María de Toledo or María Álvarez de Toledo (1490 – 11 May 1549) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Cana ...

noblewoman and

Vicereine A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

and regent of the Spanish

Colony of Santo Domingo In modern parlance, a colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule. Though dominated by the foreign colonizers, colonies remain separate from the administration of the original country of the colonizers, the '' metropolitan state'' ...

Hispaniola Hispaniola (, also ; es, La Española; Latin and french: Hispaniola; ht, Ispayola; tnq, Ayiti or Quisqueya) is an island in the Caribbean that is part of the Greater Antilles. Hispaniola is the most populous island in the West Indies, and th ...

, present day Dominican Republic. She was the most powerful and highest-ranking noble in America in the 16th century and a defender of the liberties of the indigenous people in the Hispaniola.

Life

Maria de Toledo was granddaughter of

García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba García Álvarez de Toledo y Carrillo de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba de Tormes ( – 20 June 1488) was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician, whose family had presided over the lands of Alba de Tormes since the year 1369. Biography ...

and niece of

Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo, 2nd Duke of Alba Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez, 2nd Duke of Alva (in full, es, Don Fadrique Álvarez de Toledo y Enríquez de Quiñones, segundo Duque de Alba de Tormes, segundo marqués de Coria, conde de Salvatierra, señor del estado de Valdecornej ...

, cousin of King Ferdinand II of Aragon "The Catholic". She was married to

Diego Columbus Diego Columbus ( pt, Diogo Colombo; es, Diego Colón; it, Diego Colombo; 1479/1480 – February 23, 1526) was a navigator and explorer under the Kings of Castile and Aragón. He served as the 2nd Admiral of the Indies, 2nd Viceroy of the Indie ...

, the son of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus * lij, Cristoffa C(or)ombo * es, link=no, Cristóbal Colón * pt, Cristóvão Colombo * ca, Cristòfor (or ) * la, Christophorus Columbus. (; born between 25 August and 31 October 1451, died 20 May 1506) was a ...

. Her spouse was viceroy of the Spanish colony of Hispaniola. They resided in Alcazar de Colon in

Santo Domingo , total_type = Total , population_density_km2 = auto , timezone = AST (UTC −4) , area_code_type = Area codes , area_code = 809, 829, 849 , postal_code_type = Postal codes , postal_code = 10100–10699 (Distrito Nacional) , websi ...

. During the absence of her spouse from 1514 until 1520, she was left in charge of the colony along with Jerónimo de Agüero. In 1523, when Diego was recalled a second time, she was named ''virreina''. She was then expecting their eighth child.

Issue

* María Colón de Toledo (c. 1510 –), married to

Sancho Folch de Cardona, 1st Marquess of Guadalest Sancho Folch de Cardona y Ruíz de Liori, ?th Lord and 1st Marquess of Guadalest, was the heir and son of Alfonso Folch de Cardona y Fajardo, ?th Lord of Guadalest, and wife Isabel Ruíz de Liori, Lady of Gorga. He was a member of the House of th ...

Luis Colón, 1st Duke of Veragua Luis Colón y Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Veragua, 1st Duke of la Vega, 1st Marquess of Jamaica (c. 1519/1520/1522 – 29 January 1572), was the first son of Diego Colón and María Álvarez de Toledo y Rojas, and grandson of Christopher C ...

* Cristóbal Colón de Toledo (c. 1510 – 1571), married firstly to María Leonor Lerma de Zuazo, without issue; married secondly to Ana de Pravia, and had one son (Diego Colon y Pravia . 1551 - Jan 27, 1578 and one daughter (Francisca Colon y Pravia, . 1552 - April 1616 and married thirdly to María Magadalena de Guzmán y Anaya, and had: ** Diego Colón de Toledo, father of Diego the 4th Admiral of the Indies. ** Francisca Colón de Toledo y Pravia (c. 1550 – April, 1616), married Diego de Ortegón (c. 1550 –), and had four children: Guiomar de Ortegon y Colon . 1621 Jacoba de Oretgon y Colon . 1618 Ana de Ortegon y Colon; and Josefa de Ortegon y Colon ** María Colón de Toledo y Guzmán (c. 1550 –), married to Luis de Avila, and had: *** Cristóbal de Avila y Colón (1579 –), unmarried and without issue *** Luis de Avila y Colón (1582-1633), married Maria de Rojas-Guzman Grajeda, without issue; married secondly to Francisca de Sandoval and had one son Cristobal *** Juan Colón Dávila (-1622) ***Bernardino Dávila y Colón (-1633) *** Maria de Avila y Colón (1592-), married Alonso de Guzman Grajeda and had one daughter (Mayor de Grajeda y Avila .1611-* Juana Colón de Toledo (died c. 1592), married her cousin Luis de La Cueva y Toledo; their only child was María Colón de la Cueva (c. 1548-c.1600) who claimed the duchy of Veragua and died in

New Spain New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...

(México). * Isabel Colón de Toledo (c. 1515 –), married

Dom Dom or DOM may refer to: People and fictional characters * Dom (given name), including fictional characters * Dom (surname) * Dom La Nena (born 1989), stage name of Brazilian-born cellist, singer and songwriter Dominique Pinto * Dom people, an et ...

Jorge Alberto de Portugal y Melo (1470 –), 1st

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Gelves Gelves is a city located in the province of Seville, in Andalusia, Spain. According to the 2006 census (INE), the city has a population of 8,325 inhabitants. It lies on the west bank of the Guadalquivir river. The city of Gelves is not to be c ...

(who married secondly; his 1st marriage to Dona Guiomar de Ataíde remained childless), son of Dom Álvaro de Bragança, Lord of

Tentúgal Tentúgal is a parish of Montemor-o-Velho Municipality, Coimbra District, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 2,141, in an area of 34.29 km². The village is well known in Portugal for its old and unique conventual cakes, most notably the '' ...

, Póvoa,

Buarcos Buarcos is a ''freguesia'' (civil parish) in Figueira da Foz Municipality, Portugal. The population in 2011 was 18,454,

and

Cadaval Cadaval () is a municipality in the Oeste region and Lisbon District of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,228,Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

-Major of the Realm of Portugal. Their grandson, D. Nuno Alvares Pereira Colón y Portugal, Duke of Veragua and Admiral of the Indies became regent of the Kingdom of Portugal from 1621 until his death.

References

* Arranz Márquez, Luis (2006). Cristóbal Colón: misterio y grandeza. Madrid: Marcial Pons, Serie Memorias y biografías. . * Maura, Juan Francisco (2000).
María de Toledo: perfil biográfico de la primera virreina de las Américas
�. Cuadernos Hispanoamericanos, Instituto de Cooperación Iberoamericana (Madrid) (601-602). OCLC 819862735. * Maura, Juan Francisco; Maura, Hernando (2005). Españolas de ultramar en la historia y en la literatura. Valencia: Universitat de València, Colección Parnaseo, 1. . * Vega, Carlos B. (2003). Conquistadoras: mujeres heroicas de la conquista de América. Jefferson, NC (EEUU): McFarland & Co.. . {{DEFAULTSORT:Maria De Toledo 1490 births 1549 deaths 16th-century Dominican Republic people Dominican Republic people of Spanish descent 16th-century women rulers