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ALESSANDRO GERALDINI VS RODRIGO DE FIGUEROA
Appendix 1
Santo Domingo, July 6, 1520
Rodrigo de Figueroa
to Emperor Carlos V
ed.: Collection of unpublished documents, taken from the Real Archivo de Indias, I (Madrid, 1864) 418–419.
“Here we have infinite anger and prejudice toward the Royal Court because of the many and very unjust
excommunications that officials of the cathedral churches have placed on the justices, since they do not have
a leader. It would behoove the Archbishop of Seville to have an official here to whom we could turn.
“Bishop Geraldini, who [we have] here, is completely useless: his understanding is no better than that of a
child. At ten o’clock one night, I went out to mediate between his vicar and clergymen who were sparring
with the crusade officials over a prisoner, and because I did not allow him to ring the bells and gather his mi-
nions, and I punished the person that he was condemning, he is complaining about me.
“The Diocese of La Vega has gone astray because the bishop is not here, and there is an idiot vicar, a misguided
man named Juan de Santa María, brother of a blacksmith here. He only cares about making money.
“Here all are ready for contempt and resistance against justice with weapons. In order to comply, I have had
to threaten to send prisoners to his superior, and to cancel their wages and other forms of penance. I am sure
they have complained about me.”
ENDNOTES
1 The first bishop of Concepción de la Vega was Pedro Suárez
de Deza, also the first to arrive on the island of Hispaniola, pro-
bably around 1514. Suárez de Deza was also the only bishop of
this diocese, which was eliminated and merged with the diocese
of Santo Domingo in 1527.
2 The Diocese of Bayuna was a short-lived diocese (1504–1511)
of the Spanish Antilles, headquartered in Lares de Guahaba. It
was founded on November 15, 1504 and was subordinate to the
Archdiocese of Seville. It was eliminated on August 8, 1511, and
its only bishop was transferred to the Diocese of Santo Domingo.
3 Alfonso Manso, his fellow countryman and bishop-elect of
Magua, was reassigned to the Diocese of Puerto Rico, and Pedro
Suárez de Deza, bishop-elect of Hyaguata, was reassigned to the
Diocese of Concepción de la Vega.
4 The updated biographies of Alessandro Geraldini can be
found in: Alessandro Geraldini, et al., Dall’Umbria Al Mediter-
raneo e All’Atlantico: Alessandro Geraldini, Itinerarium Ad Regiones
Sub Aequinoctiali Plaga Constitutas (Genoa: Università Di Ge-
nova, 2017) 9–36; and Edoardo D’Angelo, Alexandri Geraldini
Amerini Varie Epistolae XXVI Necnon Orationes IV (Rome: Istituto
Storico Italiano per Il Medioevo, 2018) vii–XXXVIII. From these
two works, the citations from Itinerarium Ad Regiones Sub Aequi-
noctiali Plaga Constitutas are indicated as (Itin.), the epistles as
(ep.), and the prayers as (pr.).
5 “Nombramiento obispo Santo Domingo: Alejandro de Ge-
raldini” (Seville: Archivo General de Indias, 1516) Patronato,
1.N.14.R.1. This bull was published in the Proceedings of the
Santo Domingo Conference held September 17–18, 2019.
6 The importance of education in this new diocese is also
illustrated by ep. 17, in which Alessandro Geraldini asks Char-
les V for the authority to appoint the cathedral’s teaching ad-
ministration.
7 Geraldini’s niece Elisabetta was the daughter of his brother
Constantino. Her husband’s name is unknown.
8 Rodrigo de Figueroa’s appointment is signed by the king in
Zaragoza on December 1, 1518: (Seville: Archivo General de In-
dias, 1518) Indiferente General, 419, L.7, f.801v–803r.
9 By order of Cardinal Cisneros, resident judge of Santo Do-
mingo Alonso de Zuazo accompanied the commission of the Or-
der of Saint Jerome in order to manage and document relations
between Europeans and indigenous peoples in the Americas
(Seville: Archivo General de Indias, December 1516) Indiferente
General, 419.1.6, p. 606rv. Upon Cisneros’s death, Rodrigo de Fi-
gueroa was sent to examine the work, and Zuazo was forced to
go to Cuba, being replaced by Figueroa.
10 In June 1515, Cristoforo Lebrón di Quiñones (Seville: Archivo
General de Indias, 1515, S. Domingo, 13.n.19) was appointed re-
sident judge of the Real Audiencia de Santo Domingo by Diego
Colombo, who left office in 1516 when the Girolamini commis-
sion was appointed by Cisneros. On April 11, 1521 (under the
second viceroyalty of Diego Colombo), Lebrón was again ap-
pointed judge: (Seville: Archivo General de Indias) Indiferente
General, 420.l.8, f.280r.
11 Identification of this figure: D’Angelo, Alexandri Geraldini 141.
12 Tisnés, Alessandro Geraldini, op. cit., 222.
13
figueroa-rodrigo-de.
14 Council of the Indies, Burgos, April 4, 1521: (Seville: Archivo
General de Indias, 1521) Indiferente General, 420, L.8, f.287r–
287v. Fine modulo
15 Council of the Indies, Burgos, April 4, 1521: (Seville: Archivo
General de Indias, 1521) Indiferente General, 420, L.8, f.287r–
287v. Fine modulo
16 González Vázquez, et al., 2009, 70–71.