Francisco de Aguirre (conquistador)

Don Francisco de Aguirre (Talavera de la Reina, 1508—La Serena, 1581) was a Spanish conquistador who participated in the conquest of Chile.

Early life

The son of Hernando de la Rúa and Constanza de Menenses, he joined the army of Carlos V, participating in the Battle of Pavia and the assault on Rome in 1527. He moved to Peru, where he met Pedro de Valdivia, with whom he accompanied on his expedition of conquest in Chile (1540).

A close confidant of Valdivia, he quickly achieved a premier place in the new colony, being named the mayor of the first settlement of Santiago in (1541).

He was then made lieutenant governor of the zone between the Atacama Desert and the Choapa River, charged with the reconstruction of La Serena, which had been destroyed by Indians from the north. He was chosen for this task since he had already demonstrated a strong hand in the war against the Indians and their resulting punishment. On August 29, 1549, Aguirre refounded the city, constructing a fort for its defense. He then lead his troops out in persecution of the Indians. The north of Chile would remain free of danger from then on, although somewhat depopulated and deficient in labor.

In 1551 the Lieutenant General of La Serena, Aguirre took possession of Tucumán, on the other side of the Andes, after disputing the claim of Núñez de Prado, who was unaware of the authority of Valdivia.

Governor of Chile

When Valdivia died in the Battle of Tucapel, his will was opened and found to designate Aguirre in the absence of Jerónimo de Alderete. When he received the news, he was in Tucumán, and Francisco de Villagra had already been named governor, due to the death of Jerónimo and the absence of Aguirre.

Apprised of the situation by his friends in La Serena, he immediately returned there, where he was welcomed as the Captain General, or Governor of Chile. He communicated this choice to Santiago, letting it be known that the troops under his command were prepared to maintain his position, which was his by right of Valdivia's will.

The town council of Santiago, however, refused to acknowledge the declaration, disarming the contingent of troops under Aguirre's brother Hernando which had been sent to deliver it. The conflict was finally resolved when a petition was sent to the Audiencia in Lima, which determined that the council had to submit to the command for six months, after which the viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza would designate a new governor. If the term expired, Villagra would be the governor, in command of the army of the south. Aguirre wanted to ignore the verdict, but his forces were too small to match Villagra's if there was a confrontation, so he accepted it bitterly.

In 1557 the viceroy's son García Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Cañete arrived as the newly designated governor. One of his first actions was to have Aguirre and Villagra arrested, despite their courteous behavior in front of him.

Governor of Tucumán

Aguirre's imprisonment in Peru was not appreciated by the king and his advisers, and in 1559 the viceroy gave him the province of Tucumán. In 1564, when the conquest of this region was at the point of being reversed, Aguirre returned it again to Spanish domination.

During his mandate, a rebellion was fomented by Jerónimo de Holguín, which concluded with the capture of Aguirre. Freed later, he was indicted by the eclessiatical authority of Characas for having made heretical statements.

The constant turmoils of his administration motivated the viceroy to remove Aguirre from his post, naming in his place Jerónimo Luis de Cabrera. In 1576, Aguirre returned to Chile and settled modestly in La Serena, where he was held in respect until his death in 1581.

Aguirre in fiction

Francisco de Aguirre appears in the historical novel "Ines del Alma Mia" by Isabel Allende.