biography
pronunciation:
[valdivia]
| sex:
| male
|
| lived:
| (c.1498–1559)
|
| biography:
| Spanish soldier, born near La Serena, W Spain. He went to Venezuela (c.1534) and then to Peru, where he became Pizarro's lieutenant (1538). He commanded the expedition to Chile (1540), and founded Santiago (1541) and other cities, including Concepción (1550) and Valdivia (1552). In 1559, he attempted with a small force to relieve Tucapel, which was being besieged by the Araucanians, and was captured and killed. |
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