Domingo Martínez de Irala (; c. 1509 Bergara,

Gipuzkoa Gipuzkoa (, , ; es, Guipúzcoa ; french: Guipuscoa) is a province of Spain and a historical territory of the autonomous community of the Basque Country. Its capital city is Donostia-San Sebastián. Gipuzkoa shares borders with the French depa ...

– c. 1556

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 o ...

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 ...

) was a Spanish

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

conquistador. He headed for America in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of

Pedro de Mendoza Pedro de Mendoza () (c. 1499 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', soldier and explorer, and the first ''adelantado'' of New Andalusia. Setting sail Pedro de Mendoza was born in Guadix, Grenada, part of a large noble family that ...

and participated in the founding of

Buenos Aires Buenos Aires ( or ; ), officially the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires ( es, link=no, Ciudad Autónoma de Buenos Aires), is the capital and primate city of Argentina. The city is located on the western shore of the Río de la Plata, on South ...

. He explored the Paraná and

Paraguay River The Paraguay River (Río Paraguay in Spanish, Rio Paraguai in Portuguese, Ysyry Paraguái in Guarani) is a major river in south-central South America, running through Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay and Argentina. It flows about from its headwaters i ...

s along with

Juan de Ayolas Juan de Ayolas (died c. 1537) was a conquistador born in Briviesca who explored the watershed of the Río de la Plata for the Spanish Crown. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his 1534 expedition to colonize the region between the Río de la ...

and was commanding the rear-guard when Ayolas' advance party was wiped out by the Payagua Indians. Unique in

Spanish America Spanish America refers to the Spanish territories in the Americas during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The term "Spanish America" was specifically used during the territories' imperial era between 15th and 19th centuries. To the e ...

, the colony had been granted by

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) * Infa ...

the right to elect its own commander under such circumstances;Rivarola, Juan Bautista (1952) ''La Ciudad de Asunción y la Cédula Real del 12 Setiembre de 1537: Una Lucha por la Libertad'' (''The City of Asunción and the Royal Decree of 12 September 1537: A Fight for Freedom'') A. G., Impr. Militar, Asunción, Paraguay, , in Spanish and in August 1538, de Irala was elected by the conquistadors as

Captain General Captain general (and its literal equivalent in several languages) is a high military rank of general officer grade, and a gubernatorial title. History The term "Captain General" started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of Comma ...

of the

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 ...

. In 1539, he began to move the inhabitants of

, and the city was abandoned by 1541. He outlasted

's appointee,

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 ...

, whom he had recalled to Spain for trial as a

traitor Treason is the crime of attacking a state authority to which one owes allegiance. This typically includes acts such as participating in a war against one's native country, attempting to overthrow its government, spying on its military, its diplo ...

. Although

Juan de Sanabria Juan de Sanabria (1504-1549) was a Spanish Nobleman, Captain and Conquistador. Biography Sanabria was born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Extremadura, son of Diego Rodríguez de Sanabria and María de Alonso de Hinojosa, belonging to a distinguished ...

and his son

Diego Diego is a Spanish masculine given name. The Portuguese equivalent is Diogo. The name also has several patronymic derivations, listed below. The etymology of Diego is disputed, with two major origin hypotheses: ''Tiago'' and ''Didacus''. ...

were appointed governor in 1547 and 1549, they never fulfilled their commissions, and de Irala was confirmed by the king as governor in 1552. He ruled forcefully until his death around 1556. During his rule, he had churches and public buildings erected, towns established, and the native population subjugated and distributed among the colonists in encomiendas. He was succeeded by Gonzalo de Mendoza. Irala had 70 Guaraní concubines, and his surname fills several pages in the Asunción telephone directory.

Notes

Sources

* Maura, Juan Francisco (2008
''Alvar Núñez Cabeza de Vaca: El gran burlador de América''
Publicaciones de Parnaseo, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, in Spanish

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Martinez De Irala, Domingo Spanish conquistadors Explorers of Argentina 1500s births 1550s deaths Basque conquistadors People from Bergara 16th century in the Viceroyalty of Peru 16th-century Spanish people 16th-century explorers Governors of the Río de la Plata

See also

Notes

Sources