Person

Nicolás de Ovando

c. 1460–1511 · 15th century

Nicolás de Ovando was a Spanish knight of the Order of Alcántara and governor of the Indies at Santo Domingo from 1502 to 1509. He rebuilt Santo Domingo after a hurricane, organised the forced labour of the Taíno and crushed their chiefdoms, notably by the massacre at Jaragua in 1503 and the war against Higüey. His rule made Hispaniola the base of Spanish power in the Caribbean.

Nicolás de Ovando
Image: Unknown authorUnknown author · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Cacicazgo of JaraguaCaptaincy General of Santo Domingo

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Nicolás de Ovando. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nicolas-de-ovando
MLA
“Nicolás de Ovando.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nicolas-de-ovando. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Nicolás de Ovando.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nicolas-de-ovando.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Nicolás de Ovando’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/nicolas-de-ovando (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻