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Isabel de Bobadilla

Isabel de Bobadilla, or Inés de Bobadilla (c. 1505–1554) was the first female governor of Cuba from 1539–1543.[1]

Isabel de Bobadilla
Inés de Bobadilla
La Giradilla on the watchtower of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza, Cuba
3rd Governor of Cuba
In office
May 17, 1539 – 1544
MonarchCarlos I of Spain
Preceded byHernando de Soto
Succeeded byJuanes de Ávila
Personal details
Born1505
Corona de Castilla
Died1554
Spanish Empire
NationalitySpanish
SpouseHernando de Soto
OccupationGovernor of Cuba from 1539–1543

Background

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Isabel was born to a family closely associated with the exploration and conquest of the Americas.[2] She was the third child of Pedro de Arias and Isabel de Bobadilla y Peñalosa. Pedro de Arias was one of conquerors of Central America and also the governor of Nicaragua. Isabel’s mother was niece to Beatriz de Bobadilla, a close acquaintance of Isabella I of Castile[3] and served as the matriarch of two of the most powerful and richest families in Spain, the Bobadillas and Peñalosas.[4] Isabel de Bobadilla (daughter) is also granddaughter to Francisco de Bobadilla, who was appointed to succeed Christopher Columbus as the second governor of the Indies in 1499.

Marriage and kinship

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Isabel de Bobadilla married the prominent explorer and conquistador Hernando de Soto in 1537, who was in charge of one of the first European expeditions into what is now the United States.[5] In 1535-36, Isabel must have been in her late twenties or early thirties, which suggests that she may have been a widow or, in some way, seen as an undesirable mate because women from powerful families were typically married before they reached their late twenties.[4] The Conveyance of Dower is a document that was signed at Valladolid on November 14, 1536. The Conveyance of Dower lists all the cattle that had belonged to Pedro de Arias in Panama, the estate, the slaves, and the horses as a "pure and perfect gift irrevocable in favour."[6] This document verifies the wealth of Bobadilla’s family and also shows how Isabel's marriage to de Soto was a business arrangement between a very powerful Spanish family and an established conquistador.

Hernando de Soto was named governor of Cuba and Adelantado de Florida, and both arrived in Cuba in 1538. Documents show that Isabel brought to Cuba her slaves, including three white slaves who were Christians, possibly baptized Moors.[7] Within the first couple weeks of 1539, the first couple of Cuba purchased at least four plantations near the city of Havana, with the largest plantation at Cojimar on the coast just east of the bay.[1]

Government

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Isabel de Bobadilla was given power of attorney on May 17, 1539, when Hernando de Soto left Havana for the exploration and conquest of Florida [la Florida].[8] De Soto also appointed Juan de Rojas to serve as Bobadillas deputy in Havana and Francisco de Guzman to serve as her deputy in Santiago. Both of these men had served in this capacity before de Soto and Bobadilla arrived in Cuba.[9] There were several political factions who were competing for power and control in Spain through exploration and control of unexplored territories. Among the important people involved in these "grand plans of exploration" were Alvar Nunez, Cabeza de Vaca, Hernán Cortés, Pedro de Alvarado, Hernando de Soto, and Antonio de Mendoza.[10] This illustrates how in the midst of the Spanish conquistadors, Isabel de Bobadilla was appointed to a highly politicized and powerful role.

Historians have conflicting opinions on why Isabel de Bobadilla was given the power to govern Cuba; Márquez Sterling indicates that Isabel was made governor only because de Soto did not want to stay in Cuba [11] while surviving documents show that Isabel was the governor both de jure and de facto.[2] Rodrigo Ranjel, de Soto’s private secretary in Cuba and la Florida, described Isabel as having inherited her mother’s fortitude, intelligence, and strength of character, and, like her mother, she was "a woman of great essence and goodness, and of very noble judgement and character."[12] De Soto also confirmed Isabel’s abilities by giving her the power of attorney, naming her governor of the island of Cuba. In 16th century Spain, it was extremely rare that a woman would be appointed to a high office position. Isabel became the first female governor of Cuba and the first woman governor of a territory in the Western Hemisphere.[13] The only other woman who served in high office in the 16th century Spanish colonies was Aldonza Manrique of Venezuela, who inherited the governorship when her father, Marcelo Villalobas, died in 1526.[14] Bobadilla was also acknowledged as governor by the King of Spain in letters directly sent to her.[2] As the governor, Isabel was able to handle many issues faced by all New World governors, including problems between the Indigenous Cubans and Europeans. Isabel Bobadilla contributed to the fortification of Cuba against rivals by advancing the construction of Havana’s first fortress La Fuerza.[2] La Fuerza was finished by Isabel de Bobadilla to defend the city against frequent enemy attacks; nevertheless, French pirates led by Jacques de Sores sacked Havana and burned La Fuerza in 1555.[2]

Lawsuit against Ponce de Leon

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Isabel de Bobadilla filed a 3,720 page lawsuit, known as Justicia, against Hernán Ponce de León covering the time period of 1540–45.[15] Ponce de Leon was a former partner of de Soto in his explorations of Peru and Nicaragua. The lawsuit recounts the controversies among the inheritors of De Soto and Francisco Vasquez de Coronado, Hernán Cortés, and the viceroy[who?] of Mexico; and also includes de Soto’s Residencia, which was the investigation carried out in 1554 (after his death) to determine whether or not he had fulfilled all of his responsibilities outlined in his asiento.[15] Ponce de Leon claimed that de Soto did not fulfill his obligations by not equally sharing his new found fortune and wealth from the Peru and Nicaragua explorations. Hernán Ponce de León and Hernando de Soto arrived at an agreement over this issue, before de Soto left for his Florida expedition. However, when de Soto left, Hernán secretly took legal action saying that de Soto did not fulfil their previous agreement and that de Soto intimidated him into signing the agreement. Doña Isabel heard of this legal action, when she was appointed governor, and had seized the document from Ponce de Leon. She then waited for a ship that was in Havana harbor bound for Spain to leave, leaving Hernán with no way out of Cuba, then sent him a letter asking why he had behaved so badly. As the governor, she ordered Ponce de Leon not to leave Havana until he had renounced his secret legal action and drew up a document, that Ponce de Leon would sign, repudiating his repudiation. Doña Isabel was an able and strong leader who used her power to promote her self-interest as seen in this lawsuit against a powerful Spanish conquistador. There is no further information on how this lawsuit concluded.[16]

Death and legend

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Death

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In December 1543, Rodrigo Arangel brought the news to Doña Isabel in Havana of de Soto’s death.[17] After his death, Isabel auctioned off thousands of items belonging to her and her husband before she left Cuba for Spain. These items included everything from a ranch at Maybeque, complete with native laborers, several hundred heads of cattle, and 500 yucca plants to Soto’s house in Havana containing eighteen household slaves, a rosary made of thirty-two solid-gold beads, and a collar and cap made of black velvet.[1] After auctioning off her and her husband's items she raised "more than four thousand pesos of gold," which she used to move back to Spain.[1] The circumstances of Isabel de Bobadilla’s death are uncertain. Some people claim she moved back to Spain with the money she received while others believe that, after she heard of her husband’s death, she was "broke with grief upon hearing it, and a few days later she died.[18]

Legend

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La Giraldilla is a bronze wind statue of a woman who is surveying the horizon to her north and is located on top of the Castillo de la Real Fuerza in old Havana, Cuba. The local Cuban people claim that this bronze statue is a depiction of Doña Isabel de Bobadilla and it is suggested that it was placed there to honor Inès de Bobadilla,[19] who is said to have watched every day for the return of her husband.

References

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  1. ^ a b c d Duncan, David (1995). Hernando de Soto; A Savage Quest in the Americas. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. pp. 238. ISBN 978-0-517-58222-0.
  2. ^ a b c d e Johnson, Sherry (2003). "Introduction: Señoras... No Ordinarias". Cuban Studies. 34. University of Pittsburgh Press: 3. doi:10.1353/cub.2004.0032. JSTOR 24487875.
  3. ^ Clayton, Lawrence; Moore, Edward; Knight, Vernon (1993). The De Soto Chronicles Vol 1 & 2: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539–1543. Vol. 1. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press (published 1995). p. 174.
  4. ^ a b Duncan, David (1995). Hernando de Soto; A Savage Quest in the Americas. New York: Crown Publishers, Inc. pp. 205. ISBN 978-0-517-58222-0.
  5. ^ Johnson, Sherry (2003). "Introduction: Señoras... No Ordinarias". Cuban Studies. 34 (34). University of Pittsburgh Press: 2. doi:10.1353/cub.2004.0032. JSTOR 24487875.
  6. ^ Maynard, Theodore (1930). De Soto and the Conquistadores. New York: Longmans, Green and CO. pp. 120.
  7. ^ Hudson, Charles (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. pp. 48. ISBN 978-0-8203-1888-2.
  8. ^ Clayton, Lawerence; Knight Jr., Vernon; Moore, Edward (1993). The De Soto Chronicles Vol 1 & 2: The Expedition of Hernando de Soto to North America in 1539–1543. Vol. 1. Tuscaloosa, Alabama: The University of Alabama Press. p. 474.
  9. ^ Hudson, Charles (1997). Knights of Spain; Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. pp. 58. ISBN 978-0-8203-1888-2.
  10. ^ Flint, Shirley (2003). The Coronado Expedition. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press. p. 42.
  11. ^ Parra, Ericka (2013). "Chronotopic Juxtaposition in "Anejo cinco siglos"" (PDF). Encuentros. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe. ISSN 1692-5858. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2017-02-02. Retrieved 2016-04-01.
  12. ^ Duncan, David (1995). Hernando de Soto; A Savage Quest in the Americas. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. pp. 206. ISBN 978-0-517-58222-0.
  13. ^ Ruple, Rodney S. (2002). The People of Florida and Spanish Cuba and their Integrated and Complementary Historical Inter-Relationship from Prehistory Up to the Spanish–American War of 1898 (Thesis). p. 15. OCLC 52690579. ProQuest 230825013.
  14. ^ Duncan, David (1995). Hernando de Soto; A Savage Quest in the Americas. New York: Crown Publishers Inc. pp. 476. ISBN 978-0-517-58222-0.
  15. ^ a b Young, Gloria; Hoffman, Michael, eds. (1993). The Expedition of Hernando de Soto West of the Mississippi, 1541–1443; Proceedings of the De Soto Symposia 1988 and 1900. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press. p. 26.
  16. ^ Hudson, Charles (1997). Knights of Spain; Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. pp. 416. ISBN 978-0-8203-1888-2.
  17. ^ Hudson, Charles (1997). Knights of Spain, Warriors of the Sun: Hernando de Soto and the South's Ancient Chiefdoms. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. pp. 414. ISBN 978-0-8203-1888-2.
  18. ^ Young, Gloria; Hoffman, Michael (1993). The Expedition of Hernando de Soto West of the Mississippi, 1541–1443; Proceedings of the De Soto Symposia 1988 and 1900. Fayetteville: The University of Arkansas Press. p. 26.
  19. ^ "Castillo de la Real Fuerza" (in Spanish). Paseos por la Habana.com Retrieved 2007-07-13

Bibliography

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