María de Toledo or María Álvarez de Toledo or María Álvarez de Toledo y Rojas (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 countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

noblewoman and the first woman in the Americas with the title of Vicereine and regent of the Spanish

Colony of Santo Domingo A colony is a territory subject to a form of foreign rule, which rules the territory and its indigenous peoples separated from the foreign rulers, the colonizer, and their '' metropole'' (or "mother country"). This separated rule was often or ...

, 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 Alba (in full, ) ( – 19 October 1531) was a Spanish nobleman, military leader and politician. Life and career He was the eldest son of García Álvarez de Toledo, 1st Duke of Alba, and his ...

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

Diego Columbus Diego Columbus (; ; ; 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 Indies and 4th Governor of the Indies as a vassal to the K ...

, the son of

Christopher Columbus Christopher Columbus (; between 25 August and 31 October 1451 – 20 May 1506) was an Italians, Italian explorer and navigator from the Republic of Genoa who completed Voyages of Christopher Columbus, four Spanish-based voyages across the At ...

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

Santo Domingo Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. During the absence of her husband 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 * Luis Colón, 1st Duke of Veragua * 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 ( ; Nahuatl: ''Yankwik Kaxtillan Birreiyotl''), originally the Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain. It was one of several ...

(México). * Isabel Colón de Toledo (c. 1515 –), married Dom Jorge Alberto de Portugal y Melo (1470 –), 1st Count of

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 con ...

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

Álvaro de Bragança Álvaro of Braganza ( 1440 – 1504, Toledo) was the 4th son of Ferdinand I, 2nd Duke of Braganza and his wife, ''Dona'' Joana de Castro. Biography He played an important role during the reign of King Afonso V of Portugal, when he was appointed Ch ...

, 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 intermunicipal community and Lisbon District of Portugal. The population in 2011 was 14,228,Chancellor Chancellor () is a title of various official positions in the governments of many countries. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the (lattice work screens) of a basilica (court hall), which separa ...

-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 people from the Colony of Santo Domingo 16th-century women rulers