Juan Ramírez de Velasco (c.1539 – 1597) was a
Spanish conquistador of
Chile and
Argentina. Founder of the province of
La Rioja.
Biography
Juan Ramírez de Velasco was born in the village of
Estollo, son of a noble family of
Castile, and descendant of the King of Navarre
Ramiro Sánchez
Ramiro Sánchez of Monzón (1070–1129/1130) was a noble kinsman of the kings of Navarre. In 1104 he was '' tenente'' of Urroz, of Monzón between 1104 and 1116, probably of Tudela in 1117 and from 1122 to 1129 in Erro.
Biography
His father was ...
. In 1570 Ramirez was married in
Seville with Catherine de Ugarte, a Spanish noblewoman, daughter of Pedro Santiago de Ugarte and Ana de Velasco.
Career
In his youth Ramírez fought in
Flanders and
Italy during the
Italian War of 1551–59. Arrived in
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 ...
Ramirez was appointed governor of
Tucumán by
Philip II of Spain
Philip II) in Spain, while in Portugal and his Italian kingdoms he ruled as Philip I ( pt, Filipe I). (21 May 152713 September 1598), also known as Philip the Prudent ( es, Felipe el Prudente), was King of Spain from 1556, King of Portugal from ...
to replace
Hernando de Lerma. Ramírez served in the government of Tucuman between 1586-1593.
In 1588 being the governor of Tucumán Juan Ramirez de Velasco made expeditions against the Indians in calchaquí valley and won the allegiance of a son of
Juan Calchaquí
''Juan'' is a given name, the Spanish and Manx versions of '' John''. It is very common in Spain and in other Spanish-speaking communities around the world and in the Philippines, and also (pronounced differently) in the Isle of Man. In Spanish, ...
. Shortly after he founded the city of
Todos los Santos de la Nueva Rioja. In 1592 he founded the city of Madrid de las Juntas in the present department
Metán.
In 1594 Juan Ramírez Velasco was appointed commander of the
Governorate of the Rio de la Plata
A governorate is an administrative division of a state. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either State (administrative division), states or province, provinces, the term ''govern ...
a position he held between 1595-1597. He was replaced by
Hernando Arias de Saavedra.
Juan Ramirez de Velasco died in February 1597 in the City of Santa Fe, Argentina.
Notes
External links
www.portaldesalta.gov.ar
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ramirez de Velasco, Juan
1539 births
1597 deaths
Spanish colonial governors and administrators
Governors of Paraguay
People from Santa Fe, Argentina
People from La Rioja Province, Argentina
Castilian conquistadors
Governors of the Río de la Plata