NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Pedro de Valdivia

Pedro de Valdivia (c. 1500 - January 1, 1554) was a conquistador and first Governor of Chile. He was the founder of various cities within the territory, including Santiago, Concepción, and Valdivia. Download high resolution version (615x790, 158 KB)Subject: Pedro de Valdivia Source: [1] The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... Download high resolution version (615x790, 158 KB)Subject: Pedro de Valdivia Source: [1] The two-dimensional work of art depicted in this image is in the public domain in the United States and in those countries with a copyright term of life of the author plus 100 years. ... 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... January 1 is the first day of the calendar year in both the Julian and Gregorian calendars. ... Events January 5 - Great fire in Eindhoven, Netherlands. ... Conquistador (meaning Conqueror in the Spanish language) is the term used to refer to the soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who achieved the Conquista (this Spanish term is generally accepted by historians), i. ... Night view of Taipei City. ... The snowcapped Andes are a Santiago landmark Santiago (Spanish: ) is Chiles capital and largest city. ... The Coat of Arms of ConcepciÃ³n ConcepciÃ³n is a city in Chile, capital of the BÃo BÃo Region. ... Valdivia is a city in southern Chile, founded by Pedro de Valdivia, located at the confluence of the Calle Calle, Valdivia and Cau Cau rivers, some 15 km east of the coastal town and bay of Corral. ...

1 Early years
2 The expedition
3 Foundation of Santiago
4 Destruction of Santiago
5 New Initiatives
6 The uprising of 1553
7 See also

Early years

Pedro de Valdivia is believed to have been born in Badajoz, Spain in 1500 (some sources put his date of birth as early as 1497) from a family of hidalgos. In 1520 he enlisted with the army of Charles V and fought in Flanders in 1521 and Italy between 1522 and 1525. He married Marina Ortiz de Gaete. In 1535 he left her to embark for a voyage to Venezuela she born in 521761285585485 en la clinica peorra Badajoz (formerly Badajos), the capital of the Spanish province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, is situated close to the Portuguese frontier, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid-Lisbon railway. ... 1500 was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... 1497 was a common year starting on Friday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ... An hidalgo or fidalgo was a member of the lower Spanish nobility. ... mary elline m. ... Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Aragon and Castile. ... Flanders (Dutch: Vlaanderen) has several main meanings: the social, political and cultural community of the Flemings, through its social and political organizations, its media, universities, ... ; some prefer to call this the Flemish community, other refers to this as the Flemish nation; a constituent governing institution of the federal Belgian... Events January 3 - Pope Leo X excommunicates Martin Luther in the papal bull Decet Romanum Pontificem. ... Events January 9 - Adrian Dedens becomes Pope Adrian VI. February 26 - Execution by hanging of CuauhtÃ©moc, Aztec ruler of Tenochtitlan under orders of conquistador HernÃ¡n CortÃ©s. ... Events January 21 - The Swiss Anabaptist Movement was born when Conrad Grebel, Felix Manz, George Blaurock, and about a dozen others baptized each other in the home of Manzs mother on Neustadt-Gasse, ZÃ¼rich, breaking a thousand-year tradition of church-state union. ... Events January 18 - Lima, Peru founded by Francisco Pizarro April - Jacques Cartier discovers the Iroquois city of Stadacona, Canada (now Quebec) and in May, the even greater Huron city of Hochelaga June 24 - The Anabaptist state of MÃ¼nster (see MÃ¼nster Rebellion) is conquered and disbanded. ...

The expedition

After the failure of the expedition of Diego de Almagro, Valdivia asked the governor of Peru permission to complete the conquest of the lands south of Peru (known as Nuevo Toledo). He got the permission and was named lieutenant of the Governor, and not Governor as he wanted. He was an original Spanish conquistador.

The expedition was fraught with problems from the beginning. Valdivia had to sell the lands that were assigned to him to finance the expedition. A shortage of soldiers and adventurers was also problematic since they were not interested in conquering what they were sure were extremely poor lands. The expedition left Cuzco, Peru in January of 1540 with almost a thousand native Indians and only a few Spanish. En route more Spanish joined the expedition. These conquistadores had formed part of the failed campaigns to the highlands of Bolivia. All in all around 150 Spanish joined the expedition of Valdivia.

He followed the desert route of Atacama, the same route that Almagro had followed back to Peru. When they arrived at the valley of Copiapo, Chile, Valdivia took possession of the land in the name of the king. Soon thereafter they continued south and in December of the same year they arrived in the valley of the Mapocho River, where they finally decided to establish a permanent settlement.

Foundation of Santiago

Pedro Lira's 1889 painting of the founding of Santiago by Pedro de Valdivia at Huelén Hill

On February 12, 1541 Pedro de Valdivia founded Santiago, Chile. The ceremony was held at the foot of Huelén hill (now known as Cerro Santa Lucía, Santa Lucía Hill). Image File history File links Title: FundaciÃ³n de Santiago por Pedro de Valdivia Source: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Chile [1] Author: Pedro Lira (1889) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... Image File history File links Title: FundaciÃ³n de Santiago por Pedro de Valdivia Source: Museo Nacional de Bellas Artes, Chile [1] Author: Pedro Lira (1889) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... 1889 (MDCCCLXXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar). ... February 12 is the 43rd day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... Events The first official translation of the entire Bible in Swedish February 12 - Pedro de Valdivia founds Santiago de Chile. ... The snowcapped Andes are a Santiago landmark Santiago (Spanish: ) is Chiles capital and largest city. ... Santa LucÃa Hill is a small hill in downtown Santiago, Chile. ...

One of the first orders Valdivia gave was to search for gold in the Marga Marga mines and developing a courier service to Peru. He knew about this gold mines by the word of a captured chief called Michima Lonco.

Destruction of Santiago

After a peaceful period of coexistence, local Indians led by Michimalonco attacked the new village of Santiago, on 11th of September 1541. Valdivia was not in the village at the time, and the defense of the city was led by Inés Suárez.

This event meant a substantial setback for the conquest of the Chilean territory, since rebuilding could only start in 1543 with the arrival of new supplies.

New Initiatives

Main article: Arauco War

In September of 1543 new arms, clothes and other equipment arrived from Peru on the ship Santiaguillo. Valdivia then sent an expedition north, led by Juan Bohon. This expedition, founded La Serena halfway between Santiago and the northern Atacama Desert, in the valley of Coquimbo. This article or section does not cite its references or sources. ... La Serena (the serene one) is the second oldest city in Chile. ... The Atacama desert of Chile is a virtually rainless plateau made up of salt basins (salares), sand, and lava flows, extending from the Andes mountains to the Pacific Ocean. ...

In February of 1546 Valdivia, accompanied by 70 men, traveled south. He got to the Bío-Bío River where he planned to found another town. However, the hostility of the indigenous people forced him to return to Santiago in March of 1547. The BÃo-BÃo at ConcepciÃ³n close to where it meets the sea The Bio-Bio River is a river in Chile. ...

In 1547 and 1548 Valdivia was in Peru to gather more resources and men. While he was there he fought in the battle of Xaquixahuana. As recognition for his services the then Viceroy of Peru gave Valdivia the title of Governor. Created in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru (in Spanish, Virreinato del Perú) contained most of Spanish-ruled South America until the creation of the separate viceroyalties of New Granada (now Colombia, Ecuador, Panamá and Venezuela, the last-named previously in the Viceroyalty of New Spain) in 1717 and Río... The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district known as the Reino de Chile. ...

Between 1549 and 1553, Valdivia again undertook the conquest of southern Chile, but faced heavy resistance from the indigenous Indians. In spite of the resistance, in 1550 he got to the Bío-Bío zone, where after winning a battle against the local natives, he founded Concepción, Chile. He later founded the more southern villages of La Imperial, Valdivia, Chile and Villarica, Chile among others. The Coat of Arms of ConcepciÃ³n ConcepciÃ³n is a city in Chile, capital of the BÃo BÃo Region. ... La Imperial refers to two Chilean cities: La Imperial or Antigua [Old] Imperial was a city founded by Pedro de Valdivia on April 16, 1552. ... The valdivian flag Valdivia is a city in southern Chile, founded by Pedro de Valdivia, located at the confluence of the Calle Calle, Valdivia and Cau Cau rivers, some 15 km east of the coastal town and bay of Corral. ...

The uprising of 1553

After a brief stay in Santiago, Valdivia returned to the south again in December of 1552. To keep the connection open between Concepción and the southern settlements Valdivia had a number of forts built in the coastal mountain range. One of the first signs that a big rebellion was building was in the attack on the fort of Tucapel. Valdivia decided to personally inspect the fort, but the indigenous forces attacked when the party was near the fort and Valdivia was captured. The Battle of Tucapel would be Valdivia's last: while it may be the exaggeration of legend that he was beaten to death, impaled on a stake, and his heart was cut into pieces and eaten, it is certain that he did not survive his captivity. The snowcapped Andes are a Santiago landmark Santiago (Spanish: ) is Chiles capital and largest city. ... Events April - War between Henry II of France and Emperor Charles V. Henry invades Lorraine and captures Toul, Metz, and Verdun. ... The Coat of Arms of ConcepciÃ³n ConcepciÃ³n is a city in Chile, capital of the BÃo BÃo Region. ... The Battle of Tucapel was fought between Spanish conquistador forces led by Pedro de Valdivia and Mapuche Indians on December 25, 1553. ...

Another version of Valdivia's death has it that the dreaded conquistador was captured by Native Americans and executed by pouring molten gold down his throat to satisfy his thirst for treasures.

His career and death are part of the epic poem La Araucana by Alonso de Ercilla. La Araucana is an epic poem in Spanish about the Spanish conquest of Chile, by Alonso de Ercilla; it is also known in English as The Araucaniad. ... Alonso de Ercilla (1533 - 1594) was a Basque nobleman from Spain, and author of epic poem La Araucana. ...

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