Pedro de Mendoza
Encyclopedia
Pedro de Mendoza y Luján (c. 1487 – June 23, 1537) was a Spanish
conquistador
, soldier and explorer, and the first adelantado
of the Río de la Plata
.
n town of Guadix
in the province of Granada
, high in the favor of Emperor Charles V
. He was also a nobleman in the Spanish court. In 1524, he was dubbed a Knight of Alcántara
and later received the Order of Santiago
.
In 1529, he offered to explore South America
at his own expense and establish colonies. Thanks to the efforts of his mother María de Mendoza, in 1534, his offer was accepted: he was made adelantado governor
, captain general
, and chief justice
over New Andalusia
. This grant allowed him authority over as much land as he could conquer, within 200 leagues of the southern limit of New Toledo. Although this was measured along the Pacific coast, it was understood his efforts would be directed towards the Rio de la Plata
on the Atlantic. The Emperor gave Mendoza 2000 men and 13 ships on the condition that within two years Mendoza should transport 1000 colonists, build roads into the interior, and construct three forts. He was to have half the treasure of the chiefs
killed and nine-tenths of the ransom. The office of Governor was also, in theory, made hereditary.
That year, he set sail with a considerable fleet, but a terrible storm scattered it off the coast of Brazil
. Here his lieutenant, Juan de Osorio, was assassinated, according to some authorities by the orders of Mendoza himself because of suspected disloyalty. Mendoza sailed up the Río de la Plata in 1535 and founded Buenos Aires
on February 2, 1536.
Although Mendoza is said to be the founder of Rio de la Plata (and Buenos Aires), he was not a very effective leader because he always suffered from a very bad case of syphilis
. He spent half of his time ill in bed, but he put as much effort as he could into the expedition. No notable campaigns occurred in the River Plate during this time, and the only chronicler was a German soldier named Ulderico Schmidt (or Ulrico Schmidl). Schmidt came over to the River Plate with Don Pedro and stayed there for eighteen years, fighting in almost every battle. His account of this early history of the River Plate region is the most important document from that time period.
es, who shared with them their food, however scarce. In spite of this, the Spaniards soon took the natives and their generosity for granted and as a result, the Querandíes ended relations with the white men and relocated further away from the Spanish settlement. Angered by the sudden hostility, Mendoza sent his brother to lead a force against the natives.
Even though hundreds of natives were killed, Mendoza's brother was slain as well, along with thirty of his men and several horses at the Battle of the Luján River
. The natives were driven off after that bloody battle and their provisions were taken, but the fight was very costly to the Spaniards.
wall made of mud. Every time it rained it nearly melted away. Along with this occasionally deteriorating wall, the colonists had to deal with another problem: famine. Food eventually became scarce, and the residents had to resort to eating rats, mice, snakes, lizards, rawhide boots, and even the bodies of those who died.
In addition to these difficulties, a coalition of the natives formed. They attacked the city again and again, many times leaving the city almost completely burned to the ground. Still suffering from syphilis, Mendoza appointed Juan de Ayolas
to succeed him as captain-general.
Ayolas dealt with the problem by sailing up the Parana River with a large part of the remaining force. They defeated the Guarani
es, made a treaty of friendship with them, and then Ayolas found the city of Asuncion
(in Paraguay) in 1537.
In 1541, the settlers abandoned Buenos Aires and moved to Asunción. Domingo Martínez de Irala
was elected as the third (though temporary) governor by these men. With Buenos Aires in ruins, Asunción became the base for the reconquest of Argentina.
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...
, soldier and explorer, and the first 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...
of the Río de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
.
Setting sail
Pedro de Mendoza, also known as Don Pedro de Mendoza, was from a noble family in the AndalusiaAndalusia
Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...
n town of Guadix
Guadix
Guadix, a city of southern Spain, in the province of Granada; on the left bank of the river Guadix, a sub-tributary of the Guadiana Menor, and on the Madrid-Valdepeñas-Almería railway...
in the province of Granada
Granada
Granada is a city and the capital of the province of Granada, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence of three rivers, the Beiro, the Darro and the Genil. It sits at an elevation of 738 metres above sea...
, high in the favor of Emperor 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...
. He was also a nobleman in the Spanish court. In 1524, he was dubbed a Knight of Alcántara
Alcántara
Alcántara is a municipality in the province of Cáceres, Extremadura, Spain, on the Tagus, near Portugal. The toponym is from the Arabic word al-QanTarah meaning "the bridge".-History:...
and later received the Order 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 1529, he offered to explore South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
at his own expense and establish colonies. Thanks to the efforts of his mother María de Mendoza, in 1534, his offer was accepted: he was made adelantado governor
Governorate
A governorate is an administrative division of a country. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states, provinces, or colonies, the term governorate is often used in translation from non-English-speaking administrations.The...
, captain general
Captain General
Captain general is a high military rank and a gubernatorial title.-History:This term Captain General started to appear in the 14th century, with the meaning of commander in chief of an army in the field, probably the first usage of the term General in military settings...
, and chief justice
Chief Justice
The Chief Justice in many countries is the name for the presiding member of a Supreme Court in Commonwealth or other countries with an Anglo-Saxon justice system based on English common law, such as the Supreme Court of Canada, the Constitutional Court of South Africa, the Court of Final Appeal of...
over New Andalusia
New Andalusia
The name New Andalusia refers to two separate regions of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.* New Andalusia Governorate - created as one of Charles V's grants of 1534...
. This grant allowed him authority over as much land as he could conquer, within 200 leagues of the southern limit of New Toledo. Although this was measured along the Pacific coast, it was understood his efforts would be directed towards the Rio de la Plata
Río de la Plata
The Río de la Plata —sometimes rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries—is the river and estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River on the border between Argentina and...
on the Atlantic. The Emperor gave Mendoza 2000 men and 13 ships on the condition that within two years Mendoza should transport 1000 colonists, build roads into the interior, and construct three forts. He was to have half the treasure of the chiefs
Cacique
Cacique is a title derived from the Taíno word for the pre-Columbian chiefs or leaders of tribes in the Bahamas, Greater Antilles, and the northern Lesser Antilles...
killed and nine-tenths of the ransom. The office of Governor was also, in theory, made hereditary.
That year, he set sail with a considerable fleet, but a terrible storm scattered it off the coast of Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
. Here his lieutenant, Juan de Osorio, was assassinated, according to some authorities by the orders of Mendoza himself because of suspected disloyalty. Mendoza sailed up the Río de la Plata in 1535 and founded Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires
Buenos Aires is the capital and largest city of Argentina, and the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the western shore of the estuary of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
on February 2, 1536.
Although Mendoza is said to be the founder of Rio de la Plata (and Buenos Aires), he was not a very effective leader because he always suffered from a very bad case of syphilis
Syphilis
Syphilis is a sexually transmitted infection caused by the spirochete bacterium Treponema pallidum subspecies pallidum. The primary route of transmission is through sexual contact; however, it may also be transmitted from mother to fetus during pregnancy or at birth, resulting in congenital syphilis...
. He spent half of his time ill in bed, but he put as much effort as he could into the expedition. No notable campaigns occurred in the River Plate during this time, and the only chronicler was a German soldier named Ulderico Schmidt (or Ulrico Schmidl). Schmidt came over to the River Plate with Don Pedro and stayed there for eighteen years, fighting in almost every battle. His account of this early history of the River Plate region is the most important document from that time period.
Battling the natives along the Rio de la Plata
At the River Plate, the Spaniards encountered a group of roughly three thousand natives dispersed throughout the surrounding area known as the QuerandíQuerandí
The Querandí were one of the Het peoples, indigenous South Americans who lived in the Pampas area of Argentina; specifically, they were the eastern Didiuhet. The name Querandí was given by the Guaraní people, as they would consume animal fat in their daily diet. Thus, Querandí means "men with...
es, who shared with them their food, however scarce. In spite of this, the Spaniards soon took the natives and their generosity for granted and as a result, the Querandíes ended relations with the white men and relocated further away from the Spanish settlement. Angered by the sudden hostility, Mendoza sent his brother to lead a force against the natives.
Even though hundreds of natives were killed, Mendoza's brother was slain as well, along with thirty of his men and several horses at the Battle of the Luján River
Luján River
The Luján River runs from its source near Espora about east of Buenos Aires, Argentina to its outflow into the Río de la Plata north of the city.-See also:* List of rivers of Argentina-External links:*...
. The natives were driven off after that bloody battle and their provisions were taken, but the fight was very costly to the Spaniards.
Difficulties that came with colonizing
The colonists' city was surrounded by a hastily made three-feet-thick adobeAdobe
Adobe is a natural building material made from sand, clay, water, and some kind of fibrous or organic material , which the builders shape into bricks using frames and dry in the sun. Adobe buildings are similar to cob and mudbrick buildings. Adobe structures are extremely durable, and account for...
wall made of mud. Every time it rained it nearly melted away. Along with this occasionally deteriorating wall, the colonists had to deal with another problem: famine. Food eventually became scarce, and the residents had to resort to eating rats, mice, snakes, lizards, rawhide boots, and even the bodies of those who died.
In addition to these difficulties, a coalition of the natives formed. They attacked the city again and again, many times leaving the city almost completely burned to the ground. Still suffering from syphilis, Mendoza appointed Juan de Ayolas
Juan de Ayolas
Juan de Ayolas was a conquistador who explored the watershed of the Rio de la Plata for the Spanish crown. He accompanied Pedro de Mendoza on his 1534 expedition to colonize the region between the Rio de la Plata and the Straits of Magellan and briefly succeeded him as the second governor of the...
to succeed him as captain-general.
Ayolas dealt with the problem by sailing up the Parana River with a large part of the remaining force. They defeated the Guarani
Guaraní
Guaraní are a group of culturally related indigenous peoples of South America. They are distinguished from the related Tupi by their use of the Guaraní language. The traditional range of the Guaraní people is in what is now Paraguay between the Uruguay River and lower Paraguay River, the Corrientes...
es, made a treaty of friendship with them, and then Ayolas found the city of Asuncion
Asunción
Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
(in Paraguay) in 1537.
Mendoza heads home
While all of this was going on, Mendoza, disappointed and broken in health, embarked for Spain in 1537. Unfortunately, he died during the voyage. He promised to send aid to his forces that he left behind in Buenos Aires. Although he begged Spain to send more men and provisions to save his city in his will, the help that was sent was not sufficient.In 1541, the settlers abandoned Buenos Aires and moved to Asunción. Domingo Martínez de Irala
Domingo Martínez de Irala
Domingo Martínez de Irala was a Spanish Basque conquistador.He headed for the Americas in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the founding of Buenos Aires...
was elected as the third (though temporary) governor by these men. With Buenos Aires in ruins, Asunción became the base for the reconquest of Argentina.