{{Infobox noble, type
, name = Mencía Calderón y Ocampo
, title = Adelantada of the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
, image = File:Calderon (escudo de armas).png
, caption = Coat of Arms belonging to his paternal surname
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, spouse = Juan de Sanabria y Alonso de Hinojosa
, spouse-type =
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, noble family =
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, father = Alonso Calderón
, mother = Ana Ocampo
, birth_date = 1514
, birth_place = Extremadura,
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 ...
Paraguay
Paraguay (; ), officially the Republic of Paraguay ( es, República del Paraguay, links=no; gn, Tavakuairetã Paraguái, links=si), is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to th ...
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Roman Catholic
Roman or Romans most often refers to:
*Rome, the capital city of Italy
*Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD
*Roman people, the people of ancient Rome
*'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
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Mencía Calderón y Ocampo (1514{{snd{{circa 1564) was a Spanish noble lady, first expeditionary woman in the Río de la Plata.
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 population ...
(Spain) daughter of Alonso Calderón and Ana Ocampo, belonging to a noble family of Extremadura. She was married to Juan de Sanabria, a noble Spanish expeditionary who died shortly before leaving for
New Spain
New Spain, officially the Viceroyalty of New Spain ( es, Virreinato de Nueva España, ), or Kingdom of New Spain, was an integral territorial entity of the Spanish Empire, established by Habsburg Spain during the Spanish colonization of the Am ...
.
Through his mother, Mencía Calderón, was related to Francisco Pizarro and
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
, belonging to noble Castilian families.
On 10 April 1550 Mencía Calderón embarked to
America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
. In the expedition traveled 300 passengers, among which there were captains Salazar and Saavedra, Calderon's daughters, 50 eligible maidens, the wives of various conquerors, 80 sailors, and adventurer
Hans Staden
Hans Staden (c. 1525 – c. 1576) was a German soldier and explorer who voyaged to South America in the middle of the sixteenth century, where he was captured by the Tupinambá people of Brazil. He managed to survive and return safe to Europe. In ...
, who would write the chronicle of the expedition.
The fleet survived storms and attacks by French corsairs before managing to reach the isle of Santa Catalina. From there, they made their way to the coast of Brazil, where they settled for a year while repairing their ships and building new, more fit ones with what was left of the others. After this period of rest they left to
Asunción
Asunción (, , , Guarani: Paraguay) is the capital and the largest city of Paraguay.
The city stands on the eastern bank of the Paraguay River, almost at the confluence of this river with the Pilcomayo River. The Paraguay River and the Bay of ...
.
The arguments between Salazar y Saavedra became constant, and it was Mencía who managed to organize the expedition and keep the group together.
Mencía took the rank of Adelantada upon herself and led an expedition of 21 women and 22 men across 1.600 km of rainforest, following the same path that years before had followed
Alejo García
Aleixo Garcia, also known in Spanish as Alejo García, (died 1525) was a Portuguese explorer and conquistador in service to Spain. He was a castaway who lived in Brazil and explored Paraguay and Bolivia. On a raiding expedition with a Guaraní ar ...
and
Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca
An alvar is a biological environment based on a limestone plain with thin or no soil and, as a result, sparse grassland vegetation. Often flooded in the spring, and affected by drought in midsummer, alvars support a distinctive group of prairie ...
.
They reached Asunción in 1555, where some problems erupted when the women who had come to meet their husbands found them already remarried to indigenous women, and with mestizo children, some of which were already in their teens.Benítez, Luis G.; en "Historia del Paraguay. Época colonial" (p. 52, Ed. Comuneros, 263 págs., año 1985)