]

Francisco de Bobadilla when news of some of these events reached Spain was to be sent to set things right, as the King and Queen saw fit. The instructions explicitly called Columbus Admiral, not governor or Viceroy, and made clear they thought the rebellion was started by Roldàn, and not Columbus' brother.

But, through 1499, there were delays setting back Bobadilla's departure. Jimenez de Cisneros, the Archbishop of Toledo, wanted to make sure that clerical order would successfully be set up in the New World. [p. 210] This would include conversion of the locals and building of churches, and these select few were to work alongside Bobadilla as well. One of these clerics sent was the Franciscan secretary of Cisneros, Fray Francisco Ruiz, a former chorister at Toledo and professor in Alcalá. He would be directed by the Queen to find out what was really going on in the Indies of Columbus. [p.211]

One decision that was made concerned the return of both Caribs and Tainos that had been brought as slaves from the Caribbean to Spain on Columbus' previous trips. It was the Queen's conviction that slaves were not a commodity that the Crown could morally encourage. There were many of the conquistadores who could not see this notion as anything but a loss of return for their efforts. But of these several hundred initial souls captured and brought to Europe, only nineteen were found by the Crown's efforts that wanted to return. The same Fray Ruiz was tasked with taking these up and protecting them until the trip and for the voyage yet to come. [p.212]

The King through the summer was also in the south of Spain working to help with converting Muslims and Jews there. [p.211] The lives of these men, Bobadilla, Cisneros and even fray Ruiz, give some example of how the New Spain would spread its dominion.
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quotes and pagination from: Thomas, Hugh: Rivers of Gold: The Rise of the Spanish Empire ; Penguin/ Random House, UK; 2003