Fonseca, Juan Rodríguez de

Fonseca, Juan Rodríguez de

(hwän rōdrē`gāth dā fōnsā`kä), 1451–1524, Spanish prelate. Chaplain to Isabella and Ferdinand, he was bishop successively of Badajoz, Córdoba, Palencia, and Burgos and later archbishop of Rosana. As head of the department of affairs of the Indies, he closely supervised the explorations of Columbus and of Hernán Cortés. In 1511 he organized the Council of the Indies.