Gonzalo Argote de Molina

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Gonzalo Argote de Molina (1548–1596) was a Spanish writer, historian and genealogist. In 1564 he took part in the conquest of Peñón de Vélez de la Gomera. The next year, at sixteen, he became a second lieutenant in the Andalusian militia. In 1569 he fought against the Moriscos during the Rebellion of the Alpujarras.

In 1578 he was named provincial and executive judge of Santa Hermandad, after two years of legal battles. He also held the role of veinticuatro de Sevilla and owned the towers of Gil de Olid, Don Jofre and Daganzuelo.

In 1586 he moved to the Canary Islands to marry Constanza de Herrera y Rojas, daughter of the first Marquis of Lanzarote. While in Lanzarote he ordered the construction of the Franciscan convent of Teguise in 1588; today only the church remains, a temple dedicated to Our Lady of Miraflores. He defended Lanzarote from an Algerian attack led by Murat Reis the Elder in 1586, during which his wife and father-in-law were captured and later ransomed for a large sum. He also helped defend Gran Canaria from the pirate Francis Drake in 1595.