Ruy Diaz Melgarejo (

Salteras Salteras is a city in the Province of Seville, Spain. It has a population of 11,854 inhabitants (2018 INE). It borders Olivares to the west, Gerena to the northwest, Guillena to the north, La Algaba to the northeast, Valencina to the east an ...

1519 – Santa Fe 1602) was a

miner A miner is a person who extracts ore, coal, chalk, clay, or other minerals from the earth through mining. There are two senses in which the term is used. In its narrowest sense, a miner is someone who works at the rock face; cutting, blasting, ...

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

, conqueror and

statesman A statesman or stateswoman typically is a politician who has had a long and respected political career at the national or international level. Statesman or Statesmen may also refer to: Newspapers United States * ''The Statesman'' (Oregon), a n ...

who established the

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in the region of

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (, "river of silver"), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and fo ...

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. His life was marked by wars, conspiracies, persecutions and family conflicts. Melgarejo enjoyed the favor of the Spanish crown. He almost absolutely ruled the independent province of

Guayrá Guayrá (initially called Gobernación del Guayrá) was a historical region of the Spanish Empire, located in the Governorate of Paraguay, within the colonial Viceroyalty of Peru. The region is located in present-day Paraguay and Paraná. There ...

for 30 years.

Early troubles

Melgarejo left Italy on November 1, 1540, on an expedition led by

Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca Álvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca (; 1488/90/92"Cabeza de Vaca, Alvar Núñez (1492?-1559?)." American Eras. Vol. 1: Early American Civilizations and Exploration to 1600. Detroit: Gale, 1997. 50-51. Gale Virtual Reference Library. Web. 10 Decembe ...

. He remained with de Vaca until, in 1544, he was removed from his position. His protest against the crown's removal of his position led to his jailing. In the late 1540s Melgarejo organized the election of his relative Diego de Abreu to the post of Governor of

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 ...

, deposing Fernando Mendoza, who had been appointed governor by de Vaca's deputy. De Abreu was recognized as governor, but Maelgarejo and de Abreu were forced to flee Asunción when de Abreu ordered Mendoza's death. The two spent seven years in hiding before de Abreu was killed and Melgarejo was again jailed. Melgarejo escaped from jail, but was captured by

Tupi Indians A subdivision of the Tupi-Guarani linguistic families, the Tupi people were one of the largest groups of indigenous Brazilians before its colonization. Scholars believe that while they first settled in the Amazon rainforest, from about 2,900 ...

who killed and ate his traveling companion. He escaped captivity due to his forming a relationship with a female member of the tribe. The two would leave the tribe and travel to San Vincente, where they were married. Melgarejo, however, found his wife in the company of another lover. After the discovery, Melgarejo killed them both, which again led to him fleeing. In 1555, Melgarejo returned to Asunción, where he was welcomed by the current governor, his brother, Martinez de Irala.

Later successes

Melgarejo was active in establishing settlements along the

Paraná River The Paraná River ( es, Río Paraná, links=no , pt, Rio Paraná, gn, Ysyry Parana) is a river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay, and Argentina for some ."Parana River". Encyclopædia Britannica. Encyclopædia Br ...

. Melgarejo founded Villarrica in May 1570. The name, translated as "rich town", was selected due to Melgarejo's belief that there were silver mines nearby. He was later sent by de Irala to "conquer and settle" Guayrá. Melgarejo was the leader of an expedition to Ontiveros, then capital of the region, a city founded three years earlier by another Irala lieutenant. However, Melgarejo thought that the site was uninhabitable and abandoned it. He instead created a new settlement,

Ciudad Real Ciudad Real (, ; en, "Royal City") is a municipality of Spain located in the autonomous community of Castile–La Mancha, capital of the province of Ciudad Real. It is the 5th most populated municipality in the region. History It was founde ...

, on higher ground across the Paraná River from the original Ontiveros site. He was to be replaced as governor in 1570 by Alanzo Riguelme, but before Riguelme could take office his credentials were revoked and he was arrested. Melgarejo was instructed to bring Riguelme and

Felipe de Caceres Felipe is the Spanish variant of the name Philip, which derives from the Greek adjective ''Philippos'' "friend of horses". Felipe is also widely used in Portuguese-speaking Brazil alongside Filipe, the form commonly used in Portugal. Noteworthy ...

back to Spain. They embarked in 1573. Bad weather early in the voyage forced them to stop at the port of San Vicente in Brazil, where Melgarejo was commissioned to assist the Governor in battles against natives. His success in these battles led to his increased popularity with the government, which in turn led to increased opportunities to make additional expeditions to explore and settle the Paraguayan interior. His successes in his naval commands and as a leader of settlement parties led to him becoming known as the "Invincible Captan."

References

{{Authority control Spanish explorers 1519 births 1602 deaths