Juan Rejón (died 1481) was an

Aragon Aragon ( , ; Spanish and ; ) is an autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community in Spain, coextensive with the medieval Kingdom of Aragon. In northeastern Spain, the Aragonese autonomous community comprises three provinces of Spain, ...

ese captain in the service of the Castilian navy, who was appointed by the Catholic Monarchs to participate in the conquest of the

Canary Islands The Canary Islands (; ) or Canaries are an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean and the southernmost Autonomous communities of Spain, Autonomous Community of Spain. They are located in the northwest of Africa, with the closest point to the cont ...

. Rejón founded the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria. After being named captain, he recruited a contingent of 600 men, mostly Andalusians. Their number included Alonso Fernández de Lugo, future conqueror of La Palma and

Tenerife Tenerife ( ; ; formerly spelled ''Teneriffe'') is the largest and most populous island of the Canary Islands, an Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Spain. With a land area of and a population of 965,575 inhabitants as of A ...

. From the Puerto de Santa María, the expedition departed on three ships on 28 May 1478. On 24 June 1478, they disembarked off Las Isletas (today part of the city of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria). Rejón set up camp at a nearby palm grove; this became the nucleus of the city of Las Palmas. Tension and problems with his men, including one of his followers, named Bermúdez, resulted in Rejón being imprisoned and then sent back to Spain by his replacement as governor of

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

, Pedro de Algaba. Rejón was taken in chains to the Castilian court. However, he obtained his liberty, returned to the Canary Islands, and ordered the

decapitation Decapitation is the total separation of the head from the body. Such an injury is invariably fatal to humans and all vertebrate animals, since it deprives the brain of oxygenated blood by way of severing through the jugular vein and common c ...

of Pedro de Algaba and the exile of Bermúdez to the island of

Lanzarote Lanzarote (, , ) is a Spanish island, the easternmost of the Canary Islands, off the north coast of Africa and from the Iberian Peninsula. Covering , Lanzarote is the fourth-largest of the islands in the archipelago. With 163,230 inhabi ...

. In 1480, he participated in military operations on the island of

La Gomera La Gomera () is one of Spain's Canary Islands, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Africa. With an area of , it is the third-smallest of the archipelago's eight main islands. It belongs to the province of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. La Gomer ...

, not fully conquered by the Castilians. He disembarked with his troops at Hermigua with two goals: to complete the conquest of the island and to meet with Hernán Peraza, the feudal lord of La Gomera. However, Peraza considered Rejón, a commander with many troops operating in territory not controlled by Castile, as a threat to his own power. Peraza sent his own troops to Hermigua. In 1481, Rejón was murdered by one of the vassals of Peraza. Peraza was forced to explain Rejón's death at court. He was pardoned but had to meet certain conditions. He had to participate in the conquest of Gran Canaria with troops from La Gomera and complete the conquest of the island, a plan that had not been completed by Rejón. Peraza himself was later killed by the Guanche Hautacuperche in 1488.

References

Bibliography

External links

Ayuntamiento Las Palmas de Gran Canaria / Historia

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rejon, Juan 1481 deaths People from Gran Canaria 15th-century Spanish explorers Spanish city founders Assassinated Spanish people History of the Canary Islands 15th-century people from the Crown of Aragon Year of birth unknown