Alonso Fernández de Lugo (; died 1525) was a Spanish 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 29 September 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, except for 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 3 May 1493. He left the administration of La Palma in the hands of his nephew Juan, and planned the conquest of Tenerife. Conquest of