To Strengthen His Interest At Court, He Married Donna Maria,
Daughter To Don Ferdinand De Toledo, Brother To The Duke Of Alva, And
Cousin To The King; Thus Allying Himself With One Of The Most Illustrious
Families In Spain.
By the interest of his wifes relations, he at last
obtained the government of Hispaniola, in which he superseded Obando, the
great enemy of his father; but he had only the title of governor, not of
viceroy, which was his just and undoubted right.
Don James Columbus went
out to his government of Hispaniola in 1508, two years after the decease
of his father, accompanied by his brother Don Ferdinand, and his uncles
Bartholomew and James, with many young Spanish noblemen. His lady was
likewise attended by several young ladies of good families; so that by
these noble attendants, the lustre of the new colony was restored and
augmented. His power in the government was no way greater than that which
had been confided to his predecessor, and was soon afterwards considerably
circumscribed by the establishment of a new court at St Domingo, under the
title of the Royal Audience, to which appeals were allowed from all parts
of the Spanish dominions in the New World.
While Ponce de Leon was occupied in the discovery of Porto Rico, Don James
Columbus came out to assume the government of Hispaniola in the room of
Obando, bringing with him from Spain a governor for the island of Porto
Rico. But Ponce de Leon, who had made the first settlement on that island,
disputed this new appointment; on which the young admiral set them both
aside, and appointed one Michael Cerron to the government, with Michael
Diaz as his lieutenant.
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