Jerónimo de Alderete
Encyclopedia
Jerónimo de Alderete y Mercado (1518 – April 7, 1556) was a Spanish
conquistador
who was later named governor Chile
, but died before he could assume his post.
, 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
region. The expedition had several difficulties attempting to reach the Pilcomayo River
. Alderete settled down in Tarija
, until he became a member of Francisco de Aguirre
's force who joined Pedro de Valdivia
's in the conquest of Chile
in 1540.
's expedition to settle in the Mapocho valley of Chile
in 1540. He was a regidor of the first city government of Santiago, 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 in the bark
San Pedro.
In 1550 during the campaign to establish Concepción
he led the cavalry charge that broke the leading division of the Mapuche
army at the Battle of Penco
. 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
.
dispatched Alderete to negotiate the confirmation of his governorship with Charles V
, but after he arrived back to Spain
he discovered that the Emperor had transferred the suzerainity of the Kingdom of Chile
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
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, but that was disallowed by the Viceroy of Peru Melchor Bravo de Saravia
, who appointed an interim governor. As Alderete was returning to America to assume his post he was taken ill with yellow fever
in Panamá
and died there on April 7, 1556.
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...
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...
who was later named governor Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
, but died before he could assume his post.
Early life
Alderete was born in OlmedoOlmedo, Spain
Olmedo is a municipality in the province of Valladolid, Spain.-Transport:Olmedo is on the N-601 road ....
, Castille
Castile (historical region)
A former kingdom, Castile gradually merged with its neighbours to become the Crown of Castile and later the Kingdom of Spain when united with the Crown of Aragon and the Kingdom of Navarre...
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
Diego de Rojas
Diego de Rojas was a 16th century Spanish Conquistador. He was born in Burgos and traveled to the city of Santo Domingo in 1516. In 1522 went to Mexico under the command of Hernan Cortes, and subsequently formed part of the conquistador army of Pedro de Alvarado, participating in the conquests of...
who intended to undertake the conquest of the Gran Chaco
Gran Chaco
The Gran Chaco is a sparsely populated, hot and semi-arid lowland region of the Río de la Plata basin, divided among eastern Bolivia, Paraguay, northern Argentina and a portion of the Brazilian states of Mato Grosso and Mato Grosso do Sul, where it is connected with the Pantanal region...
region. The expedition had several difficulties attempting to reach the Pilcomayo River
Pilcomayo River
The Pilcomayo River is a river in central South America. At long, it is the longest western tributary of the Paraguay River. Its drainage basin is in area, and its mean discharge is ....
. Alderete settled down in Tarija
Tarija, Bolivia
Tarija or San Bernardo de la Frontera de Tarixa is a city in southern Bolivia. Founded in 1574, Tarija is both the capital and largest city within the Tarija Department, with an airport offering regular service to primary Bolivian cities, as well as a regional bus terminal with domestic and...
, until he became a member of Francisco de Aguirre
Francisco de Aguirre
Francisco de Aguirre may refer to:*Francisco de Aguirre , Spanish conquistador of Chile*Francisco de Aguirre , Spanish Baroque painter from Toledo...
's force who joined Pedro de Valdivia
Pedro de Valdivia
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command...
's in the conquest of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
in 1540.
In Chile
He was part of Pedro de ValdiviaPedro de Valdivia
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command...
's expedition to settle in the Mapocho valley of Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
in 1540. He was a regidor of the first city government of Santiago, Chile
Santiago, Chile
Santiago , also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the center of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of above mean sea level...
in 1541. In 1544 he joined the expedition of Juan Bautista Pastene
Juan Bautista Pastene
Giovanni Battista Pastene was a Genoese maritime explorer who while in the service of the Spanish crown, explored the coasts of Panama, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Chile as far south as to the archipelago of Chiloé....
that was explore the lands to the south to the Straits of Magellan in the bark
Barque
A barque, barc, or bark is a type of sailing vessel with three or more masts.- History of the term :The word barque appears to have come from the Greek word baris, a term for an Egyptian boat. This entered Latin as barca, which gave rise to the Italian barca, Spanish barco, and the French barge and...
San Pedro.
In 1550 during the campaign to establish Concepción
Concepción, Chile
Concepción is a city in Chile, capital of Concepción Province and of the Biobío Region or Region VIII. Greater Concepción is the second-largest conurbation in the country, with 889,725 inhabitants...
he led the cavalry charge that broke the leading division of the Mapuche
Mapuche
The Mapuche are a group of indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina. They constitute a wide-ranging ethnicity composed of various groups who shared a common social, religious and economic structure, as well as a common linguistic heritage. Their influence extended...
army at the Battle of Penco
Battle of Penco
The Battle of Penco, on March 12, 1550 was a battle 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 a large number of Yanacona inclucing 300 Mapochoes auxiliaries under their leader...
. In 1552 Valdivia ordered Jerónimo de Alderete to go inland and establish a fort at Lake Villarrica
Lake Villarrica
Lake Villarrica, also known as Mallolafquén , is located about 700 kilometers south of Santiago in Chile’s Lake District in the southeast area of the Province of Cautín...
and established a fort at the site of the present Villarrica
Villarrica, Chile
Villarrica is a city and commune in southern Chile located on the western shore of Villarrica Lake in the Province of Cautín, Araucanía Region south of Santiago and close to the Villarrica Volcano ski center to the south east. Residents of Villarrica are known as Villarriquences.Tourism, grain and...
.
In Europe
In late 1552, Pedro de ValdiviaPedro de Valdivia
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command...
dispatched Alderete to negotiate the confirmation of his governorship with Charles V
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor
Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I, of the Spanish Empire from 1516 until his voluntary retirement and abdication in favor of his younger brother Ferdinand I and his son Philip II in 1556.As...
, but after he arrived back to 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 discovered that the Emperor had transferred the suzerainity of the Kingdom of Chile
Kingdom of Chile
The General Captaincy of Chile or Gobernacion de Chile, was an administrative territory of the Viceroyalty of Peru in the Spanish Empire from 1541 to 1818, the year in which it declared itself independent, becoming the Republic of Chile...
to his son Philip II
Philip II of Spain
Philip II was King of Spain, Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, while married to Mary I, King of England and Ireland. He was lord of the Seventeen Provinces from 1556 until 1581, holding various titles for the individual territories such as duke or count....
, 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
Adelantado was a military title held by some Spanish conquistadores of the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries.Adelantados were granted directly by the Monarch the right to become governors and justices of a specific region, which they charged with conquering, in exchange for funding and organizing the...
and a Knight of Santiago
Order of Santiago
The Order of Santiago was founded in the 12th century, and owes its name to the national patron of Galicia and Spain, Santiago , under whose banner the Christians of Galicia and Asturias began in the 9th century to combat and drive back the Muslims of the Iberian Peninsula.-History:Santiago de...
.
In the meantime, back in Chile the will of Valdivia had also appointed him as his successor as governor of Chile, but that was disallowed by the Viceroy of Peru Melchor Bravo de Saravia
Melchor Bravo de Saravia
Melchor Bravo de Saravia y Sotomayor was a Spanish conquistador, interim viceroy of Peru, and Royal Governor of Chile.-Early career:...
, who appointed an interim governor. As Alderete was returning to America to assume his post he was taken ill with yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
in Panamá
Panama
Panama , officially the Republic of Panama , is the southernmost country of Central America. Situated on the isthmus connecting North and South America, it is bordered by Costa Rica to the northwest, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north and the Pacific Ocean to the south. The...
and died there on April 7, 1556.
See also
- Pedro de ValdiviaPedro de ValdiviaPedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served as lieutenant under Francisco Pizarro in Peru, acting as his second in command...
- Francisco de VillagraFrancisco de VillagraFrancisco de Villagra Velázquez was a Spanish conquistador, and three times governor of Chile.-Early life:Born at [Santervás de Campos], he was the son of Alvaro de Sarría and Ana Velázquez de Villagra, who were not married. For this reason he took the name of his mother...
- Francisco de AguirreFrancisco de Aguirre (conquistador)Francisco de Aguirre was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Peru, Bolivia, Chile and Argentina.-Early life:...
- Alonso de ErcillaAlonso de ErcillaAlonso de Ercilla y Zúñiga was a Spanish nobleman, soldier and epic poet from the Basque Country. While in Chile he fought against the Araucanians, and there he began the epic poem La Araucana, considered the greatest Spanish historical poem. This heroic work in 37 cantos is divided into three...
- Arauco WarArauco WarThe Arauco War was a conflict between colonial Spaniards and the Mapuche people in what is now the Araucanía and Biobío regions of modern Chile...