Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish military man,

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

city A city is a human settlement of notable size.Goodall, B. (1987) ''The Penguin Dictionary of Human Geography''. London: Penguin.Kuper, A. and Kuper, J., eds (1996) ''The Social Science Encyclopedia''. 2nd edition. London: Routledge. It can be def ...

founder, and administrator. He conquered the islands of

La Palma La Palma (, ), also known as ''La isla bonita'' () and officially San Miguel de La Palma, is the most north-westerly island of the Canary Islands, Spain. La Palma has an area of making it the fifth largest of the eight main Canary Islands. The ...

(1492–1493) and

Tenerife Tenerife (; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands. It is home to 43% of the total population of the archipelago. With a land area of and a population of 978,100 inhabitants as of Janu ...

(1494–1496) for the Castilian Crown; they were the last of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; es, Canarias, ), also known informally as the Canaries, are a Spanish autonomous community and archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean, in Macaronesia. At their closest point to the African mainland, they are west of Morocc ...

to be conquered by Europeans. He was also the founder of the towns of

San Cristóbal de La Laguna San Cristóbal de La Laguna (commonly known as La Laguna, ) is a city and municipality in the northern part of the island of Tenerife in the Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, on the Canary Islands, Spain. The city is the third-most populous ci ...

Santa Cruz de Tenerife Santa Cruz de Tenerife, commonly abbreviated as Santa Cruz (), is a city, the capital of the island of Tenerife, Province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife, and capital of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz has a population of 206,593 (2013) within its admi ...

and

Santa Cruz de La Palma Santa Cruz de la Palma (Spanish for ''Holy Cross of La Palma'') is a city and a municipality on the east coast of the island of La Palma in the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife of the Canary Islands. Santa Cruz de la Palma is the second-large ...

. One biographer has written that his personality was a “terrible mixture of cruelty and ambition or greed, on one part, and on the other a great capacity and sense for imposing order and government on conquered lands,” a trait found in the conquistadors of the

New World The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...

Early life

Fernández de Lugo was born in

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar de Barrameda (), or simply Sanlúcar, is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposit ...

, in

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

, during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella, though his family was of Galician origin; his relatives, as his surname indicates, originated in the city of

Lugo Lugo (, ; la, Lucus Augusti) is a city in northwestern Spain in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Galicia (Spain), Galicia. It is the capital of the Lugo (province), province of Lugo. The municipality had a population ...

and other Galician locales. Nothing much is known of his youth. He enlisted in the navy and ended up achieving the rank of

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spain, Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17 ...

and Captain General of the

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent, after Asia in both cases. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of Earth's total surface area ...

n coasts. In 1478, he participated in the conquest of

Gran Canaria Gran Canaria (, ; ), also Grand Canary Island, is the third-largest and second-most-populous island of the Canary Islands, an archipelago off the Atlantic coast of Northwest Africa which is part of Spain. the island had a population of that co ...

under the command of

Juan Rejón Juan Rejón (died 1481) was an Aragonese captain in the service of the Castilian navy, who was appointed by the Catholic Monarchs to participate in the conquest of the Canary Islands. Rejón founded the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. After ...

. Later, he fought alongside Pedro de Vera, Rejón's successor as governor of Gran Canaria, who conferred on him command of the castle of

Agaete Agaete is a municipality of Las Palmas province, on the Canary Islands, Spain. Geography It is in the north-west of Gran Canaria island, and is enclosed by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Gáldar to the north-east, and Artenara to the south. ...

on the island of Gran Canaria.

Conquest of La Palma

He returned to Spain to solicit financial aid from the Crown to conquer Tenerife and La Palma. He was named governor of La Palma and granted 700,000 maravedis with the condition that he conquer the island within a year. The conquest of La Palma began on 29 September 1492, when Fernández de Lugo landed on the beaches of Tazacorte. He encountered fierce resistance from some

Guanches The Guanches were the indigenous inhabitants of the Canary Islands in the Atlantic Ocean some west of Africa. It is believed that they may have arrived on the archipelago some time in the first millennium BCE. The Guanches were the only nativ ...

chiefs there. However, the ''menceys'', or Guanche kings, of La Palma surrendered in April 1493, except for

Tanausu Tanausu (also Tanausú and Atanausu) (died 1493) was the Guanche ruler of Aceró, on the island of La Palma (known to the original population as Benahoare), whose defeat by the Castilians marked the final conquest of that island. The island of ...

, who ruled the area known as Acero (Caldera de Taburiente). However, Tanausu was ambushed and captured in May 1493 after agreeing to a truce arranged by Fernández de Lugo and Juan de Palma, a Guanche who had converted to

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

and who was a relative of Tanausu. The conquest of La Palma was completed on 3 May 1493. He left the administration of La Palma in the hands of his nephew Juan, and planned the conquest of Tenerife.

Conquest of Tenerife

During the conquest of Tenerife, he suffered a severe defeat at the

First Battle of Acentejo The First Battle of Acentejo took place on the island of Tenerife between the Guanches and an alliance of Spaniards, other Europeans, and associated natives (mostly from other islands), on 31 May 1494, during the Spanish conquest of this island. ...

(31 May 1494). At the First Battle of Acentejo, Fernández de Lugo, though wounded, had been able to escape with his life only by exchanging the red cape of an Adelantado for that of a common soldier. An additional detail from that battle, however, was that a rock thrown at Fernández de Lugo's head by a Guanche resulted in his losing most of his teeth. By October he had gathered together a second, larger army, and received assistance from the

Duke of Medina Sidonia Duke of Medina Sidonia ( es, Duque de Medina Sidonia) is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1380.Inés Peraza also participated directly in the conquest of Tenerife, assisting Fernández de Lugo's royal order with extensive aid and supplies, which Fernández de Lugo had requested to further reassure success in the campaign. (Afterwards, Peraza held his children of Lugo Fernando and Pedro as hostages for the repayment of the substantial debt that amounted to 600,000

maravedí The ''maravedí'' () or ''maravedi'' (), (from '' Almoravid dinar''), was the name of various Iberian coins of gold and then silver between the 11th and 14th centuries and the name of different Iberian accounting units between the 11th and 19th c ...

.) Fernández de Lugo had more experienced troops under his command - these included 1,000 foot soldiers, veterans of the conquest of

Granada Granada (,, DIN 31635, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the fo ...

, lent to him by the

Duke of Medina Sidonia Duke of Medina Sidonia ( es, Duque de Medina Sidonia) is a peerage grandee title of Spain in Medina-Sidonia, holding the oldest extant dukedom in the kingdom, first awarded by King John II of Castile in 1380.Battle of Aguere The Battle of Aguere, or Battle of San Cristóbal de La Laguna, was fought between forces of the Crown of Castile, led by the Adelantado (military governor) Alonso Fernández de Lugo, and the natives of Tenerife, called Guanches. The battle took pl ...

(14–15 November 1494) and the

Second Battle of Acentejo The Second Battle of Acentejo was a battle that took place on 25 December 1494 between the invading Spanish forces and the natives of the island of Tenerife, known as Guanches. The battle had been preceded by the Battle of Aguere, fought on 14-15 N ...

(25 December 1494).

After the Conquest

He was named governor and chief justice of both Tenerife and La Palma, Captain General of the coast of Africa. He was named Adelantado on 12 January 1503, a title confirmed again by

Charles I of Spain Charles V, french: Charles Quint, it, Carlo V, nl, Karel V, ca, Carles V, la, Carolus V (24 February 1500 – 21 September 1558) was Holy Roman Emperor and Archduke of Austria from 1519 to 1556, King of Spain ( Castile and Aragon) fro ...

, in Barcelona, on 17 August 1519. It was an inherited title. The current Rightful Successor of the title "Adelantado of the Canary Islands Tenerife and La Palma, Captain General of the coast of Africa" is Felix Alberto Lugo III. Fernández de Lugo was given extensive powers over these islands, since he had been financially responsible for their conquest. On La Palma, he had control over the distribution of land and water. Though he preferred to live on Tenerife, Fernández de Lugo reserved the rich area of

Los Sauces Los Sauces () is a Chilean town and commune in the Malleco Province, Araucanía Region. Demographics According to the 2002 census of the National Statistics Institute, Los Sauces spans an area of and has 7,581 inhabitants (3,847 men and 3,734 wo ...

on La Palma, north of the island's capital, for himself. His nephew and lieutenant received La Caldera in 1502. His rule as adelantado was characterized by extreme

despotism Despotism ( el, Δεσποτισμός, ''despotismós'') is a form of government in which a single entity rules with absolute power. Normally, that entity is an individual, the despot; but (as in an autocracy) societies which limit respect and ...

and harsh rule, and he treated the defeated Guanches like spoils of war. Legally, Guanches were regarded as being at the same level as Moors – in other words, enemies of

- and he sold many of them into slavery. His treatment of his defeated subjects was so harsh that Ferdinand and Isabella intervened, requesting that the governor of Gran Canaria, Sánchez de Valenzuela, free some of the Guanches who had been enslaved by his counterpart in Tenerife. On both islands, he exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction and the right to appoint and dismiss judicial deputies, and also had control over the disposition of slaves and inhabitants' entry and exit from the islands. Fernández de Lugo also introduced measures to limit the sale of land to create a permanent base of settlers. He oversaw extension immigration to Tenerife and La Palma during a short period from the late 1490s to the 1520s from mainland Europe, and immigrants included

Castilians Castilians (Spanish: ''castellanos'') are those people who live in certain former areas of the historical Kingdom of Castile, but the region's exact limits are disputed. A broader definition is to consider as Castilians the population belonging ...

Portuguese Portuguese may refer to: * anything of, from, or related to the country and nation of Portugal ** Portuguese cuisine, traditional foods ** Portuguese language, a Romance language *** Portuguese dialects, variants of the Portuguese language ** Portu ...

Italians , flag = , flag_caption = The national flag of Italy , population = , regions = Italy 55,551,000 , region1 = Brazil , pop1 = 25–33 million , ref1 = , region2 ...

Catalans Catalans (Catalan language, Catalan, French language, French and Occitan language, Occitan: ''catalans''; es, catalanes, Italian language, Italian: ''catalani'', sc, cadelanos) are a Romance languages, Romance ethnic group native to Cataloni ...

Basques The Basques ( or ; eu, euskaldunak ; es, vascos ; french: basques ) are a Southwestern European ethnic group, characterised by the Basque language, a common culture and shared genetic ancestry to the ancient Vascones and Aquitanians. Bas ...

, and

Flemings The Flemish or Flemings ( nl, Vlamingen ) are a Germanic peoples, Germanic ethnic group native to Flanders, Belgium, who speak Dutch language, Dutch. Flemish people make up the majority of Belgians, at about 60%. "''Flemish''" was historically ...

. At subsequent judicial enquiries, Fernández de Lugo was accused of favoring Genoese and Portuguese immigrants over Castilians. On Tenerife, he founded the town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna. La Plaza del Adelantado and Calle Adelantado, in this town, are named after him. A local legend states that upon the death of one of his sons in the town, Fernández de Lugo ordered that the street of La Carrera be made twisted rather than straight so that he would not have to see the site of his son's death from his residence. On La Palma, he founded the town of Santa Cruz de La Palma (at first called ''Villa del Apurión'') on 3 May 1493. On 21 July 1509 he had transferred his titles and rights of the African coast, acquired in 1499, to his son,

Pedro Fernández de Lugo Pedro Fernández de Lugo (1475 Seville –1536 Santa Marta) was the second adelantado of the Canary Islands and governor of Tenerife and La Palma, a title confirmed again by Charles I of Spain, in Barcelona, on August 17, 1519. Pedro Fernández de ...

, who later participated in expeditions to the

. He is buried in the

Cathedral of La Laguna The Cathedral of San Cristóbal de La Laguna or ( in Spanish) is a Roman Catholic church in Tenerife, Spain. Begun in 1904 and completed in 1915, it is dedicated to the Virgin of Los Remedios (patron of the Roman Catholic Diocese of San Cristób ...

. Alonso Fernández de Lugo appeared on a 1961

postal stamp A postage stamp is a small piece of paper issued by a post office, postal administration, or other authorized vendors to customers who pay postage (the cost involved in moving, insuring, or registering mail), who then affix the stamp to the fa ...

for the

Spanish Sahara Spanish Sahara ( es, Sahara Español; ar, الصحراء الإسبانية, As-Sahrā'a Al-Isbānīyah), officially the Spanish Possessions in the Sahara from 1884 to 1958 then Province of the Sahara between 1958 and 1976, was the name used f ...

. Image:AlonsoFernandezdeLugo3.JPG, The surrender to the Adelantado (full painting) Image:CalleTorcida.JPG, The twisted street in La Laguna, Tenerife Image:Casadeladelantado.JPG, Casa del Adelantado, La Laguna Image:PlazadelAdelantado.JPG, Plaza del Adelantado, La Laguna

List of Adelantados of The Canary Islands

# D. Alonso Fernández de Lugo # D. Pedro Fernández de Lugo # D. Alonso Luís Fernández de Lugo # D. Alonso Luís Fernández de Lugo (also known as the Lindo) # Dña. Porcia Magdalena Fernández de Lugo y Marín # D. Antonio Alonso Luís de Leiva Fernández de Lugo # Dña. Francisca de Fuentes Guzmán y Lugo # D. Juan Alonso Claros de Guzmán y Lugo # D. José Fernández de Lugo y Fuentes # D. José Francisco Alonso Luís Fernández de Córdoba Mendoza y Lugo # D. Manuel Alonso Fernández de Córdoba Mendoza y Lugo # Dña. Manuela Fernández de Córdoba Pimentel y Lugo # Dña. María de los Ángeles del Rosario Fernández de Córdoba y Lugo # Fernando Rafael de Cabrera Pérez. Marqués de Villaseca # Juan Bautista de Cabrera y Bermoy Lugo y Pérez de Saavedra. Marqués de Villaseca # D. Fernando de Cabrera y Fernández de Córdoba Lugo y Bermoy # D. Felix Alberto Lugo III, Rightful current successor of the title "Adelantado of the Canary Islands Tenerife and La Palma, Captain General of the coast of Africa" as confirmed by Emperor Charles V (King Charles I of Spain) as an inherited title on August 17, 1519 in Barcelona.

References

Sources

Lugo Family: Alonso Fernández de Lugo

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fernandez De Lugo, Alonso Year of birth missing 1525 deaths Spanish conquistadors Spanish city founders History of the Canary Islands Politicians from the Canary Islands La Palma Tenerife 15th-century Castilians 16th-century Spanish people People from Sanlúcar de Barrameda 15th-century military history of Spain 16th-century military history of Spain