Juan de Esquivel

In 1502 the governor of the Indies, Nicolás de Ovando, sent Esquivel with 400 men to subjugate the Tainos on the eastern end of the island.

Around 1504 Esquivel was named a procurador (legal representative) for the towns of Hispaniola and sent to Spain to request relief from the heavy tax on gold mining as well as better terms on trade of imported goods.

[7] The island was quickly subjugated and Esquivel founded the towns of Sevilla la Nueva on the north coast and Santa Gloria.

No gold was discovered on Jamaica but the soil was fertile and the Spaniards were instructed to use native labor to grow food crops for the mainland and the other islands.

"[8] Without gold, the colony was not as prosperous as hoped and in early 1512 it was even suggested that the colonists relocate to Cuba where Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar was attempting to establish Spanish control of the island.

The subsequent timing is not clear but by the end of 1513, Esquivel was dead and a royal decree granted his widow 300 pesos of gold.