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2 The expedition 3 Foundation of Santiago 4 Destruction of Santiago 5 New Initiatives 6 The uprising of 1553 |
Pedro de Valdivia is believed to have been born in Badajoz, Spain
in 1500 (some source put his date of birth as early as 1497) from
a family of nobles. In 1520 he enlisted with the army of Charles V and fought in Flanders in 1521 and Italy between 1522
and 1525 for . He married Marina Ortiz de Gaete. In 1535
he left her to embark for a voyage to Venezuela.
In 1537 he went to Peru to help Francisco Pizarro in de
struggle against Diego de Almagro and won. Afterwards he went with
Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro to conquer both the province of
Collao and las Charcas in High Peru (currently
Bolivia). As compensation for conquering these lands, Valdivia was
awarded a silver mine.
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.
The expedition was fraught with problems from the beginning. Valdivia
had to sell the lands that where assigned to him to finance the
expedition. A shortage of solders and adventurers was also problematic
since they were not interested in conquering what they were sure were
extremely poor lands.
The expedition left Cuzco 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 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.
On the February 12, 1541 Pedro Valdivia founded Santiago, Chile. The ceremony was held at the foot the hill Huelén (now known as Cerro Santa Lucia).
One of the first orders that Valdivia gave was for the search for gold
in the Marga Marga mines and the construction of a courier service
to Peru.
After an apparent peaceful period, on the [[September 11|11th of
September]] 1541, local Indians led by Michimalonko attacked
the new Village of santiago. Valdivia was not in the village at the time, and the defense of the city was lead by Inés Suérez.
This event meant a real setback for the conquest of the Chilean
territory, since the rebuilding could only start in 1543 with the
arrival of new supplies.
In September of 1543 new arms, cloths and other equipment from Peru
arrived in the ship Santiaguillo. because of this Valdivia was in
a position to send an expedition, lead by Juan Bohén, north. Where
in between Santiago and the northern Atacama desert, In the valley
of Coquimbo, La Serena, Chile was founded.
In February of 1546 Valdivia, accompanied by 70 men, traveled
south. He got to the bio-bio river where he had planned to found
another town. However the hostility of the indigenous people forced
him to return to Santiago in March of 1457.
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 vice-king
of Peru gave Valdivia de title of Governor.
Between 1549 and 1553, after his arrival back in Santiago, Valdivia
again undertook the conquest of the South. Which wasn't made any
easier by heavy resistance from the indigenous Indians. Nevertheless
in 1550 he got to the bio-bio zone, where after winning a battle
with the indigenous he founded Concepción. Later they also
founded the more southern villages of La Imperial, Valdivia and Villarica among others.
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 build 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 attacked when the party was near to fort and Valdivia was
captured. Legend has it that he was beaten to death. His impaled on a
stick and his heart cut into peaces and eaten.
See also: LautaroEarly years
The expedition
Foundation of Santiago
Destruction of Santiago
New Initiatives
The uprising of 1553