Person

Pedro de Valdivia

1497–1553 · 16th century

Pedro de Valdivia was a Spanish conquistador who served under Francisco Pizarro in Peru and then led an expedition south, founding Santiago in February 1541. As the first royal governor of Chile he founded Concepción, Valdivia and other towns and pushed into Mapuche lands. He was captured and killed by Mapuche forces under Lautaro after the Battle of Tucapel in 1553.

Pedro de Valdivia
Image: Federico de Madrazo y Kuntz · Public domain · Wikimedia Commons

Mentioned in 2 state histories

Captaincy General of ChileAraucanía

See also

Cite this entry
APA
The Epoch Institute. (2026). Pedro de Valdivia. In The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pedro-de-valdivia
MLA
“Pedro de Valdivia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia, The Epoch Institute, 2026, https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pedro-de-valdivia. Accessed .
Chicago
The Epoch Institute. “Pedro de Valdivia.” The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. 2026. https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pedro-de-valdivia.
Harvard
The Epoch Institute (2026) ‘Pedro de Valdivia’, The Epoch Institute Encyclopedia. Available at: https://the-epoch-institute.org/encyclopedia/pedro-de-valdivia (Accessed: ).

Last reviewed October 2026Random entry ↻