Nicolás de Ovando

Frey Nicolás de Ovando was a Spanish soldier from a noble family and a Knight of the Order of Alcántara, a military order of Spain. He was Governor of the Indies in the Columbian Viceroyalty from 1502 until 1509, sent by the Spanish crown to investigate the administration of Francisco de Bobadilla and re-establish order. Ovando "pacified" the island of Hispaniola by force, subduing Indigenous people and rebellious Spaniards, with disorderly colonists being sent back to Spain in chains. He implemented the encomienda system with the Indigenous population.