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 six galleons that set out from Cadiz with instructions to pass through the

Strait of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

without stopping in Brazil. The fleet ran into a violent storm and was forced to run back to land, with most of the ships run aground on

Cape Trafalgar Cape Trafalgar (; es, Cabo Trafalgar ) is a headland in the Province of Cádiz in the southwest of Spain. The 1805 naval Battle of Trafalgar, in which the Royal Navy commanded by Admiral Horatio Nelson decisively defeated Napoleon's combined Spa ...

and many people drowned. Only the galleon that held Admiral Garcia Alvarez de Figueroa and the cosmographer Diego Ramirez de Arellano stayed afloat. Admiral Garcia Álvarez de Figueroa was appointed Governor and Captain General of the Island of Margarita on 30 April 1625. He took over from

Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas Andrés Rodríguez de Villegas (1580–1631) was a Spanish soldier who served as governor and Captaincy General, captain-general of the Province of Isla Margarita, Venezuela (1619–1626) and as governor of Spanish Florida (1630–1631). Biograp ...

on 1 June 1626. He was accompanied by his son Gerónimo. Figueroa was known for his interest in letters, for his contempt of the local

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 ...

people, and for his enjoyment of the trade in pearls from

Cubagua Cubagua Island or Isla de Cubagua () is the smallest and least populated of the three islands constituting the Venezuelan state of Nueva Esparta, after Margarita Island and Coche Island. It is located north of the Araya Peninsula, the closest ...

and the

Macanao Peninsula The Macanao Peninsula is a geographic peninsula landform, that forms the western end of the Isla Margarita in the Caribbean Sea, in northern Venezuela. It is also a Venezuelan municipality, the Municipality of Macanao Peninsula (''Municipio Pen� ...

. He was succeeded by

Juan de Eulate ''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of ''John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, t ...

, a former governor of New Mexico who was appointed governor of Margarita Province on 10 April 1630.

References

Citations Sources * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Figueroa, Garcia Alvarez de Governors of Margarita Province Margarita Island