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Columbus became the first Spanish governor in America
Source: The Governorship of Spanish Florida #122
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Like many Spanish colonial institutions the governorship had its roots in medieval Spain. Although the title “governor” was not commonly used until the time of the Catholic Kings, officials fulfilling the functions of governor became a part of the Spanish administrative system much earlier. In the 13th century the Aragonese monarch and Count of Barcelona, Jaime I (1213-1296) appointed a royal procurator (procurador real) for the two newly conquered provinces of Valencia and Majorca. These procuradores, like later viceroys and governors in both Spain and the Empire, represented the king in all administrative, judicial, financial, and military matters. They enforced royal laws and decrees, tried civil and criminal cases, appointed minor functionaries, and maintained order. Later sovereigns in Aragon and Castile followed Jaime’s pattern. They yielded direct personal control over territory taken from the Moors and rebellious nobles in favor of rule through appointed subordinates, who came to represent royal interests throughout Spain. These subordinates, who assumed the title vice king or viceroy, replaced the procurators and served in Aragon, Catalonia, Galicia, Majorca, Navarre, and Valencia. By the middle of the 16th century the viceregal system was also extended into the Spanish Empire in both Europe and America. Like the viceroyalty the governorship became an especially useful institution in the New World. From the time of the discovery of America in 1492, the governorship was a means by which the crown could control and regulate its colonial domains. Christopher Columbus was the first Spanish governor in America. By the Capitulations of Santa Fe of April 17, 1492, reinforced by two later privileges (privilegios), he received, among other titles, that of “governor of the Indies.” When he established his permanent settlement on Espanola in 1494, Columbus began exercising his rights and responsibilities under this title. It was not long, however, before he lost his special privileges. In 1500...
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