Alonso de Córdoba Gómez (1505–1589) was a Spanish nobleman's son who sought his fortune in the Americas. He was born in

Valdepeñas Valdepeñas is a municipality in the province of Ciudad Real, in the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is also the seat of the judicial district that covers the localities of Moral de Calatrava, Santa Cruz de Mudela, Viso d ...

Ciudad Real Province The province of Ciudad Real () is a province in the southwestern part of the autonomous community of Castile-La Mancha, Spain. It is bordered by the provinces of Cuenca, Albacete, Jaén, Córdoba, Badajoz, and Toledo. It is partly located in ...

, Spain, and married Olalla of Merlo, also of Valdepeñas. Córdoba arrived with his wife in Peru in 1534, and Chile in 1540 along with

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' and the first royal governor of Chile. After having served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in ...

. He was made an

encomendero The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...

over the indigenous population in

Santiago, Chile Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile (), is the capital and largest city of Chile and one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is located in the country's central valley and is the center of the Santiago Metropolitan Regi ...

and served as ''regidor'' of the city in 1548, 1568 and 1580. He was mayor of Santiago in 1559, 1562, and 1581. He purchased the rights and founded the Spanish settlement at

El Quisco El Quisco is a Chilean city and commune in San Antonio Province, Valparaíso Region. Located in the country's central coast, it serves as a popular summer resort for the population of Santiago and forms part of the Coast of Poets, a cultural sp ...

. He died in 1589 in Santiago. An avenue in

Vitacura Vitacura is a communes of Chile, commune of Chile located in Santiago Province, Chile, Santiago Province, Santiago Metropolitan Region. It is one of the most expensive and fashionable areas of Santiago, Chile, Santiago. Inhabitants are primarily h ...

is named after him.

References

* Amunátegui y Solar, Domingo (1909) ''Las encomiendas de indíjenas en Chile; memoria histórica presentada a la Universidad de Chile, en cumplimiento del artículo 22 de la lei de 9 de enero de 1879'' Impr. Cervantes, Santiago, Chile
OCLC 6743204
in Spanish * Ojeda, Tomás Thayer (1939) ''Formación de la sociedad chilena y censo de la población de Chile en los años de 1540 a 1565'' Prensas de la Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
OCLC 3170487
in Spanish {{DEFAULTSORT:Cordoba Gomez, Alonso de 1505 births 1589 deaths Viceroyalty of Peru people 16th-century Spanish nobility Spanish explorers Spanish city founders Encomenderos Founders of cities in the Viceroyalty of Peru