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Pedro de Valdivia

Type Figure Region Chile Time 1497–1553 Also known as Conqueror of Chile

Pedro de Valdivia was a Spanish conquistador and founder of the Chilean colonial enterprise, who died in an ambush by the Mapuche in 1553.

Timeline

  1. 1497–1539Cusco · AndesBorn into a noble family of Extremadura, he joined Pizarro's expedition to conquer Peru in the 1520s. For his military service he was granted land and tribute rights over indigenous people (encomienda), and served as a municipal officer in Cusco, accumulating the capital and connections for his southward expansion.
  2. 1540–1550Santiago · Central ValleyIn 1540 he led an expedition across the Atacama Desert into central Chile, founding Santiago in 1541. Over the following decade he suppressed indigenous resistance and established a colonial administration; in 1550 he pushed south to found Concepción, extending Spanish power south of the Biobío River.
  3. 1551–1553Tucapel · Biobío RegionAfter 1551 he continued pushing south, consolidating the Concepción frontier. In 1553 the Mapuche leader Lautaro launched a large-scale uprising; on December 3 at the Battle of Tucapel, Valdivia led a small relief force into an ambush, his army was annihilated, and he was captured and executed, plunging the conquest of southern Chile into a prolonged stalemate.

Sources