born с 1498, Extremadura, Spain
died January 1554, Tucapel, Viceroyalty of Peru
Spanish conquistador.
After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, where he served under Francisco Pizarro in Peru. In 1540 he led an expedition of 150 Spaniards into Chile, where he defeated a large force of Indians and founded Santiago in 1541. He extended Spanish rule south to the Bío-Bío River in 1546, fought again in Peru (1546–48), and returned to Chile as governor in 1549. He began to conquer Chile south of the Bío-Bío and founded Concepción in 1550. He was killed in a campaign against the Araucanian Indians.