PEDRO DE VALDIVIA 

Born in Serena, Estremadura sometime around 1490, Pedro de Valdivia grew up to be a Spanish soldier.  Prior to his death in Chili in 1554, Valdivia was involved in both the Flanders and Italy war.  In fact, he accompanied Georg yon Spire on a trip to Venezuela and then served under Francisco Pizarro in Peru.  He even participated in the campaign set against Almagro in 1537 at which time he was appointed as Mariscal.  Then in 1538, Valdivia fought in the battle of Salinas.  With that, Pizarro rewarded him with permission to conquer Chili. 

As Valdivia was getting ready for his expedition, a man by the name of Pedro Sanchez de Hoz showed up in Spain with a royal grant in hand for the same country.  To ensure there were no problems between Valdivia and Hoz, Pizarro advised them to join forces so in December of 1539, the two men indeed signed a contract that they would work together to conquer Chili instead of battling each other.  Soon, Valdivia had gathered numerous adventurers and bought the needed arms for the trip. 

Then in August or 1540, he met Hoz in the desert of Atcama who had also been busy pulling resources to include horses but no crew.  Upset about this, the horses were sold, giving his share of money to Valdivia.  Working together, the men decided to avoid going over the Andes, which had proven to be disastrous to Almagro’s army, so they set out through the desert instead.  For five months, they went through some very tough times when finally, they arrived in Mapocho, a beautiful valley.  It was there hat Valdivia founded the city of Santiago in 1541. 

When Valdivia received news that Pizarro had been assassinated, he appointed himself as governor over the territory.  Then at the mouth of the Aconcagua River, he built a ship that would be sailed to Peru for more provisions but to calm a mutiny, he was forced to return quickly to Santiago.  Once there, Valdivia marched against the Indians who were showing resistant to invaders and then defeated them at Cachapoal.  The Indian’s resistant became so powerful that the ship built in Aconcagua was completely, destroyed. 

Then in 1542, Valdivia sent Alonso de Monroy and five other men to Peru to bring back reinforcements.  However, Peru was undergoing tremendous disturbances because of Almagro being defeated by Vaca de Castro.  Because of that, Monroy was not successful in getting much help.  In fact, he returned to Valdivia in the fall of 1543 with only 70 horsemen and sent a vessel to the port of Aconcagua with ammunition and provisions.  Over the next few years, Valdivia made progress in occupying the country and even founded the valley of Coquimbo, a town that he went on to call Serena.  Valdivia was even successful in calming the country south of the Maule River. 

However, Valdivia needed more resources if he was going to succeed in conquering Peru so in 1547 he received both aid and bad news of Gonzalo Pizarro’s rebellion along with Nunez de Vela’s defeat and death.  In addition, Valdivia was given a letter from Pizarro that asked for his assistance.  Valdivia knew that a royal commissioner by the name of De la Gasca was in Peru and that Pizarro’s cause was probably a lost one.  Even so, Valdivia offered his services to the royal army, leaving Francisco de Villagra in charge of his government.  Leaving in December of 1547 for Peru, he was actually received well by President Gasca and provided with a good place within the army.  Many people believed that Valdivia was able to oppose the military of Crvajal and in fact, in the spring of 1548, the battle of Saesahuana was won. 

Then feeling obligated to Pizarro’s family, he voted for Gonzalo’s execution.  Because of his incredible services, he was rewarded with a royal confirmation for the title of governor.  Valdivia was also rewarded with reinforcements and with that, he headed back to Chili in 1549.  Upon arrival, he found the colony to be in a bad state.  The Araucanians had become a problem.  Dispatching a force led by Francisco de Aguirre across the Andes for more conquests, he again marched against the Indians, which resulted in victory. 

Thereafter, areas were founded to include the city of Concepcion in the Bay of Talcahuano in 1550 and various towns such as Angel, Villarica, Valdivia, and more.  Then in 1552, Valdivia sent Captain Geronimo de Alderete with a narrative of his exploits to Charles V, the Emperor.  The cacique Colocolo advised the Araucanians to join efforts and with that, a general in chief was elected by the name of Caupolican.  Falling on Spanish forces to the south, the fortress of Tucapel was destroyed in 1553. 

Soon, Valdivia received word of his success while in Concepcion and thinking he would be able to subdue the rising with no problem, he headed south with only 50 mounted men.  As they approached the ruins of the fortress, the Indians attacked.  On that day in January of 1554, Valdivia was captured and while his former page, Lautaro, tried to come to his defense, Valdivia was eventually tortured and killed.  His legacy is his vast education and incredible writing ability along with his mighty sword.  Today, many of Valdivia’s letters to the Emperor have been preserved in Indies’ archives.