He worked together with the Spanish governor Nicolás de Ovando in the fight against the Taíno Indians of the region. He founded and governed several towns: Azua de Compostela (1504), San Juan de la Maguana (1503), Bánica (1504), Salvatierra de la Sabana (1504, now Les Cayes, Haiti), Santa María de la Verapaz (near the present Port-au-Prince, Haiti), Villanueva de Yáquimo (now Jacmel, Haiti).