Francisco de Aguirre (; 1507–1581) was a Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, O ...

who participated in the conquest of

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = Seal (emblem), National seal , national_motto = "Fi ...

Bolivia , image_flag = Bandera de Bolivia (Estado).svg , flag_alt = Horizontal tricolor (red, yellow, and green from top to bottom) with the coat of arms of Bolivia in the center , flag_alt2 = 7 × 7 square p ...

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

and

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

Early life

Francisco de Aguirre was the son of Hernando de la Rúa and of Constanza de Meneses. He joined the army of

Carlos I Carlos I may refer to: *Carlos I of Spain (1500–1558), also Charles V of the Holy Roman Empire *Carlos I of Portugal (1863–1908), King of Portugal *Juan Carlos I of Spain Juan Carlos I (;, * ca, Joan Carles I, * gl, Xoán Carlos I, ...

, participating in the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, Au ...

and the assault on Rome in 1527. While in Rome as an

Alférez In medieval Iberia, an ''alférez'' (, ) or ''alferes'' (, ) was a high-ranking official in the household of a king or magnate. The term is derived from the Arabic ('' al-fāris''), meaning "horseman" or "cavalier", and it was commonly Latinised ...

in 1517, he was charged with the protection of a convent and as a reward, the Pope allowed him to marry his cousin, María de Torres y Meneses, while the King appointed him Corregidor of

Talavera de la Reina Talavera de la Reina () is a city and municipality of Spain, part of the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha. Its population of 83,303 makes it the second most populated municipality of the province of Toledo and the fourth largest in th ...

. He moved to Peru in 1536, with a large retinue that included slaves and servants. He was part of the relief expedition that saved

Gonzalo Pizarro Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso (; 1510 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Bastard son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) (14 ...

, who was under siege in

Cochabamba Cochabamba ( ay, Quchapampa; qu, Quchapampa) is a city and municipality in central Bolivia in a valley in the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cochabamba Department and the fourth largest city in Bolivia, with a population of 63 ...

, and between 1538 and 1539 he participated in the conquest of the province of Charcas, in present-day

, under the command of

Diego de Rojas Diego de Roxas or Rojas (1500–1543) was a Spanish soldier, explorer, and conquistador of Central America and South America. Biography Born 1500 in Burgos. Since arriving in America, Roxas was in charge of dangerous missions of explora ...

In Chile

When he heard that

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, whe ...

was on his way to conquer

in 1540, he moved his troops (composed of 15 horsemen and 10 foot soldiers) to

Tarapacá San Lorenzo de Tarapacá, also known simply as Tarapacá, is a town in the region of the same name in Chile. History The town has likely been inhabited since the 12th century, when it formed part of the Inca trail. When Spanish explorer Diego ...

, where he waited for two months in order to join him. Aguirre quickly became a close confidant of Valdivia and achieved a premier place in the new colony, being named one of the Alcaldes of the first settlement of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whose ...

and being severely injured in the defense of the city on September 11, 1541, when local Indians led by

Michimalonco Michima Lonco (fl. mid-16th century) (''michima'' means "foreigner" and ''lonco'' means "head" or "chief" in Mapudungun language) was a Picunche chief said to be a great warrior, born in the Aconcagua Valley and educated in Cusco by the Inca E ...

destroyed it.

Lieutenant governor

On June 20, 1549, Aguirre was appointed lieutenant governor of the zone between the

Atacama Desert The Atacama Desert ( es, Desierto de Atacama) is a desert plateau in South America covering a 1,600 km (990 mi) strip of land on the Pacific coast, west of the Andes Mountains. The Atacama Desert is the driest nonpolar desert in the ...

and the

Choapa River Choapa River or El Río Choapa is a river of Chile located in the Coquimbo Region. The river rises in the Andes, at the confluence of the streams ''Totoral'', ''Leiva'' and ''Del Valle''. The river then flows through the town of Salamanca before ...

, charged with the reconstruction of La Serena, which had been destroyed by Indians from the north. He was chosen for this task since he had already demonstrated a strong hand in the war against the Indians and their resulting punishment. On August 29, 1549, Aguirre refounded the city, constructing a fort for its defense. He then led his troops out in persecution of the Indians. The north of Chile would remain free of danger from then on, although somewhat depopulated and deficient in labor. In 1552 the Lieutenant General of La Serena, Aguirre took possession of Tucumán, on the other side of the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, after disputing the claim of Juan Núñez de Prado, who did not recognize the authority of Valdivia. There, after a series of exploratory expeditions, he founded the city of Santiago del Estero del Nuevo Maestrazgo on July 25, 1553 (although some historians consider that its real foundation was in 1550).

Dispute with Villagra

When Valdivia died in the

Battle of Tucapel The Battle of Tucapel (also known as the Disaster of Tucapel) is the name given to a battle fought between Spanish conquistador forces led by Pedro de Valdivia and Mapuche (Araucanian) Indians under Lautaro that took place at Tucapel, Chile on D ...

, his will was opened and found to designate Aguirre in the absence of

Jerónimo de Alderete Jerónimo de Alderete y Mercado (; c. 1518 – April 7, 1556) was a Spanish conquistador who was later named governor of Chile, but died before he could assume his post. Early life Alderete was born in Olmedo, Castille in 1518, the son of Fra ...

. When he received the news, he was in Tucumán, and

Francisco de Villagra Francisco de Villagra Velázquez (1511 – 22 July 1563) was a Spanish conquistador, and three times governor of Chile. Early life Born at Santervás de Campos, he was the son of Alvaro de Sarría and Ana Velázquez de Villagra, who were not m ...

had already managed to be acknowledged as governor, due to the death of Alderete and the absence of Aguirre. Apprised of the situation by his friends in La Serena, he immediately returned there, where he was welcomed as

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Command ...

and

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

of Chile. He communicated his arrival to the Cabildo (town council) of Santiago, letting it be known that the troops under his command were prepared to maintain his position, which was his by right of Valdivia's will. The Cabildo of Santiago, however, refused to acknowledge the declaration, disarming the contingent of troops under Aguirre's brother Hernando which had been sent to deliver it. The conflict was finally resolved when a petition was sent to the Audiencia in

Lima Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of t ...

, which determined that the council had to submit to the command for six months, after which the

viceroy A viceroy () is an official who reigns over a polity in the name of and as the representative of the monarch of the territory. The term derives from the Latin prefix ''vice-'', meaning "in the place of" and the French word ''roy'', meaning "k ...

Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, 3rd Marquis of Cañete Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza y Cabrera, 3rd Marquis of Cañete (c. 1500 – March 30, 1561) was a Spanish military officer and, from June 29, 1556 to his death on March 30, 1561, the third Viceroy of Peru. Biography Origins and military career ...

would designate a new governor. If the term expired, Villagra would be the governor, in command of the army of the south. Aguirre wanted to ignore the verdict, but his forces were too small to match Villagra's if there was a confrontation, so he accepted it bitterly. In 1557 the viceroy's son

García Hurtado de Mendoza García or Garcia may refer to: People * García (surname) * Kings of Pamplona/Navarre ** García Íñiguez of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 851/2–882 ** García Sánchez I of Pamplona, king of Pamplona 931–970 ** García Sánchez II of Pam ...

arrived as the newly designated governor. One of his first actions was to have Aguirre and Villagra arrested, despite their courteous behavior in front of him.

Governor of Tucumán

Aguirre's imprisonment in Peru was not appreciated by the King and his advisers, and in 1562 the

Viceroy of Peru The viceroys of Peru ruled the Viceroyalty of Peru from 1544 to 1824 in the name of the monarch of Spain. The territories under ''de jure'' rule by the viceroys included in the 16th and 17th century almost all of South America except eastern Brazi ...

Diego López de Zúñiga appointed him as Governor of the province of Tucumán, who was at the point of being lost to a general uprising of the local population. In 1564, when the conquest of this region was at the point of being reversed, Aguirre returned it again to Spanish domination. During his mandate, a rebellion was fomented by Jerónimo de Holguín, which concluded with the capture of Aguirre. Freed later, he was indicted by the ecclesiastical authority of Charcas for having made heretical statements. The constant turmoils of his administration motivated the viceroy to remove Aguirre from his post, naming in his place

Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera (Sevilla, Spain, 1528 – Lima, 17 August 1574) was a Spanish conquistador, early colonial governor over much of what today is northwestern Argentina, and founder of the city of Córdoba. Life and times Cabrera was b ...

. In 1576, Aguirre returned to Chile and settled modestly in La Serena, where he was held in respect until his death in 1581.

Additional information

Notes

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Aguirre, Francisco de Explorers of Chile Royal Governors of Chile Extremaduran conquistadors Spanish conquistadors Mayors of Santiago 1507 births 1581 deaths Captaincy General of Chile People from the Province of Toledo People of the Arauco War 1540s in the Captaincy General of Chile 1550s in the Captaincy General of Chile 16th-century Spanish people