Marquess of Jamaica
Marquess of Jamaica is a hereditary title in the Spanish nobility, created in 1537 by King Charles I in favor of Luis Colón y Toledo, grandson of explorer Christopher Columbus, along with the title of Duke of Veragua. At the time, it was also a jurisdictional manor.
History
When Luis Colón's father died in 1526, he inherited all of the family's rights to vast parts of the Viceroyalty of the Indies that his grandfather founded. His mother, to protect her son's rights, sued the Crown, and after years of legal battles, the two parties reached an agreement.In exchange for renouncing most of their rights, the Crown created two jurisdictional manors for the Columbus family: the Duchy of Veragua and the Marquissate of Jamaica. Years later, the Duke renounced his American manors —although he retained the titles—, which he ceded to the Crown in exchange for an annual income that the State paid to his descendants until 1898.