Pedro de Valdivia (Paperback)

High Quality Content by WIKIPEDIA articles Pedro Gutierrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (ca. 1500 - 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 Bio-Bio 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 Bio-Bio and founded Concepcion in 1550. He was captured and killed in a campaign against the Araucanian Indians. The city of Valdivia in Chile is named after him.