Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa

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Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa (* 1512 in San Juan de Boime , Galicia , Spain , † February 25, 1580 in Santiago de Chile , Chile ) was conquistador and governor in Chile with two terms.

Rodrigo de Quiroga, Governor of Chile

There are different sources about its origin. At the age of 12 he entered the service of the Countess of Lemos as a page. In 1535 Rodrigo de Quiroga traveled to Peru and took part in the expedition of Diego de Rojas to the Gran Chaco . A few years later he accompanied Francisco de Aguirre and Pedro de Valdivia on his expedition through the Atacama Desert to the fertile regions of Chile .

Life

Conquistador in Chile

He took part in the Arauco war against the Mapuche . He took part in the founding of Santiago and was entrusted several times with tasks of the Spanish administration from 1548. In 1549 he married Ines de Suárez , the former lover of Pedro de Valdivia . Valdivia had to part with her on the orders of the Viceroy of Peru. The two had no children.

Power struggle with Villagra

After the death of Pedro de Valdivia in the Battle of Tucapel in 1555, Francisco de Villagra became the new governor of Chile according to the will of Valdivia. The city council (Spanish: Cabildo ) of Santiago appointed Rodrigo de Quiroga as governor . So there were suddenly two governors in Chile (Villagra in southern Chile and Quiroga in northern Chile). Quiroga reluctantly had to resign due to a lack of military support.

In 1565, the Viceroy of Peru, Lope García de Castro , decided that Rodrigo de Quiroga should become the new governor.

First reign 1565–1567

The first reign was marked by constant fighting with the Mapuche . During this time Quiroga was able to recapture a number of cities, e.g. B. he rebuilt Cañete . He also achieved success on the island of Chiloé and founded the city of Castro .

Despite his success, the other members of the Real Audiencia of Chile deposed him in 1567 and temporarily took over power themselves. The next governor sent from Lima , Melchor Bravo de Saravia, wore himself out in power struggles with the Oidores and asked King Philip II to replace him in 1573 . Philip again relied on Rodrigo de Quiroga, who came to power for the second time in 1575.

Second reign 1575–1580

The second term was again fraught with conflict and problems. In 1575 the city of Valdivia was badly damaged by an earthquake and a huge mudslide from the dammed lake Lago Riñihue . A conflict with Bishop San Miguel nearly led to his excommunication .

The war with the Mapuche was intensified. With 300 men he fought against their leader, the mestizo Alonso Díaz (Paineñamcu). The campaign was relatively successful.

With the circumnavigation of Francis Drake and the plunder of the port of Valparaíso on December 5, 1578, the constant threat of pirate attacks on the coastal cities of the region began. An attempt by the pirates to take La Serena as well was thrown back by the locals.

At the beginning of 1580 illness forced him to hand over his duties to his son-in-law Martín Ruiz de Gamboa . He died peacefully in Santiago on February 25, 1580.

Web links

• Chilean rulers at a glance
• Biography at Icarito (Spanish)
• José Toribio Medina: Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile (Spanish) (PDF; 113 MB), p. 716 ff.