Alonso García de Ramón (c. 1552 – August 5, 1610) was a Spanish soldier and twice

Royal 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 ...

: first temporarily from July 1600 to February 1601, and then from March 1605 to August 1610. He was born in Cuenca,

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") , ...

in 1552.

Early life

He served from the age of 16 in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army ( es, Ejército de Tierra, lit=Land Army) is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest active armies — dating back to the late 15th century. The ...

first against the

Morisco revolt Moriscos (, ; pt, mouriscos ; Spanish for "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Roman Catholic church and the Spanish Crown commanded to convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed the open p ...

Granada Granada (,, DIN: ; grc, Ἐλιβύργη, Elibýrgē; la, Illiberis or . ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the c ...

. Then he was in

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

and

Sicily (man) it, Siciliana (woman) , population_note = , population_blank1_title = , population_blank1 = , demographics_type1 = Ethnicity , demographics1_footnotes = , demographi ...

, where he was cabo de escuadra, in the squadron of

Juan of Austria John of Austria ( es, Juan, link=no, german: Johann; 24 February 1547 – 1 October 1578) was the natural son born to Holy Roman Emperor Charles V late in life when he was a widower. Charles V met his son only once, recognizing him in a secret ...

in the 1572

battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O. S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–29), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied f ...

following the

battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states (comprising Spain and its Italian territories, several independent Italian states, and the Soverei ...

. Then in 1574, he was in the garrison of

Goleta Goleta or La Goleta may refer to: * ''Goleta'' (spider), a spider genus * Goleta, California, United States, a suburban city in Santa Barbara County * La Goleta, the Spanish and Portuguese name for La Goulette La Goulette (, it, La Goletta), i ...

during the campaign of Juan of Austria in

Tunis ''Tounsi'' french: Tunisois , population_note = , population_urban = , population_metro = 2658816 , population_density_km2 = , timezone1 = CET , utc_offset1 ...

. In 1576 he survived under Alvaro de Bazan, Marquess of Santa Cruz in the Battle of Querquenes at the

Kerkennah Islands Kerkennah Islands ( aeb, قرقنة '; Ancient Greek: ''Κέρκιννα Cercinna''; Spanish:''Querquenes'') are a group of islands lying off the east coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabès, at . The Islands are low-lying, being no more than abo ...

. He next went to

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

as a sergeant under

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese ( it, Alessandro Farnese, es, Alejandro Farnesio; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and condottiero and later a general of the Spanish army, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 159 ...

. He was in the assault of the city of

Zichem Zichem is a village of the town of Scherpenheuvel-Zichem in the Belgian province of Flemish Brabant. Zichem was an independent municipality until the municipal redistribution of 1977. Zichem is on the list of The most beautiful villages in Flanders ...

, the attack of Borgerhout and the siege and assault of Maestricht where he was one of the first that mounted the walls; twice wounded taking two flags, for which he was awarded twelve ducados by the Duke.

Military service in Chile and Peru

He returned to Spain and then went 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 eas ...

, fighting with skill and bravery for

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Alonso de Sotomayor Alonso de Sotomayor y Valmediano (; 1545–1610) was a Spanish conquistador from Extremadura, and a Royal Governor of Chile. Early life He was born in Trujillo, in the province of Extremadura, the son of Gutiérrez de Sotomayor e Hinojosa a ...

against 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 s ...

. His most famous action was at the

siege A siege is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or a well-prepared assault. This derives from la, sedere, lit=to sit. Siege warfare is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict characteriz ...

of Purén where he killed the

Toqui Toqui (or Toki) (Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parliament ('' c ...

Cadeguala in mounted single combat. Soon after Martín García Óñez de Loyola replaced Sotomayor, García de Ramón moved to

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, and earned the confidence of the Viceroy of Peru, García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete who entrusted him with many positions, that he carried out with brilliance including those of

corregidor Corregidor ( tl, Pulo ng Corregidor, ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of the Province of Cavite. Due to this location, Corregidor has historically b ...

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the capita ...

and

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world at a nominal . For centuries, it was the location o ...

. From 1599, when

Francisco de Quiñónez Francisco de Quiñónez (? - ? Leon †); Spanish soldier who was appointed as governor of Chile for thirteen months, between May 1599 and June 1600. When he became governor of Chile, Quiñónez was a veteran soldier. He had served, in 1559, in t ...

was sent to Chile, he was Maestro de Campo of all Peru and was one of the most trusted military advisors of Viceroy, Luis de Velasco.

First Governorship of Chile

García de Ramón was sent to relieve Francisco de Quiñónez as interim governor arriving in Chile on July 29, 1600. He arrived in Santiago the next day and was installed as governor. He soon discovered things were worse in southern Chile than he had known in Peru, La Imperial had been lost in April. Without reinforcements from Peru he was forced to extract men, arms and supplies from the cities of Chile by means of imposing extraordinary contributions, special taxes, and confiscating cattle, horses, saddles and arms that allowed him quickly form a well equipped army of 400 men by December 1600. By early January, his army had marched to

Chillán Chillán () is the capital city of the Ñuble Region in the Diguillín Province of Chile located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the geographical center of the country. It is the capital of the new Ñuble Region since 6 S ...

where he was forced to leave a detachment to prevent Mapuche incursions above the

Itata River The Itata River flows in the Ñuble Region, southern Chile. Until the Conquest of Chile, the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche The Mapuche ( (Mapuche & Spanish: )) are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, indigenous i ...

. He moved on to Concepcion where he planned to relieve the remaining besieged fort

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-Ca ...

and cities of Villarica, and Osorno. His attempt to send aid by ship to Valdivia and Chiloé failed when the ship was stolen by deserters from the army fleeing Chile for Peru. Unwilling to give up he planned to advance south via the central valley, to

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Nahuelbuta Range and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the Bío- ...

, Purén and

Lumaco Lumaco is a town and commune in Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of Chile. Its name in Mapudungun means "water of '' luma''". Lumaco is located to northeast of Temuco and from Angol. It shares a boundary to the north with the comm ...

, to aid Villarrica, and on to Osorno in the south linking up with Francisco del Campo advancing from fort

. However, he and 310 men had not advanced further than Quillacoya when he had word that Arauco was now under siege and required relief. He had turned back to go to its aid when he was informed that Alonso de Ribera had arrived to assume the governorship in February 1601.

Second Governorship of Chile

Appointed in 1605 to replace Alonso de Ribera as Governor of Chile, he used the base of

forts A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

established by his predecessor as bases for his campaigns against the Mapuche. In 1606, the Spanish forces of Garcia Ramon fought the Mapuche army under the caciques Ainavilu, Anganamen, Pelantaru and Longoñongo in the Battle of Boroa. Approximately 500 Spaniards, defeated 6,000 Mapuches. García de Ramón then built Fort San Ignacio de la Redención near Boroa but it was soon abandoned after the ambush of most of its garrison. In 1607, García de Ramón rebuilt Fort Purén and

San Jerónimo de Millapoa San Jerónimo de Millapoa was a fort founded by Alonso de Sotomayor in 1585. It dominated the small valleys of the eastern slopes of the Nahuelbuta Range of Catirai, in the upper part of the Culenco River, in the mountainous area 25 kilometers sou ...

Catirai Catirai or Catiray is the region of the Moluche Aillarehue of Catiray in old Araucanía. It is now the Santa Juana commune of the Concepción Province and the Nacimiento commune of the Bío Bío Province of the Bío Bío Region, of Chile. It ...

but as a result of the Parliament of Catirai he soon dismantled the later.

References

Sources

* José Toribio Medina
Diccionario biográfico colonial de Chile, Impr. Elziviriana, Santiago, 1906, Pg. 338 - 341 Alonso García de Ramón
*

Diego Barros Arana Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana (; August 16, 1830 – November 4, 1907) was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work ''General History of ...

Historia general de Chile. Tomo tercero
*

*

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia de Ramon, Alonso 1550s births 1610 deaths People from Cuenca, Spain Royal Governors of Chile Captaincy General of Chile Spanish soldiers