Jerónimo de Alderete y Mercado (; c. 1518 – April 7, 1556) 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 was later named governor of

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 ...

, but died before he could assume his post.

Early life

Alderete was born in Olmedo, Castille in 1518, the son of Francisco de Mercado and of Isabel de Alderete. He came to Peru in 1535, under the orders 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 ...

who intended to undertake the conquest of the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or Dry Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Gro ...

region. The expedition had several difficulties attempting to reach the

Pilcomayo River Pilcomayo (in Hispanicized spelling) (Quechua Pillkumayu or Pillku Mayu, ''pillku'' red, ''mayu'' river, "red river", Guarani Ysyry Araguay ) is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay River ...

. Alderete settled down in

Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport (Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) offe ...

, until he became a member of Francisco de Aguirre's force who joined

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 ...

's in the conquest of

in 1540.

In Chile

Jerónimo de Alderete was part of

's expedition to settle in the

Mapocho The River Mapocho ( es, Río Mapocho) ( Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago in two. Course The Mapo ...

valley of

in 1540. He was a regidor of the first city government of

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital (political), 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 Regions of Chile, region, t ...

in 1541. In 1544, he joined the expedition of

Juan Bautista Pastene 200px, Map showing the September 1544 expedition led by Pastene. Giovanni Battista Pastene (1507–1580) was a Genoese maritime explorer who, while in the service of the Spanish crown, explored the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru ...

that was explore the lands to the south to the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and Tierra del Fuego to the south. The strait is considered the most important natural pass ...

in the bark ''San Pedro''. In 1550, during the campaign to establish Concepción he led the cavalry charge that broke the leading division of the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who sha ...

army at the

Battle of Penco The Battle of Penco, on March 12, 1550 was a battle between 60,000 Mapuche under the command of their toqui Ainavillo with his Araucan and Tucapel allies and Pedro de Valdivia's 200 Spaniards on horse and afoot with many '' yanakuna'' including ...

. In 1552 Valdivia ordered Jerónimo de Alderete to go inland and establish a fort at

Lake Villarrica Lake Villarrica, also known as Mallalafquén (its pre-Hispanic name is Mapudungun), is located about 700 kilometers south of Santiago in Chile's Lake District in the southeast area of the Province of Cautín. On its east shore lies the city of ...

and established a fort at the site of the present Villarrica.

In Europe

In late 1552,

dispatched Alderete to negotiate the confirmation of his governorship with

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infan ...

, but after he arrived back to

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

he discovered that the Emperor had transferred the suzerainty of

, and all his other territories, to his son

Philip II Philip II may refer to: * Philip II of Macedon (382–336 BC) * Philip II (emperor) (238–249), Roman emperor * Philip II, Prince of Taranto (1329–1374) * Philip II, Duke of Burgundy (1342–1404) * Philip II, Duke of Savoy (1438-1497) * Philip ...

, who was at the time living in England. Alderete then travelled to London, where he met the King and obtained from him the governorship-for-life for Valdivia. As he was on the road to Spain to start the journey back to Chile, he received the news of the death of Valdivia, so he returned to England once more, where the King appointed him to succeed Valdivia on October 17, 1554, and named him

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning "advanced") was a title held by Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spain, Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th and 17 ...

and a

Knight of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; es, Orden de Santiago ), is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the Patron Saint of Spain, "Santiago" ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgr ...

. In the meantime, back in Chile the will of Valdivia had also appointed him as his successor as

governor of Chile The Royal Governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the Royal Governor also held the title of a Captain General. There were 66 such governors or captains du ...

, but that was disallowed by 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 ...

Melchor Bravo de Saravia Melchor Bravo de Saravia y Sotomayor (1512 – 1577) was a Spanish conquistador, interim viceroy of Peru, and Royal Governor of Chile. Early career He was born in Soria, Spain, the son of Juan de Saravia and María Mayor de Vera y Morales. ...

, who appointed an interim governor. As Alderete was returning to America to assume his post he was taken ill with

yellow fever Yellow fever is a viral disease of typically short duration. In most cases, symptoms include fever, chills, loss of appetite, nausea, muscle pains – particularly in the back – and headaches. Symptoms typically improve within five days. In ...

Panamá Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...

and died there on April 7, 1556.

Additional information

Notes

Sources