Vicente de Valverde y Alvarez de Toledo, O.P., or Vincent de Valle Viridi was a Spanish Dominican
friar
A friar is a member of one of the mendicant orders founded in the twelfth or thirteenth century; the term distinguishes the mendicants' itinerant apostolic character, exercised broadly under the jurisdiction of a superior general, from the o ...
who was involved in the
Conquest of the Americas
During the Age of Discovery, a large scale European colonization of the Americas took place between about 1492 and 1800. Although the Norse had explored and colonized areas of the North Atlantic, colonizing Greenland and creating a short ter ...
, later becoming the Bishop of Cuzco.Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, ''(in Latin)'' He became the first resident
bishop
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in South America. He was born in Oropesa, Spain, about 1495 and most sources claim he died on
Puná Island
Puná Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Puná''), is an island just off the coast of southern Ecuador at approximately 80 degrees west longitude and 3 degrees south latitude. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Guayaquil, south of the mouth of the G ...
, now part of Ecuador, in 1541, at the hands of the indigenous peoples.
Biography
He was born in Oropesa, near Toledo, at the end of the 15th century.Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, He was the son of Francisco de Valverde and Ana Alvarez de Toledo, and was related to many noble families of the region, in particular to that of Francisco Pizarro, the
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, ...
of Peru, and that of Hernán Cortés, the conqueror of Mexico. In 1515 he was sent to study at the University of Salamanca. While a student there, he later asked to be received into the Dominican Order, which he was in 1523 at the
Priory
A priory is a monastery of men or women under religious vows that is headed by a prior or prioress. Priories may be houses of mendicant friars or nuns (such as the Dominicans, Augustinians, Franciscans, and Carmelites), or monasteries of monk ...
of San Esteban at Salamanca. He became a professed friar of the Order in April 1524, and was ordained a priest within the next few years.
Valverde accompanied Pizarro as a missionary on his intended voyage of the conquest of Peru according to the 1529 agreement. He arrived in Peru about 1530, although it is not certain whether he traveled directly there with Pizarro from Spain in 1529 or arrived at San Miguel de Piura in 1531 with re-enforcements from Panama, the initial staging base for the Spanish forces.
Before the
Battle of Caxamarca
The Battle of Cajamarca also spelled Cajamalca (though many contemporary scholars prefer to call it Massacre of Cajamarca) was the ambush and seizure of the Inca ruler Atahualpa by a small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, on November 16, ...
on 16 November 1532, Valverde endeavoured to obtain the
Great Inca
The Sapa Inca (from Quechua ''Sapa Inka'' "the only Inca") was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu''), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and o ...
Atahuallpa
Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa (Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Em ...
's peaceful submission. When Atahuallpa rejected a pact of friendship with Pizarro, Friar Vicente joined in the conversation: “He came forward holding a
crucifix
A crucifix (from Latin ''cruci fixus'' meaning "(one) fixed to a cross") is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the ''corpus'' (Lati ...
in his right hand and a
breviary
A breviary (Latin: ''breviarium'') is a liturgical book used in Christianity for praying the canonical hours, usually recited at seven fixed prayer times.
Historically, different breviaries were used in the various parts of Christendom, such ...
in his left and introduced himself as another envoy of the Spanish ruler. ...Friar Vicente called upon the Inca to renounce all other gods as being a mockery of the truth.” Atahuallpa simply replied that he could not change his beliefs in the all powerful and ever living Sun and other divinities.
Following the death of Atahuallpa, Pizarro saw no further obstacles to his conquest and decided to march into
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru ...
on 15 November 1533, bringing Valverde along with him and his followers. On 23 March 1534, a church was erected in Cuzco and became Valverde's parish church. Pizarro also gave him a large native commandery, whom Valverde allegedly mistreated by simply using them as slaves.
Valverde headed back to Spain later that year to assist Pizarro's brother,
Hernando Pizarro
Hernando Pizarro y de Vargas (; born between 1501 and 1508, died 1578) was a Spanish conquistador and one of the Pizarro brothers who ruled over Peru.
Hernando was born in Trujillo, (Extremadura), Spain, son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodr� ...
, in his negotiations at court. There he presented to the emperor, by order of Pizarro, an account of the conquest, under the title of ''Relacion de la Conquista de los Reynos de Peru'', in which he claimed that the Native Americans could scarcely be considered as human beings, as they had no souls.
He was nominated bishop of Cuzco in 1535.
In 1536 Valverde was named Protector of the Natives and Inquisitor. That same year, the Holy See established Cuzco, the royal city of the Incan kings, as the seat of the first diocese of the Catholic Church in South America, covering the entire continent, up to modern Nicaragua. Emperor
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 ...
named Valverde as the first
Bishop of Cuzco
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cusco ( la, Cuschen(sis)) is a Latin Metropolitan archdiocese with see in the city and old Inca imperial capital of Cusco, in Peru.Pope Paul III ratified this choice in a consistory held in January 1537.
After being consecrated as a bishop, Valverde returned to Peru in the beginning of 1538, just before the execution of Diego de Almagro, which he had unsuccessfully tried to prevent. The new bishop found the spiritual duties for his vast diocese arduous, especially combined with those of the office of Protector of the Natives. This forced him to ignore the members of the military constantly, as the adventurers who made up the Spanish armies had no thought of justice or mercy to the Indians. In 1539 Valverde had work begun for the first
cathedral
A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominat ...
of the diocese, now the Church of the Triumph, built on the site of a temple attached to the palace of
Viracocha Inca
Viracocha (in hispanicized spelling) or Wiraqucha (Quechua, the name of a god) was the eighth ''Sapa Inca'' of the Kingdom of Cusco (beginning around 1410) and the third of the Hanan dynasty.
He was not the son of Yawar Waqaq; however, it was p ...
, the last native ruler of the region. On 11 March 1540 he officiated at its consecration.
After the assassination of Francisco Pizarro by forces of
Diego de Almagro II
Diego de Almagro II (1520 – September 16, 1542), called ''El Mozo'' (the lad), was the son of Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro and Ana Martínez, a native Panamanian Indian woman.
Peru
In 1531 El Mozo accompanied his father on the e ...
in June 1541, Valverde fled to Panama, where his brother had been appointed as governor by Pizarro. He halted for a brief stay on
Puná Island
Puná Island ( Spanish: ''Isla Puná''), is an island just off the coast of southern Ecuador at approximately 80 degrees west longitude and 3 degrees south latitude. It is located at the head of the Gulf of Guayaquil, south of the mouth of the G ...
, near Guayaquil, in Ecuador, where he was captured and eaten by the local indigenous people on 31 October 1541.
Criticisms
By far Valverde's negative and contradictory side was his alleged mistreatment of the natives of Peru whom, instead of teaching the Catholic faith, he oppressed, enslaved and forced to work for the Church. These charges came about when Valverde was later appointed by Pizarro on a commission to apportion lands and natives to the royal officers, along with the lawyer, Antonio de Game, whom Pizarro had appointed Supreme Judge of Cuzco. The latter charged Valverde in a letter to the emperor, dated 10 March 1539, with arbitrary acts and insisted that instead of protecting the natives, he only mistreated them and sought to confiscate their lands, and always gave the greater part to himself and his assistant. (This was the complete opposite to what
Bartolomé de Las Casas
Bartolomé de las Casas, OP ( ; ; 11 November 1484 – 18 July 1566) was a 16th-century Spanish landowner, friar, priest, and bishop, famed as a historian and social reformer. He arrived in Hispaniola as a layman then became a Dominican friar ...
, another Spanish Dominican friar and bishop, did years later by defending the natives' rights in works he published and in visits to Spain to inform King
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 ...
of the abuses committed against the local natives by the
Conquistadors
Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to ...
.)
The validity of these charges is in dispute, however, as they are not universally mentioned by chroniclers of the period, and the main accusers might have had political reasons for these charges, as opponents of the Pizarro regime.
History of Peru
The history of Peru spans 10 millennia, extending back through several stages of cultural development along the country's desert coastline and in the Andes mountains. Peru's coast was home to the Norte Chico civilization, the oldest civilization ...