Alonso de Mendoza
Encyclopedia
Alonso de Mendoza was a Spanish captain, conquistador
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
, and the founder of the city of Nuestra Señora de La Paz
Nuestra Señora de la Paz
Nuestra Señora de la Paz is a Sector in the city of Santo Domingo in the Distrito Nacional of the Dominican Republic.- Sources :*...
, current capital city of Bolivia
Bolivia
Bolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
. He was appointed by Pedro de la Gasca
Pedro de la Gasca
Pedro de la Gasca was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second viceroy of Peru, from April 10, 1547 to January 27, 1550....
, the "Peacemaker," to found the city to commemorate the peace in the Peruvian colonies after the defeat of the Pizarro brothers.
Early life
Alonso de Mendoza was born between 1471 and 1476 in La GarrovillaLa Garrovilla
La Garrovilla is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2010 census , the municipality has a population of 2490 inhabitants....
(Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
, Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
). He left the peninsula attracted by the news about the wealth of the New World, and by the Adventures of Pizarro and Almagro
Almagro
Almagro may refer to:*Diego de Almagro , Spanish explorer*Diego Almagro II , assassin of Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro*Nicolás Almagro , Spanish tennis player*Almagro, Buenos Aires...
, who had conquered the Inca empire
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire, or Inka Empire , was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political and military center of the empire was located in Cusco in modern-day Peru. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century...
.
New World
Alonso de Mendoza fought as a soldier in Germany and Italy before moving to the New World. It is believed that he settled in Cuba when Diego Velázquez de CuéllarDiego Velázquez de Cuéllar
Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar was a Spanish conquistador. He conquered and governed Cuba on behalf of Spain.-Early life:...
was the governor, as the name of one Alonso de Mendoza appears in a document signed in Guanuco and dated 1520. Then he appears in Mexico serving under Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
, and in San Sebastián del Puerto, from where he was later banished, accused of being an agitator.
Peru
Later Alonso de Mendoza moved to PeruPeru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, where his natural intelligence, people skills, and personal charm opened the doors of the headquarters of Pizarro, then at war with his partner Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro, , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro. He participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru and is credited as the first European discoverer of Chile.Almagro lost his left eye battling with coastal...
. He fought in the battle of Salinas
Salinas
-People:*Anita Reeves Salinas, Chilean television, film and theatre actress*Camilo Salinas, Chilean musician*Carlos Salinas de Gortari, a Mexican president*Francisco de Salinas, a 16th century Spanish music theorist*Francisco Vidal Salinas, Chilean politician...
, against Almagro himself, and in the battle of Chupas, where "Diego, the Younger" died in action. After these actions, he was appointed governor of Chuquisaca
Chuquisaca Department
Chuquisaca is a department of Bolivia located in the center south. It borders on the departments of Cochabamba, Tarija, Potosí, and Santa Cruz. The departmental capital is Sucre, which is also the constitutional capital of Bolivia.-Geography:...
. During the turbulent years of Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire...
's rebellion against king Charles V of Spain, he seems to have acted on both sides. By the end of the rebellion he was serving under Francisco de Carvajal
Francisco de Carvajal
Francisco de Carvajal was a Spanish military officer, conquistador, and explorer remembered as "the demon of the Andes" due to his brutality and uncanny military skill in the Peruvian civil wars of the 16th century....
, the "Demon of the Andes", who made him Captain and gave him different missions in a long campaign against the royalist Diego de Centeno.
Mendoza's life took another dramatic turn when he decided to serve under the orders of Pedro de la Gasca
Pedro de la Gasca
Pedro de la Gasca was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second viceroy of Peru, from April 10, 1547 to January 27, 1550....
, the envoy of the King, who entrusted him with a group of chivalry in the battle of Sacsahuaman. Pedro de la Gasca, whose mission had ended in Peru with the resolution of the conflict, had decided to leave Peru, but he wanted to leave a legacy. On April 7, 1548, de la Gasca notified the Captain he was appointed to found a new city to commemorate the victory of the royal forces and the peace. By the time, too, he had taken possession of productive gold mines in the region of Tipuani.
Foundation of La Paz
Three priests (Francisco Morales, Francisco Laroca and Francisco Alcócer) suggested Mendoza the location of the new city. Many members of the staff of the Viceroyalty of Peru, many commissioners and soldiers, priests and traders were familiar with a valley known as Chukiyawu, next to the IllimaniIllimani
Illimani is the highest mountain in the Cordillera Real of western Bolivia. It lies just south of La Paz at the eastern edge of the Altiplano. It is the second highest peak in Bolivia, after Nevado Sajama, and the eighteenth highest peak in South America...
mountain, and knew that there was a small Indian village. They had admired the beauty of the depression, a gigantic, rugged and irregular basin, with a river on the bottom. The river was called by the natives Chukiyapu or Choqueyapu (Golden River).
Mendoza prepared the documents for the foundation to take place on October 20, 1548, but the authorities could not arrive in time, so the captain proceeded to a provisional act of foundation in the site of the Indian village of Laja or Laxa, in the Andean plains. Three days later, the official ceremony was held in the actual location. Morales, Laroca and Alcócer provided the general design for the city.
Nuestra Señora de La Paz became part of the route that connected Lima to Potosí
Potosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
, the city built around the richest silver mine in the world. It was also part of the route to the goldfields of Tipuani, and the subtropical zone of Yungas. The site was well chosen, not only because it offered many advantages but also because it offered a good place for "Pascana" (rest and comfort) for travelers.
Death
In 1549 Alonso de Mendoza was commissioned to fight an Indian uprising in PotosíPotosí
Potosí is a city and the capital of the department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the highest cities in the world by elevation at a nominal . and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint, now the National Mint of Bolivia...
. It is unclear if he returned to Chuquisaca before his death in Tipuani.
Popular Culture
- A commemorative statue in honor of Alonso de Mendoza can be seen in La Paz, in the site where he founded the city, known then by the natives as Churupampa (Field of Shells). Part of downtown La Paz, its current name is Plaza Alonso de Mendoza.- In La Garrovilla
La Garrovilla
La Garrovilla is a municipality located in the province of Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain. According to the 2010 census , the municipality has a population of 2490 inhabitants....
(Badajoz
Badajoz
Badajoz is the capital of the Province of Badajoz in the autonomous community of Extremadura, Spain, situated close to the Portuguese border, on the left bank of the river Guadiana, and the Madrid–Lisbon railway. The population in 2007 was 145,257....
), his birthplace, the main plaza is called Alonso de Mendoza.
- The town of Garrovillas (Cáceres
Cáceres
- Places :* Cáceres in Spain** Cáceres which covers the province* Cáceres, Spain, the capital of Cáceres Province* Cáceres, Antioquia, municipality in Colombia...
) has named a street "Capitán Mendoza" after him.
- In 2003, a Metro station (Line 12) in Madrid, Spain, was named after Captain Alonso de Mendoza.