Alonso Fernández de Lugo Javier Alonso Luis Fernández de Lugo ( died 1525 ) was an Andalusian military man , conquistador , city founder , and administrator . He conquered the islands of La Palma ( 1492 – 1493 ) and Tenerife ( 1494 – 1496 ) for the Castilian Crown ; they were the last of the Canary Islands to be conquered by Europeans . He was also the founder of the towns of San Cristóbal de La Laguna , Santa Cruz de Tenerife and Santa Cruz de La Palma . One biographer has written that his personality was a “ terrible mixture of cruelty and ambition or greed , on one part , and on the other a great capacity and sense for imposing order and government on conquered lands , ” a trait found in the conquistadors of the New World . Early life . Fernández de Lugo was born in Sanlúcar de Barrameda , in Spain , during the reign of Ferdinand and Isabella , though his family was of Galician origin ; his relatives , as his surname indicates , originated in the city of Lugo and other Galician locales . Nothing much is known of his youth . He enlisted in the navy and ended up achieving the rank of Adelantado and Captain General of the African coasts . In 1478 , he participated in the conquest of Gran Canaria under the command of Juan Rejón . Later , he fought alongside Pedro de Vera , Rejón ' s successor as governor of Gran Canaria , who conferred on him command of the castle of Agaete on the island of Gran Canaria . Conquest of La Palma . He returned to Spain to solicit financial aid from the Crown to conquer Tenerife and La Palma . He was named governor of La Palma and granted 700 , 000 maravedis with the condition that he conquer the island within a year . The conquest of La Palma began on September 29 , 1492 , when Fernández de Lugo landed on the beaches of Tazacorte . He encountered fierce resistance from some Guanches chiefs there . However , the " menceys " , or Guanche kings , of La Palma surrendered in April 1493 , with the exception of Tanausu , who ruled the area known as Acero ( Caldera de Taburiente ) . However , Tanausu was ambushed and captured in May 1493 after agreeing to a truce arranged by Fernández de Lugo and Juan de Palma , a Guanche who had converted to Christianity and who was a relative of Tanausu . The conquest of La Palma was completed on May 3 , 1493 . He left the administration of La Palma in the hands of his nephew Juan , and planned the conquest of Tenerife . Conquest of Tenerife . During the conquest of Tenerife , he suffered a severe defeat at the First Battle of Acentejo ( May 31 , 1494 ) . At the First Battle of Acentejo , Fernández de Lugo , though wounded , had been able to escape with his life only by exchanging the red cape of an Adelantado for that of a common soldier . An additional detail from that battle , however , was that a rock thrown at Fernández de Lugo ' s head by a Guanche resulted in his losing most of his teeth . By October 1495 , he had gathered together a second , larger army , and received assistance from the Duke of Medina Sidonia and other nobles . Humiliated and cautious after the First Battle of Acentejo , which had been disastrous for the Spaniards , Fernández de Lugo had advanced gradually across the island , building and rebuilding forts . The expedition , which Lugo had funded with the sale of all of his properties , had landed at Añazo , where he built two towers on the spot where he had constructed his first fort before his prior defeat . He had more experienced troops under his command - these included 1 , 000 foot soldiers , veterans of the conquest of Granada , lent to him by the Duke of Medina Sidonia . Fernández de Lugo also had the support of Ferdinand and Isabella , who had given him ten more months to complete his conquest of the Canaries . During this time of regrouping , he also captured many slaves in the area . With this better - planned military strategy , he achieved victory over the Guanches of Tenerife at the Battle of Aguere ( November 14 – 15 , 1494 ) and the Second Battle of Acentejo ( December 25 , 1494 ) . After the Conquest . He was named governor and chief justice of both Tenerife and La Palma , Captain General of the coast of Africa . He was named Adelantado on January 12 , 1503 , a title confirmed again by Charles I of Spain , in Barcelona , on August 17 , 1519 . It was an inherited title . The current Rightful Successor of the title " Adelantado of the Canary Islands Tenerife and La Palma , Captain General of the coast of Africa " is Felix Alberto Lugo III . Fernández de Lugo was given extensive powers over these islands , since he had been financially responsible for their conquest . On La Palma , he had control over the distribution of land and water . Though he preferred to live on Tenerife , Fernández de Lugo reserved the rich area of Los Sauces on La Palma , north of the island ' s capital , for himself . His nephew and lieutenant received La Caldera in 1502 . His rule as adelantado was characterized by extreme despotism and harsh rule , and he treated the defeated Guanches like spoils of war . Legally , Guanches were regarded as being at the same level of Moors – in other words , enemies of Christianity - and he sold many of them into slavery . His treatment of his defeated subjects was so harsh that Ferdinand and Isabella intervened , requesting that the governor of Gran Canaria , Sánchez de Valenzuela , free some of the Guanches who had been enslaved by his counterpart in Tenerife . On both islands , he exercised civil and criminal jurisdiction and the right to appoint and dismiss judicial deputies , and also had control over the disposition of slaves and inhabitants ' entry and exit from the islands . Fernández de Lugo also introduced measures to limit the sale of land to create a permanent base of settlers . He oversaw extension immigration to Tenerife and La Palma during a short period from the late 1490s to the 1520s from mainland Europe , and immigrants included Castilians , Portuguese , Italians , Catalans , Basques , and Flemings . At subsequent judicial enquiries , Fernández de Lugo was accused of favoring Genoese and Portuguese immigrants over Castilians . On Tenerife , he founded the town of San Cristóbal de La Laguna . La Plaza del Adelantado and Calle Adelantado , in this town , are named after him . A local legend states that upon the death of one of his sons in the town , Fernández de Lugo ordered that the street of La Carrera be made twisted rather than straight so that he would not have to see the site of his son ' s death from his residence . On La Palma , he founded the town of Santa Cruz de La Palma ( at first called " Villa del Apurión " ) on May 3 , 1493 . On July 21 , 1509 he had transferred his titles and rights of the African coast , acquired in 1499 , to his son , Pedro Fernández de Lugo , who later participated in expeditions to the New World . He is buried in the Cathedral of La Laguna . Alonso Fernández de Lugo appeared on a 1961 postal stamp for the Spanish Sahara .