Pedro de Valdivia
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Adelantado Pedro de Valdivia |
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Posthumous portrait by Federico de Madrazo
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| 1st Royal Governor of Chile | |
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In office 1540–1547 |
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| Monarch | Charles I of Spain |
| Preceded by | None |
| Succeeded by | Francisco de Villagra |
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In office 1549–1553 |
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| Monarch | Charles I of Spain |
| Prime Minister | Pedro de la Gasca |
| Preceded by | Francisco de Villagra |
| Succeeded by | Francisco de Villagra |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 17, 1497 Villanueva de la Serena, Vegas Altas, Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain |
| Died | December 25, 1553 (aged 56) Tucapel, Cañete, Chile |
| Spouse(s) | Marina Ortíz de Gaete |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Spain
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| Years of service | 1520–1553 |
| Battles/wars | |
Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) 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. In 1540 he led an expedition of 150 Spaniards into Chile, where he defeated a large force of Indians and founded Santiago in 1541. He extended Spanish rule south to the Bío-Bío River in 1546, fought again in Peru (1546 – 48), and returned to Chile as governor in 1549. He began to conquer Chile south of the Bío-Bío and founded Concepción in 1550. He was captured and killed in a campaign against the Araucanian Indians. The city of Valdivia in Chile is named after him.
Pedro de Valdivia is believed to have been born in Villanueva de la Serena (some say Castuera) in Extremadura,Spain around 1500 (some sources put his date of birth as early as 1497 or as late as 1505) to an impoverished hidalgo family. In 1520 he joined the Spanish army of Charles I and fought in Flanders in 1521 and Italy between 1522 and 1525, participating in the battle of Pavia as part of the troops of the Marquis of Pescara. He reached America in 1535, spent an uneventful year in Venezuela, and then moved on to Peru in 1537.
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