 Cristóbal de Tapia

Cristóbal de Tapia was an inspector sent to New Spain in 1521 to investigate the conduct of the conquistador Hernán Cortés, and if he deemed it necessary, to arrest him and bring him to trial.Because his authority derived from the king and superseded that of Cortés, his name appears on some lists of Spanish colonial rulers of New Spain, although he exercised this authority very briefly.