Jerónimo de Vivar was a Spanish historian of the early conquest and settlement of the Kingdom of Chile, and author of ''Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile''. Little is known about his life except that according to his own conclusion to the ''Crónica'' he was born in Burgos, Spain. He had come to the Indies some time before coming to

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 no record of his passage was recorded. It is thought he arrived in Chile with the forces returning in 1549, from

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 ...

with

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 ...

overland. This gave him an opportunity to make detailed observation on the places and people in northern Chile that appear in the ''Crónica''. Vivar was an eyewitness to some events, like

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 overland expedition to settle Concepcion and the

Battle of Andalien The battle of Andalien, fought in early February 1550, was a night battle between 20,000 Mapuche under the command of their Toqui Ainavillo and Pedro de Valdivia's army of 200 Spanish soldiers and cavalry with a large number of ''yanakuna'', in ...

in 1550, some of the sea voyages described, and the expedition to settle

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder Pedro de Valdivia and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and Cau-Cau R ...

and the exploration of the surrounding area. He often wrote based on reports of others that had witnessed the events from the time of the first settlement, including official documents. Because of similarities to these documents some historians believed he was actually Valdivia's secretary, Juan de Cárdenas writing under a pseudonym. However a study of their known movements and activities precluded that being the case. It is thought that he was working to compile a detailed account of the history of the conquest and an account of the land of Chile promised by Pedro de Valdivia to the king of Spain in a letter of 1552. This task he finished while in Santiago, in 1558 according to his colophon in the book. Nothing more is known about him. His book remained a manuscript. It was known to the Chilean historian

Diego de Rosales Diego de Rosales (Madrid, 1601 - Santiago, 1677) was a Spanish chronicler and author of ''Historia General del Reino de Chile''. He studied in his hometown, where he also joined the Society of Jesus. He came to Chile in the year 1629, without ha ...

writing in the following century and listed by a few other compilers of historical documents at that time. It then disappeared and was only found in the middle of the Twentieth century, being first published by the Fondo Histórico y Bibliográfico José Toribio Medina in 1966.

References

''Crónica y relación copiosa y verdadera de los reinos de Chile'' (Chronicle and abundant and true relation of the kingdoms of Chile)
''Artehistoria - Rivista Digital''; Crónicas de América

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vivar, Jeronimo De 16th-century Spanish historians People of the Arauco War Spanish explorers Explorers of Chile 16th-century male writers

See also

References