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Juan Núñez de Prado was a 16th-century Spanish conquistador who is known for his conquest of
Tucumán Province Tucumán () is the most densely populated, and the second-smallest by land area, of the provinces of Argentina. Located in the northwest of the country, the province has the capital of San Miguel de Tucumán, often shortened to Tucumán. Neigh ...
in what is now Argentina.


Early career

Juan Núñez de Prado was born in
Badajoz Badajoz (; formerly written ''Badajos'' in English) is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain. It is situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana. The populatio ...
, in the Extremadura region of Spain. He moved to Peru in the early 1540s, and became a supporter of
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) ( ...
, taking part on his side in the civil wars. Before 1548 he had been appointed ''Alcade'' of the Potosí mines. While holding this office, he went over to the royal forces before the
Battle of Jaquijahuana The Battle of Jaquijahuana was fought between the forces of Gonzalo Pizarro and Pedro de la Gasca, on April 9, 1548, during the Revolt of the Encomenderos by the Spanish conquistadores. After the successful Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire ...
and assisted in the victory over Pizarro's supporters. At the end of the civil war Captain Núñez de Prado returned to the city of Chuquisaca in
Upper Peru Upper Peru (; ) is a name for the land that was governed by the Real Audiencia of Charcas. The name originated in Buenos Aires towards the end of the 18th century after the Audiencia of Charcas was transferred from the Viceroyalty of Peru to th ...
. Since the royal forces had triumphed at Jaquijahuana, in 1549
Pedro de la Gasca Pedro de la Gasca (June 1485 – 13 November 1567) was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second (acting) viceroy of Peru, from 10 April 10 1547 to 27 January 1550. Biography Pedro de la Gasca studied at the University of Salamanca and the Un ...
granted Juan Núñez de Prado the territory of Tucumán in modern Argentina in return for his valuable services. This was a poorly defined area that roughly corresponded to the southern part of modern
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 ...
and the northern part of modern
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 ...
. After receiving La Gasca's instructions for his mission, Núñez de Prado raised money from his property and from some of his friends. He prepared to leave with a force of 84 volunteers.


Conquest of Tucumán

Núñez de Prado travelled through the valleys of
Tupiza Tupiza is a city in Potosí Department, Bolivia. It is located at an elevation of about 2850 m. The population is 25,709 (2012 estimate). Tupiza and its environs are characterized by dramatic red escarpments which jut ruggedly skyward from the coa ...
,
Jujuy San Salvador de Jujuy (), commonly known as Jujuy and locally often referred to as San Salvador, is the capital and largest city of Jujuy Province in northwest Argentina. Also, it is the seat of the Doctor Manuel Belgrano Department. It lies near ...
and
Chicoana The Chicoana are a Diaguita tribe in the Salta Province, 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 , ma ...
to reach his new territory and to find a site for its capital. He chose a location on the banks of the Dulce River and founded the city of El Barco. It was named in honor of La Gasca, who was born in
El Barco de Ávila El Barco de Ávila is a municipality located in the province of Ávila Ávila () is a province of central-western Spain, in the southern part of the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is bordered on the south by the provinces of Tol ...
in Spain. He built a fort, and brought settlers from Upper Peru. Prado seems to have wanted to use peaceful methods to civilize the Indians. The territory was occupied by the
Calchaquí The Calchaquí or Kalchakí were a tribe of South American Indians of the Diaguita group, now extinct, who formerly occupied northern Argentina. Stone and other remains prove them to have reached a high degree of civilization. Under the leadership ...
people. He found that they were not inclined to resist. Prado named his province Tucuman after Tucumamahao, one of the leaders of the local people who formed an alliance with him. According to Funes, the original settlement of Ciudad del Barco was destroyed in 1552 when the Dulce River overflowed. Some of Prado's followers attacked a group of soldiers of
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 ...
who were travelling to Chile. Núñez de Prado considered that he was within the jurisdiction of Peru since the governor of Peru had awarded him the province.
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 ...
, the governor of Chile, disagreed and claimed the territory for Chile. In a letter to the Emperor, Valdivia claimed that Prado had abandoned Barco and returned to Peru, although this was not true. Valdivia gave Captain Francisco de Aguirre the task of taking Tucuman for Chile. Aguirre left on 8 November 1552 and reached El Barco in December. Prado was away from the settlement when Aguirre arrived, but on his return was arrested and sent under guard to Chile. Some of Prado's men were sent to
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 ...
, and Aguirre established Chilean authority in the new territory. Aguirre initiated a vigorous and aggressive policy towards the Indians, allocating them to his followers as forced laborers to work on their landholdings. The result was a rebellion. The colonists were greatly outnumbered, and in 1553 had to retreat beyond the Dulce River to a location a few leagues away, where they founded
Santiago del Estero Santiago del Estero (, Spanish for ''Saint-James-Upon-The-Lagoon'') is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 252,192 inhabitants, () making it the twelfth largest city in the country, with a surf ...
. In 1554 Aguirre returned to Chile in hope of being made governor in place of Valdivia, who had died. Many of the colonists took advantage of his absence to abandon the settlement and return to Chile or Peru.


Illegalities and usurpations

During the American conquest, there were several instances of abuse among the conquerors. For lack of clear boundaries or natural limits to their concessions, or deliberately, some conquistadors found cities in neighboring territories, or took possession of wealth that was not in the territory assigned to them. These arbitrary or unintentional interferences caused endless confrontation and lawsuits, which were not always resolved satisfactorily for both sides. In the case of El Barco, Valdivia, with the voluntarily help of Francisco de Aguirre, meant to arbitrarily extend his Chilean jurisdiction to the southeast of his assigned territory. As the jurisdiction of Tucumán then belonged to Peru, the Royal Audience of Lima captured Francisco de Aguirre and imprisoned him for abuse, demanding the release and reinstatement of Núñez de Prado. However, he died before he was able to return.


References

Citations Sources * * * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nunez de Prado, Juan Spanish explorers Spanish conquistadors 16th-century Spanish people Mayors of San Salvador