Person
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia
Spanish conquistador and 1st royal governor of Chile
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia (ca.
1500 – December 25, 1553) is a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile.
After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he is sent to South America in 1534, where he serves under Francisco Pizarro in Peru.
In 1540 he leads an expedition of 150 Spaniards into Chile, where he defeats a large force of Indians and founds Santiago in 1541.
He extends Spanish rule south to the Bío-Bío River in 1546, fights again in Peru (1546 – 48), and returns to Chile as governor in 1549.
He begins to conquer Chile south of the Bío-Bío and founds Concepción in 1550.
He is captured and killed in a campaign against the Araucanian Indians.