Diego Columbus | |
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Diego Columbus
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4th Governor of the Indies | |
In office 1509–1518 |
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Preceded by | Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres |
Succeeded by | Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar |
Personal details | |
Born | 1479/80 Portugal |
Died | February 23, 1526 (aged 45) Montalbán, Spain |
Spouse(s) | María de Toledo y Rojas |
Occupation | Navigator Explorer |
Diego Columbus (Portuguese: Diogo Colombo; Spanish: Diego Colón; also, in Italian: Diego Colombo) (1479/80-1526) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer under the Kings of Castile and Aragón. He served as the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indies and 4th Governor of the Indies as a vassal to the Kings of Castile and Aragón. He was the eldest son of Christopher Columbus and wife Filipa Moniz Perestrelo.
He was born in Portugal, either in Porto Santo in 1479/1480, or in Lisbon in 1474. He spent most of his adult life trying to regain the titles and privileges granted to his father for his explorations and then denied him in 1500. He was greatly aided in this goal by his marriage to María de Toledo y Rojas, niece of the 2nd Duke of Alba, who was the cousin of King Ferdinand.
Diego was made a page at the Spanish court in 1492, the year his father embarked on his first voyage. Diego had a younger half-brother, Fernando, by Beatriz Enríquez de Arana.
Ferdinand and Diego had been pages to Prince Don Juan, then became pages to Queen Isabella in 1497.
In 1509, he was named Governor of the Indies, the post his father had held. He established his home (Alcázar de Colón), which still stands there, in Santo Domingo in what is now the Dominican Republic.