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The Viceroyalty of Colombia was Spain's first colonial administration on the American continent. It was formally established before the discovery of the continent by Europeans, as the title of viceroy (in the territories discovered by him) was given to Christopher Columbus on 17 April 1492, before he set sail on his voyage of discovery.
After the discovery of the Caribbean islands (Bahamas, Cuba, Haiti), Columbus assumed his rule over the discovered territories on behalf of the Catholic Majesties of Castile and Aragon, and before returning to Spain, he left a permanent garrison on the island of Haiti in the newly-built fortress of Fuerte Navidad.
On his second return in 1493, during which he discovered the island of Guadeloupe and other islands lying between Guadeloupe and Puerto Rico, he found the fort destroyed, with the entire garrison killed by the attacking natives. But even the fate of the first settlement did not prevent the gradual colonisation of the Caribbean islands by immigrants from Spain, who were attracted by the wealth presented by Columbus.
For the next three years, Columbus devoted himself to managing the colony and to exploratory voyages in the Caribbean (he discovered Jamaica, explored the coast of Cuba). Returning to Spain in 1496, he still discovered the Lesser Antilles archipelago. He returned to the Americas in 1498, discovering the island of Trinidad, the island of Margarita off the coast of Venezuela and the continent of South America itself (the Venezuelan peninsula of Paria). In the meantime, however, complaints about Columbus's administration of the colony abounded at the royal court, as the promised riches for which the colonizers had come had not materialized. At the same time, in 1499, the Crown granted voyages of discovery to others (Vicente Yáñez Pinzón, a participant in Columbus's first expedition in 1492, and Alonso de Hojeda, a participant in Columbus's second expedition in 1493), while the territories discovered by these expeditions were exempted from the jurisdiction of the Viceroy of the Indies (separate provinces were created, with the leaders of the expedition acting as governors). In 1500, the investigating magistrate Francisco de Bobadillo was sent to the Viceroyalty to investigate the accusations against Columbus. Upon his arrival in Haiti, he had Christopher Columbus and his brothers arrested (August 23, 1500) and sent in shackles to Spain. Although Columbus managed to defend himself before the royal court, he lost his title of viceroy and a considerable amount of prestige. Nevertheless, in 1502 he set out on another voyage of discovery, during which he discovered the islands of Saint Lucia and Martinique. In addition, he explored the coast of Central America from Honduras to Colombia, and completed his voyage in Jamaica, where he remained until 1504, when he returned to Spain.
After the deposition of Columbus, no new viceroy was appointed. The administration of the colony was taken over by Francisco de Bobadillo, who was dismissed in 1502 and replaced by Nicolas de Ovando. Ovando came to the colony at the head of the largest colonizing expedition yet, which consisted of some 2,500 Spanish colonists. During his reign, the colony began to develop. Several new towns were founded, the importation of black slaves began (since under Spanish law Native Americans were considered subjects of the Crown and as such could not be taken into slavery, but this was often disregarded by the Spanish authorities and colonists), and a mining industry developed. However, the development was associated with a massive extinction of the indigenous population, mainly made up of the Taino tribe, who were mowed down by new diseases, lack of food, but also by a system that used them as cheap labour in the extraction of gold or the creation of sugar cane plantations, the cultivation of which had just begun during Ovando's reign. Last but not least, Ovando's repressive actions in suppressing rebellions, in which conquistadors often massacred entire villages, including friendly tribes, contributed to the decline of the indigenous population. The 1507 census counted just over 60,000 Indians out of the 500,000 originally estimated to be living in Haiti at the time of its discovery by Columbus.
Meanwhile, in 1506, Columbus died in Spain, and his heir, including titles, became his son Diego Columbus (Spanish: Diego Colón y Perestrelo). In Castile itself, under which the colonies in the Americas fell, a covert power struggle between members of the royal family and the high nobility raged after the death of Queen Isabella in 1504, culminating in 1507. The victor was Ferdinand of Aragon (Queen Isabella's widowed husband), who took over the government of Castile as regent for his grandson Charles, the future King Charles I. Ferdinand began appointing his own people to the colonial authorities and began to investigate the complaints that were directed against Ovando, mainly because of his brutality. Although Diego Colón failed to regain his father's title of viceroy from the regent, he was appointed Governor of the Indies in 1508 and landed at Santo Domingo on 09 July 1509, replacing de Ovando. In addition, he began a lawsuit with the Crown to regain all the rights and titles of his father. This he succeeded in 1511, although only to a limited extent, as the hereditary viceroyalty was limited by court decision to the territories discovered by Christopher Columbus and not to the new provinces discovered and administered by other explorers. The arbitral tribunal's decision was appealed by both sides and the trial continued, albeit in a subdued form, for the next decade. In 1524, Diego Colón was dismissed as governor and another trial against the monarch began. Meanwhile, in 1526 he died and his minor son Luis Colón (born between 1519-1522) became his heir and the new viceroy. The trial is continued by his mother with the support of Diego's brother Fernado Colón. The trial is concluded on 25.06.1527 - with the annulment of all previous judgments and the ordering of a new trial. As part of the new trial, the royal prosecutor sought to prove that the discovery of the new continent was not due to Christopher Columbus, but mainly to other members of the crew, which would allow the Crown to avoid fulfilling the Santa Fe Accords (Capitulaciones de Santa Fe, 17.04.1492). New judgments were passed in 1534 and in 1535. Both judgments were appealed by the parties. Finally, the arbitration court ruled. The latter, composed of Bishop García de Loays (president of the Council of the Indies) and Gaspar de Montoya (president of the Council of Castile), issued a decision on 28.06.1536, confirming the hereditary titles of Admiral of the Indies to the Colón family, but abolishing the Viceroyalty of the Indies (Colombia), including the position of Governor General. In addition, they granted Columbus's heirs an annual annuity of 10 000 ducats, ownership of land and titles in Haiti, and granted them hereditary fiefs on the island of Jamaica with the title of Marquis of Jamaica and in the Central American province of Veragua (now divided between Costa Rica, Nicaragua and Panama) with the title of Duke of Veragua.
As a result of this arbitral award, the Viceroyalty of Colombia ceased to exist and the territories passed into the administration of the Viceroyalty of New Spain.
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