Juan Fernández de Olivera
| Juan Fernández de Olivera | |
|---|---|
| 9th Governor of la Florida | |
|
In office 1610 – 23 Nov 1612 | |
| Preceded by | Pedro de Ibarra |
| Succeeded by | Juan de Arraçola and Joseph de Olivera |
| Personal details | |
| Born |
1560 Unknown |
| Died |
23 November 1612 Saint Augustine, Florida |
| Profession | Military and Political |
Juan Fernández de Olivera (1560 - 23 November 1612) was the governor of Florida between 1610 and 23 Nov 1612.[1]
Biography
It is known that Fernández de Olivera had, at least, a brother, Pedro de Olivera.[2] As a youth, Olivera joined the Spanish army, where he stressed, ascending the post of Captain.[3]
Olivera was appointed governor of Florida in 1610, replacing Pedro de Ibarra. Fernández de Olivera found a Saint Augustine where had settled a lot of exiles - both rebel as also officers and friars - and soldiers, many of whom had committed petty theft and riots, they were indebted, or had exercised the vagrancy.[4]
In 1611, Fernández sent the Infantry Captain Alonso Díaz (native of Badajoz, Spain), to Tampa Bay to punish the Pohoy´s Amerindians because they had killed seventeen Christian Amerindians when they were crossing the Cofa River, carrying the food and cloting of a missionary. So, Alonso Díaz decided kill these people as a punish by the murders of the Amerindians. After his death, Fernández dispatched soldiers again to Tampa Bay to speak with the heirs of Pohoy and say them that from then on, they never come back to harm to the Christian towns, because was the damage that their predecessors had done to them, which prompted to Fernández punish them. Some Fernández´s soldiers carried gifts to the heirs of Pohoy, offering them peace and amity, being accepted by them.[5] In addition, Fernández give military support to the Friars that teach to the natives. He supplied St. Augustine, Florida carrying things such as over 300 yards of various kinds of cloth, 64 blankets, 14 hatchets, 148 boxes kniver, 34 stings and 26 "hand" of tobacco. The governor also took gifts in San Pedro (Mocama) and Guale provinces such as shirts and strings of beads.[6]
In 1612, a group of Amerindian chiefs (caciques) from Cape of Saint George (then called Cape of Apalachee) and other places further traveled to Saint Augustine (in three weeks and two and a half months after leaving their land respectively) to required to Fernandez de Olivera trade goods and Franciscan missionaries from Spanish officials, which it was granted (although the request of the Amerindians to the Spanish governor made that he thought that Amerindians had finally recognized the Spanish power and Catholicism, thank its gifts and the pacific treatment that he gave the Native Americans who wanted to convert or were interested to Catholicism).[7]
Fernández de Olivera died on 23 November 1612 [1] while still ruled Florida, being replaced by Juan de Arraçola and Joseph de Olivera.[1]
References
- 1 2 3 Ben Cohoon. U.S. States F-K.
- ↑ Censo-Guía de Archivos de España e Iberoamérica. Ministry of Education, culture and Sport of Spain Government.
- ↑ Browne Ayes, John J. (28 August 2009). Juan Ponce de Leon His New and Revised Genealogy. Page 496.
- ↑ The Pirates of San Augustín. Pirates and Privateers: The History of Maritime Piracy. Edited and reviewed by Cindy Vallar in 2011.
- ↑ Worth, John E. (1998). The Timucuan Chiefdoms of Spanish Florida: Resistance and destruction. Page 17.
- ↑ Hoffman, Paul E. (2002). Florida's Frontiers. Indiana University Press. Pages 102-104.
- ↑ Hall, Joseph (2000). Confederacy Mediterranean Studies: Formation on the Fringes of Spanish Florida. Volume 9. Penn State University Press. Page 123.