Francisco Ortiz de Vergara (

Seville Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...

, 1524 – Ciudad Zaratina, 2 December 1574) 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 ...

and colonizer. He succeeded

Gonzalo de Mendoza Gonzalo de Mendoza (? in Baeza, Spain – 1558 in Asunción, Paraguay) was a Spanish conquistador and colonizer. A native of Andalusia in Spain, he joined his brother Pedro at his new colony of New Andalusia in 1536. Together with Juan de S ...

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 ...

Rio de la Plata Rio or Río is the Portuguese, Spanish, Italian, and Maltese word for "river". When spoken on its own, the word often means Rio de Janeiro, a major city in Brazil. Rio or Río may also refer to: Geography Brazil * Rio de Janeiro * Rio do Sul, a ...

. He was elected, rather than appointed by the

king King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

or his predecessor. His election was confirmed by

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

Pedro de la Torre Pedro de la Torre (died 1573) was a Roman Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Paraguay (1554–1573). ''(in Latin)'' Biography Pedro de la Torre was ordained a priest in the Order of Friars Minor. On 27 August 1554, he was appointed duri ...

, but he was demoted by the

Royal Audience A ''Real Audiencia'' (), or simply an ''Audiencia'' ( ca, Reial Audiència, Audiència Reial, or Audiència), was an appellate court in Spain and its empire. The name of the institution literally translates as Royal Audience. The additional des ...

and returned to Spain in 1565 following charges by

Nuño de Chaves (Spanish) or (Catalan) is a masculine given name of Latin origin (, , , and so on). Its Portuguese form is . Its patronymic is (). Already in the Middle Ages the name was being confused with the similar but distinct name Munio. The meaning of ...

. During his administration, there were a number of failed attempts at new settlements - Sancti Spiritus, San Francisco, and

Santa Cruz de la Sierra Santa Cruz de la Sierra (; "Holy Cross of the Mountain Range"), commonly known as Santa Cruz, is the largest city in Bolivia and the capital of the Santa Cruz Department (Bolivia), Santa Cruz department. Situated on the Pirai River (Bolivia), P ...

. This last, in the southern

Amazon Basin The Amazon basin is the part of South America drained by the Amazon River and its tributaries. The Amazon drainage basin covers an area of about , or about 35.5 percent of the South American continent. It is located in the countries of Bolivi ...

, was eventually successful, but only after the city had been moved over 200 kilometers from site chosen by Chaves. The former location is in the vicinity of

San José de Chiquitos San José de Chiquitos or simply San José is the capital of Chiquitos Province in the Santa Cruz Department, Bolivia. It is known as part of the ''Jesuit Missions of the Chiquitos'', which is declared in 1990 a World Heritage Site, as a former ...

and is now an

archaeological Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

site under the name

Santa Cruz la Vieja Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a legendary figure originating in Western Christian culture who is said to bring children gifts during the late evening and overnight ...

References

Spanish conquistadors 1524 births 1574 deaths People of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata People from Seville 16th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 16th-century Spanish people 16th-century explorers Governors of the Río de la Plata {{Argentina-politician-stub