Luis de Velasco

Luis de Velasco y Ruiz de Alarcón governed New Spain from 1550 to 1564, succeeding Antonio de Mendoza, the first viceroy. He is remembered for enforcing the New Laws, which freed thousands of enslaved Indigenous people, and the Royal University of Mexico opened during his rule in 1553.

Don’t confuse him with his son, Luis de Velasco the younger, who also served as viceroy of New Spain twice, decades later.