Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas (1580–1631) was a Spanish soldier who served as governor and captain-general of the Province of Isla Margarita, Venezuela (1619–1626) and as governor of

Spanish Florida Spanish Florida ( es, La Florida) was the first major European land claim and attempted settlement in North America during the European Age of Discovery. ''La Florida'' formed part of the Captaincy General of Cuba, the Viceroyalty of New Spain, ...

(1630–1631).

Biography

Early years

Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas was born in 1580, in San Juan, Puerto Rico; he was the son of Antonio Rodríguez de Villegas, a hidalgo,

oidor An ''oidor'' () was a judge of the Royal ''Audiencias'' and ''Chancillerías'', originally courts of Kingdom of Castile, which became the highest organs of justice within the Spanish Empire. The term comes from the verb ''oír'', "to hear," referr ...

and licentiate (holder of an advanced university degree). In 1604, Villegas joined the infantry of the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

, where he spent 15 years. He then joined the royal Spanish Navy, sailed to the Moluccas, the Philippines and other islands, and was appointed a

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

(''Capitán de navío''), rising to the rank of "

Admiral Admiral is one of the highest ranks in some navies. In the Commonwealth nations and the United States, a "full" admiral is equivalent to a "full" general in the army or the air force, and is above vice admiral and below admiral of the fleet, ...

" (''Almirante'') of the South Sea (Pacific Ocean). In 1607, Rodríguez's oldest brother, Antonio Rodríguez de Villegas, was appointed commissioner by the Viceroy of New Spain, the Marquess of Montesclaros (''Marquesado de Montesclaros''), Juan de Mendoza y Luna, to ascertain the cause of the death of the captain general of the Philippines, Pedro Bravo de Acuña, in exchange for the office of interim governor.

Political career

Governor of the province of Margarita

Villegas was appointed governor of

Isla de Margarita Margarita Island (, ) is the largest island in the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, situated off the northeastern coast of the country, in the Caribbean Sea. The capital city of Nueva Esparta, La Asunción, is located on the island. History ...

, Venezuela, and arrived there on June 6, 1619. Taking office on August 1, he wrote immediately to King Philip III to inform him of the neglected defenses of Araya and the pressing need to improve them, as Dutch interlopers were extracting large amounts of salt from the nearby salt pans. The Dutch attacked the

Araya Peninsula The Araya Peninsula is a peninsula on the Caribbean Sea, located in Sucre State, northern Venezuela. The peninsula is part of the eastern Serranía del Litoral mountain range, in the Venezuelan Coastal Ranges System of the northern Andes. It exte ...

twice in 1620, but were repulsed by Spanish forces, as had happened previously in November 1605.Centro de Estudios y Experimentación de Obras Públicas de España. "Puertos y fortificaciones en América y Filipinas. Actas del seminario, 1984" (in English: Center for Studies and Experimentation of Public Works of Spain in "Ports and Fortifications in America and the Philippines. Proceedings of the Seminar). Editorial C.E.E.O.P, 364 pages, 1985. Page p. 353. On January 15, 1622, a number of Dutch boats came to Araya to load cargoes of salt, followed by a fleet of 27 Dutch ships which set about building two forts and saltworks, an event which coincided with a decree by Madrid to construct fortifications to defend the salt pans.Herrero Sánchez, Manuel; "La explotación de las salinas de punta Araya. Un factor conflictivo en el proceso de acercamiento hispano-neerlandés, 1648-1677" (in English: The Exploitation of the Saltpans of the Araya Peninsula. A Conflicting Factor in the Hispanic-Dutch Approach, 1648-1677). Number 14, Editorial Complutense de Madrid, 1993. Pages 173-194. On 22 February Villegas decided to immediately leave Pampatar with reinforcements of 20 soldiers and 12

Waikerí The Waikerí or Guaiqueríes were an indigenous people of northern Venezuela. They may have been related to the Warao people, or to the Arawaks or Cumanagotos. The Waikerí lived primarily on Venezuela's coastal islands of Isla Margarita, Cubagua a ...

bowmen under his command to engage the Dutch troops at Santiago. The soldiers refused to join him, however, when he launched his attack, and seeing the main Dutch party land to the eastward, he abandoned the attempt; his troops were able, however, to prevent the Dutch from landing at the harbor of Pueblo de la Mar, with several Dutch soldiers being killed.http://zeerovery.nl/history/margrita.htm The Attack on the Island Margarita By a royal decree of March 13, 1622, construction of the fortress at Araya was to proceed. On 30 November 1622, a fleet of 43 Dutch ships attacked Araya to halt construction of the Spanish fortress and seize the peninsula. After two months of fighting, the invasion fleet was expelled by Spanish forces on January 13, 1623. Plano del castillo de Araya c

On April 24, 1623, Villegas met with the governor of New Andalusia, Diego de Arroyo, and military engineers Juan Bautista Antonelli and Cristobal Roda Antonelli, to determine the criteria of plans for the proposed fortress. Governor Rodríguez presented his own plan to the Crown, but the one submitted by Roda prevailed. On May 15, Rodríguez sent a letter with the plan for the project. By January 1625 he had built the first

bastion A bastion or bulwark is a structure projecting outward from the curtain wall of a fortification, most commonly angular in shape and positioned at the corners of the fort. The fully developed bastion consists of two faces and two flanks, with fi ...

of the ''Real Fortaleza de Santiago de Arroyo de Araya'' (Royal Fortress of Santiago of Arroyo of Araya), but on February 6 he wrote the king that the structure had collapsed because its foundations were too close to the beach, exposing them to undermining by ocean waves. Villegas relinquished command of Margarita Island to

Garcia Álvarez de Figueroa Garcia Álvarez de Figueroa was a Spanish soldier who was Governor of the Margarita Province, based on Isla Margarita off the coast of what today is Venezuela, from 1626 to 1630. In December 1619 Admiral Álvarez de Figueroa was with a fleet of ...

, on June 1, 1625. According to the Royal Court, he was a just governor and zealous in administrative affairs.Morón, Guillermo; en "Historia de Venezuela. La estructura provincial" (in English: Venezuela's history. The provincial structure). Editorial Italgráfica, año 1971. Page 34.

Governor of ''La Florida'' and last years

On June 23, 1630, Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas was appointed governor of '' La Florida'', a position he held until September 21, 1631 (however, Amy Bushnell says his term ended in July 1631) when he died in office. He was replaced by co-interim governors Nicolas Ponce de Leon, the provincial royal accountant ('' contador''), and Sergeant Major Eugenio Espinosa. They governed provisionally until they were replaced by

Luis de Horruytiner Luis Benedit y Horruytiner (? – ?) was a Spanish colonial administrator who held office as governor of Spanish Florida (July 29, 1633 – November 26, 1638), and viceroy of Sardinia. He was the uncle of Pedro Benedit Horruytiner, who succeeded hi ...

, who governed from July 29, 1633 to 1638. Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas died in office as governor of ''La Florida'' on September 29, 1631 in

St. Augustine Augustine of Hippo ( , ; la, Aurelius Augustinus Hipponensis; 13 November 354 – 28 August 430), also known as Saint Augustine, was a theologian and philosopher of Berber origin and the bishop of Hippo Regius in Numidia, Roman North Afri ...

, capital of Spanish Florida, of unknown causes.

References

External links

Block "Santísima. Desde el ventanal: Araya implora una fortaleza" (in Spanish: From the window: implores Araya fortress). Analysis of map of Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas about Araya, Venezuela
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodriguez de Villegas, Andres Royal Governors of La Florida Governors of Margarita Province 1633 deaths Year of birth unknown 1580 births