Luis Ponce de León (governor of New Spain)
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Luis Ponce de León was a Spanish judge and briefly the governor of New Spain
New Spain
New Spain, formally called the Viceroyalty of New Spain , was a viceroyalty of the Spanish colonial empire, comprising primarily territories in what was known then as 'América Septentrional' or North America. Its capital was Mexico City, formerly Tenochtitlan, capital of the Aztec Empire...

, from July 4, 1526 to July 16, 1526.

Luis Ponce de León was an educated man and a knight
Knight
A knight was a member of a class of lower nobility in the High Middle Ages.By the Late Middle Ages, the rank had become associated with the ideals of chivalry, a code of conduct for the perfect courtly Christian warrior....

 of Cordoba
Córdoba, Spain
-History:The first trace of human presence in the area are remains of a Neanderthal Man, dating to c. 32,000 BC. In the 8th century BC, during the ancient Tartessos period, a pre-urban settlement existed. The population gradually learned copper and silver metallurgy...

. He was a friend and aide of the corregidor
Corregidor (position)
A corregidor was a local, administrative and judicial position in Spain and its empire. He was the highest authority of a Corregimiento. In the Americas a corregidor was often called an alcalde mayor. They began to be appointed in fourteenth century Castile and the institution was definitively...

 of Toledo, Martín de Córdoba, conde de Alcaudete.

Ponce's appointment came in 1525 after news about serious difficulties in New Spain began reaching the court of Charles I of Spain
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...

 and the Council of the Indies. In 1524 Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...

 had learned of the rebellion of Cristóbal de Olid
Cristóbal de Olid
Cristóbal de Olid was a Spanish adventurer, conquistador and rebel who played a part in the conquest of Mexico and Honduras.Born in Zaragoza, Olid grew up in the household of the governor of Cuba, Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar. In 1518 Velázquez sent Olid to relieve Juan de Grijalva, but en route a...

 in Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...

 and abandoned his governorship of New Spain to treasury officials to head to Honduras. During his absence the governorship was chaotically shared among rival pro-Cortés and anti-Cortés factions in the treasury. Eventually rumors arrived in Mexico City
Mexico City
Mexico City is the Federal District , capital of Mexico and seat of the federal powers of the Mexican Union. It is a federal entity within Mexico which is not part of any one of the 31 Mexican states but belongs to the federation as a whole...

 and in Spain that Cortés had died along the way to Honduras. King Charles I ordered a juicio de residencia
Juicio de residencia
A juicio de residencia was a judicial procedure of Castilian law and the Laws of the Indies. It consisted of this: at the termination of a public functionary's term, his performance in office was subject to review, and those with grievances against him were entitled to a hearing...

(a commission of inquiry) to investigate Cortés and ascertain the true situation in the colony, and the state of the interim government.

To carry out these orders, Charles named Luis Ponce de León as judge of the residencia and governor of New Spain, at an annual salary of 3,000 ducats of gold. Ponce de León sailed from Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda
Sanlúcar de Barrameda is a city in the northwest of Cádiz province, part of the autonomous community of Andalucía in southern Spain. Sanlúcar is located on the left bank at the mouth of the Guadalquivir River opposite the Doñana National Park, 52 km from the provincial capital Cádiz and...

 on February 2, 1526. In May, Cortés returned to Mexico City and resumed his governorship. Ponce was detained in Hispaniola
Hispaniola
Hispaniola is a major island in the Caribbean, containing the two sovereign states of the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The island is located between the islands of Cuba to the west and Puerto Rico to the east, within the hurricane belt...

 until May 31, 1526 for repairs to his ship, arriving in Mexico City in June, He presented himself to the ayuntamiento (city government) on July 5, 1526. He carried with him the decree from Toledo dated November 4, 1525 granting him the powers, and Cortés stepped aside to honor the royal decree.

Ponce de León left all the officials of the ayuntamiento in their positions. He was about 65 years old and ill with fever contracted on his arrival in Veracruz
Veracruz
Veracruz, formally Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave officially Estado Libre y Soberano de Veracruz de Ignacio de la Llave , is one of the 31 states that, along with the Federal District, comprise the 32 federative entities of Mexico. It is divided in 212 municipalities and its capital city is...

. The fever had continued through the 12-day journey to the capital and did not let up even after his arrival there. After taking office, he retired from public occupations and soon died. Before his death he turned over his functions to Marcos de Aguilar
Marcos de Aguilar
Marcos de Aguilar was briefly royal governor of New Spain .Marcos de Aguilar was a licenciado. He served in various judicial capacities in Seville...

, his assistant who had accompanied him to the colony. Aguilar also had a royal appointment. He took over the government on July 16, 1526.

Four days later Ponce de León died. He was interred in the first parochial church in Mexico City, facing the Plaza Mayor.

Aguilar, also aged, also died after governing only a short while. Cortés was suspected of poisoning the two royal officials.
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