Pedro de Valdivia

Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva 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 indigenous warriors and founded Santiago in 1541. He extended Spanish rule south to the Biobío River in 1546, fought again in Peru, and returned to Chile as governor in 1549. He began to conquer Chile south of the Biobío and founded Concepción in 1550. He was captured and killed in a campaign against the Mapuche. The city of Valdivia in Chile is named after him.