Francisco López de Zúñiga y Meneses

Francisco López de Zúñiga y Meneses, 2nd Marquis of Baides (born August 27, 1599 in Pedrosa, Asturias , Spain ; † September 19, 1655 at sea off Cádiz , Spain) was a Spanish officer who served as governor of Chile .

Life

Origin and career in Europe

Francisco López de Zúñiga was born into a noble family. His father had been awarded the title of Marquis of Baides by King Philip IV in 1622 .

He joined the army at the age of 17. After more than fifteen years in the service of the crown in the wars in Flanders and Germany, López went to the Spanish royal court in 1632 and left active military service in the rank of captain of the cavalry. On June 13, 1626 he was accepted into the Order of Santiago .

Career in the New World

For his services he was appointed governor of Santa Cruz de la Sierra in what is now Peru . He formally took over this office on May 15, 1635. In 1636 he married Maria de Salazar, the daughter of Oidors von Charcas , who brought a dowry of fifty thousand pesos into the marriage. The son Francisco, 4th Marquis of Baides, emerged from the marriage.

In the same year 1636, both his father and older brother died. López wanted to return to Europe (before he actually took office in the highlands of Peru). In October 1638 he was appointed governor of Chile. So he traveled to Lima and made his way south with 326 men.

Term of office as governor in Chile

On March 20, 1639 he sailed from Callao on the Peruvian coast and reached Concepción in early May 1639. The autumn rainy season had brought the military operations against the Indians to a halt and López sent part of his troops to reinforce the Spanish units. In September, the spring made the roads passable again and López reached Santiago with his troops and took up office there.

The great challenges of his term of office lay on the one hand in the continued war against the indigenous people, on the other hand in the severe poverty of the country, which was caused not least by the high levy demands of the Spanish crown (which in turn found itself in severe financial difficulties). López campaigned for a reduction in taxes, but was only partially successful.

He was granted success in peace efforts with the Indians. At the turn of the year 1640/1641 he reached the Peace of Quillín . The Jesuit missionary Luis de Valdivia played a key role in not fighting the native Indians, but instead confronting them in a missionary manner.

In April 1642 he received permission to return to Europe. He finished his tenure in Concepción in May 1646 to receive his successor Martín de Mujica y Buitrón , who went ashore there on May 8, 1646.

Return to Europe and death

Together with his family, he sailed with the Spanish fleet on October 18, 1654 from Callao towards Europe. On April 27, 1655, the Cartagena fleet left for Havana . From there they left on July 24th and entered the waters near Cádiz on September 19th. There they were attacked by English ships whose cannons set the flagship of the fleet on which López was on fire. López succumbed to his injuries and his wife died in the battle. The sons were taken prisoner by the English.

His son José entered the Jesuit order on his return, later returned to Chile as a missionary and died in Concepción.

literature

• José Toribio Medina : Diccionario Biográfico Colonial de Chile . Imprenta Elziviriana, Santiago, Chile 1906, p. 476–479 (Spanish, memoriachilena.cl [PDF; accessed June 15, 2010]).
• Diego Barros Arana : Historia General de Chile . tape 4 . Editorial Universitaria, Santiago de Chile 2001, p. 257-300 (Spanish, memoriachilena.cl [accessed July 10, 2010] first edition: 1886).