Nicolás Ponce de León
| Nicolás Suárez Ponce de León | |
|---|---|
| Acting Governor of La Florida | |
|
In office September 21, 1631 – July 29, 1633 |
|
| Preceded by | Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas |
| Succeeded by | Luis de Horruytiner |
|
In office May 14, 1651 – October 19, 1651 |
|
| Preceded by | Benito Ruíz de Salazar Vallecilla |
| Succeeded by | Pedro Horruytiner Benedit |
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1595 Colombia, Almaguer, Cauca. |
| Died | 1651 St. Augustine, Florida |
| Nationality | Spanish |
Nicolás Suárez Ponce de León (c. 1590 – 1651) was the accountant () for the Royal Treasury of Spanish Florida from 1630 until his death in 1651, and from 1631 to 1633 served as acting co-governor of the colony with Eugenio de Espinosa, apparently while Governor Andres Rodriguez Villegas was ill, and also for a few months in 1651.
Nicolás Suárez Ponce was born between 1590 and 1595, in Almaguer, Cauca, in what is now Colombia, then part of the Spanish colony of the New Kingdom of Granada. He was the son of Alejo Suarez de Pereda and Juana Ponce de León. His father was a captain and Justicia Mayor (Chief Justice) of the Viceroyalty of Peru, while his paternal grandfather was Captain Alonso Suárez de Pereda, and his maternal grandfather, Fernando Ponce de León, was one of the first Spanish conquistadors of Peru. Nicolás Ponce was apparently a cousin to, but definitely not a direct descendant of Juan Ponce de Leon, the explorer and governor of Puerto Rico and Florida.
In 1622, Ponce began his military service with the Spanish Army in various actions against indigenous peoples in the province of Santa Marta, when it was administratively part of the New Kingdom of Granada. Ponce married in 1631, and moved in 1633 with his family from Seville to St. Augustine, the capital of the province of La Florida, to serve as contador (accountant) for the Royal Treasury of the province.
On September 21, 1631 Ponce and Sergeant Major Eugenio de Espinosa were appointed interim co-governors of La Florida to govern in place of the incumbent governor, Andres Rodriguez Villegas, perhaps because of an illness.
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