Francisco de Aguirre de Meneses

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Francisco de Aguirre de Meneses

Francisco de Aguirre de Meneses (* 1507 in Talavera de la Reina , Spain , † 1581 in La Serena , Chile ) was a Spanish conquistador who took part in the campaigns of conquest against Chile, Peru , Argentina and Bolivia .

Life

The native of the province of Toledo de Aguirre was the son of Hernando de la Rúa and Constanza de Meneses. He joined the army under the Spanish King Charles V and took part in the Battle of Pavia and in 1527 in the storming of Rome . When de Aguirre stayed in Rome in 1517, he was assigned to look after a monastery, which was rewarded by the Pope, as he allowed de Aguirre to marry his own cousin, María de Torres y Meneses.

In 1536 de Aguirre went to Peru with a large retinue, which was also provided with slaves. He sided with Gonzalo Pizarro when he was besieged and took part in the conquest of what is now Bolivia between 1538 and 1539 under the command of Diego de Rojas .

In 1540 de Aguirre heard that Pedro de Valdivia had set out to conquer Chile. De Aguirre decided to take part in this expedition and marched with his troops to Tarapacá, where he waited two months for Valdivia. De Aguirre quickly won the expedition leader's trust and secured a good residence in the new colony.

On June 20, 1549 de Aguirre was appointed to the rank of lieutenant governor of the areas between the Atacama Desert and the Río Choapa . One of his first tasks was to rebuild the city of La Serena , which was destroyed by the Indians. When it came to punishing and fighting the Indians, de Aguirre showed an iron hand. At the end of August of the same year he was able to declare the city rebuilt. He had it built so that the Spaniards could defend themselves against the Indians in the future. Then he sent out troops to suppress Indian revolts, which he succeeded in the north of Chile, albeit at the expense of population density. Some areas have been severely depopulated.

In 1551 the lieutenant governor prevailed in the battle for Tucumán , which lay across the Andes , against Núñez de Prado , who had underestimated the strong influence of Valdivia. He then founded the city of Santiago del Estero del Nuevo Maestrazgo on July 25, 1553 . However, some historians believe that it was founded in 1550.

After Valdivia fell at the Battle of Tucapel, his last will to recognize de Aguirre in his office was to be carried out. But de Aguirre stayed in Tucumán and so Francisco de Villagra was able to enforce his claims and set himself up as governor. After de Aguirres had been informed by his friends, he immediately went to La Serena, where he was recognized as Governor of Chile and Commander-in-Chief. In addition to Valdivia's will, he underpinned his demand that the military would also reinforce his ambitions. After the troops were disarmed by Hernando de Aguirre, brother of the governor-to-be, a petition was sent to Lima . However, the verdict there was that de Aguirre should not take over the office intended for him. In his place, Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza should be installed, who in turn should be inherited by Villagra after his tenure. Since de Aguirre were not subject to any major armies, he was forced to accept this decision.

In 1557 the son of the governor-elect, Marquis of Cañete , traveled to the province and arrested de Aguirre and Villagra, although they had behaved politely towards him.

De Aguirre's imprisonment did not find much favor in the eyes of the Spanish King Charles V and his advisors. That is why de Aguirre was appointed governor of Tucumán by Diego López de Zúñiga. This was narrowed in his office by a revolt of the generals. After de Aguirre had mastered this uprising, he declared this area back in 1564 for the Spanish crown.

There was a revolt under Jerónimo de Holguín , which was successful, so that de Aguirre was imprisoned again. After his release, he had to answer in court for heretical acts. The constantly smoldering uprisings moved Diego López de Zúñiga to remove de Aguirre from his office. De Aguirres' successor was Diego López de Zúñiga . After de Aguirre's return to Chile in 1576, he lived in La Serena until his death in 1581.

literature

personal data
SURNAME Aguirre de Meneses, Francisco de
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Aguirre, Francisco de
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Spanish conquistador who took part in the campaigns of conquest against Chile, Peru, Argentina and Bolivia
DATE OF BIRTH 1507
PLACE OF BIRTH Talavera de la Reina , Spain
DATE OF DEATH 1581
Place of death La Serena , Chile