The eastern part was named the Duchy of Veragua and controlled by the heirs of Christopher Columbus.
Royal Veragua lasted for only three years before being incorporated into the new Province of Nuevo Cartago y Costa Rica in November 1540, while the Duchy was sold back by Columbus' heirs in 1556 to the Crown and became Veraguas Province in 1560.
The remaining territory of the Gobernación—which had also been claimed by Columbus' heirs—, extending along the Caribbean coast from Escudo de Veraguas to Cabo Gracias a Dios, remained under royal jurisdiction and was renamed Royal Veragua.
It began to be populated in 1540 under the direction of its first and only Governor, Hernán Sánchez de Badajoz.
In 1540, it was combined with other territories on the Pacific slope belonging to Castilla de Oro to create the Province of Nuevo Cartago y Costa Rica.