Jerónimo de Alderete y Mercado (; – April 7, 1556) was a Spanish

conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

who was later named governor of

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, but died before he could assume his post.

Early life

Alderete was born in Olmedo, Castille in 1518, the son of Francisco de Mercado and of Isabel de Alderete. He came to Peru in 1535, under the orders of Diego de Rojas who intended to undertake the conquest of the

Gran Chaco The Gran Chaco or simply Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semiarid lowland tropical dry broadleaf forest natural region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, western Paraguay, northern Argentina, and a portion o ...

region. The expedition had several difficulties attempting to reach the

Pilcomayo River Pilcomayo (in Hispanicized spelling) ( Quechua Pillkumayu or Pillku Mayu, ''pillku'' red, ''mayu'' river, "red river", Guarani Ysyry Araguay ) is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay Riv ...

. Alderete settled down in

Tarija Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is the largest city and capital and municipality within the Tarija Department, with an airport ( Capitán Oriel Lea Plaza Airport, (TJA)) of ...

, until he became a member of Francisco de Aguirre's force who joined

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 ...

's in the conquest of

in 1540.

In Chile

Jerónimo de Alderete was part of

's expedition to settle in the

Mapocho The River Mapocho () (Mapudungun: ''Mapu chuco'', "water that penetrates the land") is a river in Chile. It flows from its source in the Andes mountains onto the west and divides Chile's capital Santiago, Chile, Santiago in two. Course The Mapoc ...

valley of Chile in 1540. He was a regidor of the first city government of

Santiago 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 ...

, Chile in 1541. In 1544, he joined the expedition of Juan Bautista Pastene that was explore the lands to the south to the

Straits of Magellan The Strait of Magellan (), also called the Straits of Magellan, is a navigable sea route in southern Chile separating mainland South America to the north and the Tierra del Fuego archipelago to the south. Considered the most important natural ...

in the

bark Bark may refer to: Common meanings * Bark (botany), an outer layer of a woody plant such as a tree or stick * Bark (sound), a vocalization of some animals (which is commonly the dog) Arts and entertainment * ''Bark'' (Jefferson Airplane album), ...

''San Pedro''. In 1550, during the campaign to establish Concepción he led the cavalry charge that broke the leading division of the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

army at the

Battle of Penco The Battle of Penco took place on March 12, 1550, between 60,000 Mapuche under the command of their toqui Ainavillo with his Araucan and Tucapel allies and Pedro de Valdivia's 200 Spaniards on horse and afoot with many '' yanakuna'' including ...

. In 1552 Valdivia ordered Jerónimo de Alderete to go inland and establish a fort at Lake Villarrica and established a fort at the site of the present Villarrica.

In Europe

In late 1552,

dispatched Alderete to negotiate the confirmation of his governorship with

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * 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 Others * Charles V, Duke ...

, but after he arrived back to

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

he discovered that the Emperor had transferred the suzerainty of

, and all his other territories, to his son Philip II, who was at the time living in England. Alderete then travelled to London, where he met the King and obtained from him the governorship-for-life for Valdivia. As he was on the road to Spain to start the journey back to Chile, he received the news of the death of Valdivia, so he returned to England once more, where the King appointed him to succeed Valdivia on October 17, 1554, and named him

Adelantado ''Adelantado'' (, , ; meaning 'advanced') was a title held by some Spain, Spanish nobles in service of their respective kings during the Middle Ages. It was later used as a military title held by some Spanish ''conquistadores'' of the 15th, 16th a ...

and a Knight of Santiago. In the meantime, back in Chile the will of Valdivia had also appointed him as his successor as

governor of Chile The royal governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonization of the Americas, 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 w ...

, but that was disallowed by the Viceroy of Peru

Melchor Bravo de Saravia Melchor Bravo de Saravia y Sotomayor (1512 – 1577) was a Spanish conquistador, interim viceroy of Peru, and Royal Governor of Chile. Early career He was born in Soria, Spain, the son of Juan de Saravia and María Mayor de Vera y Morales. ...

, who appointed an interim governor. As Alderete was returning to America to assume his post he was taken ill with yellow fever in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

and died there on April 7, 1556.

References

Sources

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alderete, Jeronimo de 1510s births 1556 deaths Year of birth uncertain People from the Province of Valladolid Spanish conquistadors Knights of Santiago Royal governors of Chile People of the Arauco War 16th-century Spanish military personnel Castilian conquistadors

Early life

In Chile

In Europe

See also

References

Sources