Inés de Bobadilla sometimes Isabel de Bobadilla (?-1543) was the daughter of Pedro Arias Dávila

Pedrarias Dávila

Pedrarias Dávila y Ortiz de Cota , was a Spanish colonial administrator...

 (1440? - 1531) and Isabel de Bobadilla, she married, in 1537, Hernando de Soto

Hernando de Soto (explorer)

Hernando de Soto was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who, while leading the first European expedition deep into the territory of the modern-day United States, was the first European documented to have crossed the Mississippi River....

 who was then named governor of Cuba

Cuba

The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...

 and Adelantado

Adelantado

Adelantado was a military title held by some Spanish conquistadores of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.Adelantados were granted directly by the Monarch the right to become governors and justices of a specific region, which they charged with conquering, in exchange for funding and organizing the...

 de Florida. Her husband leaving Cuba for his expedition in Florida

Florida

Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...

, from 1539 to 1543, she became the only woman governor of Cuba. The Castillo de la Real Fuerza

Castillo de la Real Fuerza

The Castillo de la Real Fuerza is a fortress on the western side of the harbour in Havana, Cuba, set back from the entrance, and bordering the Plaza de Armas. Originally built to defend against attack by pirates, it suffered from a poor strategic position too far inside the bay...

 (built in 1558) in Cuba has a statue on its watchtower, representing a woman, La Giraldilla. It is suggested that it was placed there to honor Inès de Bobadilla who is said to have watched every day the return of her husband.

External links

• Maura, Juan Francisco. Españolas de Ultramar Colección Parnaseo-Lemir. Valencia: Publicaciones de la Universitat de València, 2005. http://parnaseo.uv.es/Editorial/Maura/INDEX.HTM