Rodrigo de Quiroga

Real Audiencia
Royal Governor of Chile
In office 1575–1580
Monarch	Philip II
Preceded by	Melchor Bravo de Saravia
Succeeded by	Martín Ruiz de Gamboa
Personal details
Born	c.1512 Inés de Suárez

Rodrigo de Quiroga López de Ulloa (c. 1512 – February 20, 1580) was a Spanish

.

Early life

He was the son of Hernado Camba de Quiroga and of María López de Ulloa. In the year 1535 he traveled to

Atacama

.

In Chile

Quiroga participated in the military actions of the conquest of Chile, during the first part of the

Santiago

. Three times he was mayor, amongst other duties.

He married

.

At the death of Valdivia at the hands of the Mapuches at the Battle of Tucapel, the citizens of southern Chile followed the instructions of his will and announced Francisco de Villagra as their leader. However, in Santiago, the ruling cabildo ignored these recommendations and proclaimed Quiroga as governor. It was thus that there were for a time two governors in Chile: Villagra in the south and Quiroga in the north. The situation ended upon the return of Villagra from the southern war zone to reclaim his right to govern. The cabildo awarded him this right and obliged Quiroga to relinquish his power, which Quiroga grudgingly did.

In 1565, the Viceroy

), and put Quiroga in his place. In these circumstances, Villagra saw that he was too weak to defend his title, so he ceded his power to Quiroga and went to Peru.

First government

This first government (not counting the earlier one, which was never imbued with real power) lasted until 1567. It was marked by constant clashes with the Indians, which often resulted in victories. Quiroga launched a new campaign, organized by

.

Despite these triumphs, the court did not recognize his strengths, and upon returning to the capital, he found that the

had replaced him. For a while, he retreated from political life and dedicated himself to business.

Second government

In 1575, however, as a result of a dispute between the Real Audiencia and the governor at the time, Melchor Bravo de Saravia, he was called a second time to take charge of the Reino of Chile. He was sworn in that same year in front of the cabildo. Quiroga's second administration was more turbulent then the first. In addition to the ongoing war of Arauco, there were incursions by pirates, two earthquakes (in 1575) and a dispute with the bishop of San Miguel over the naming of ecclesiastical posts and the reduction of the income of the clerics, which put him in danger of excommunication.

Spain promised to send him 500 reinforcements to decisively end the war, but only 300 arrived. In addition, this smaller force was of much lesser quality than hoped and was almost completely without equipment. Overcoming these difficulties and his sickness (he had to be carried by chair to the battlefield), Quiroga launched a new offensive against the Mapuches, this time led by their toqui the mestizo Alonso Díaz.

The campaign had relative success, which allowed Quiroga to confront another menace, the appearance of Sir Francis Drake off the Chilean coasts. Drake managed to sack the port of Valparaíso, but when he tried to repeat the action at La Serena, he encountered the armed resistance of the inhabitants, and was repulsed.

Valdivia earthquake

On December 16, 1575 an earthquake struck southern Chile, and ruined the cities of

. The water then accumulated until it eventually destroyed this natural dam, creating a secondary flood and disaster.

Later life

Quiroga's grave sickness impeded him from continuing to direct the war, and he handed the task over to his son-in-law

, would die the same year.

See also

• Arauco War
• Paineñamcu

Notes

Sources

Government offices
Preceded by Pedro de Villagra	Royal Governor of Chile 1565–1567	Succeeded by Real Audiencia
Preceded by Melchor Bravo de Saravia	Royal Governor of Chile 1575–1580	Succeeded by Martín Ruiz de Gamboa