Alonso García de Ramón (c. 1552 – August 5, 1610) was a Spanish soldier and twice

Royal Governor of Chile The royal governor of Chile ruled over the Spanish colonization of the Americas, Spanish colonial administrative district called the Captaincy General of Chile, and as a result the royal governor also held the title of a captain general. There w ...

: first temporarily from July 1600 to February 1601, and then from March 1605 to August 1610. He was born in Cuenca,

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

in 1552.

Early life

He served from the age of 16 in the

Spanish Army The Spanish Army () is the terrestrial army of the Spanish Armed Forces responsible for land-based military operations. It is one of the oldest Standing army, active armies – dating back to the late 15th century. The Spanish Army has existed ...

first against the Morisco revolt in

Granada Granada ( ; ) is the capital city of the province of Granada, in the autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Andalusia, Spain. Granada is located at the foot of the Sierra Nevada (Spain), Sierra Nevada mountains, at the confluence ...

. Then he was in

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Sicily Sicily (Italian language, Italian and ), officially the Sicilian Region (), is an island in the central Mediterranean Sea, south of the Italian Peninsula in continental Europe and is one of the 20 regions of Italy, regions of Italy. With 4. ...

, where he was cabo de escuadra, in the squadron of Juan of Austria in the 1572

battle of Navarino The Battle of Navarino was a naval battle fought on 20 October (O.S. 8 October) 1827, during the Greek War of Independence (1821–1829), in Navarino Bay (modern Pylos), on the west coast of the Peloponnese peninsula, in the Ionian Sea. Allied ...

following the

battle of Lepanto The Battle of Lepanto was a naval warfare, naval engagement that took place on 7 October 1571 when a fleet of the Holy League (1571), Holy League, a coalition of Catholic states arranged by Pope Pius V, inflicted a major defeat on the fleet of t ...

. Then in 1574, he was in the garrison of Goleta during the campaign of Juan of Austria in

Tunis Tunis (, ') is the capital city, capital and largest city of Tunisia. The greater metropolitan area of Tunis, often referred to as "Grand Tunis", has about 2,700,000 inhabitants. , it is the third-largest city in the Maghreb region (after Casabl ...

. In 1576 he survived under Alvaro de Bazan, Marquess of Santa Cruz in the Battle of Querquenes at the

Kerkennah Islands Kerkennah Islands ( '; Ancient Greek: ''Κέρκιννα Cercinna''; Spanish:''Querquenes'') are a group of islands lying off the east coast of Tunisia in the Gulf of Gabès and to the east of Sfax, at . The Islands are low-lying, being no more ...

. He next went to

Flanders Flanders ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, la ...

as a sergeant under

Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma Alexander Farnese (, ; 27 August 1545 – 3 December 1592) was an Italian noble and military leader, who was Duke of Parma, Piacenza and Castro from 1586 to 1592, as well as Governor of the Spanish Netherlands from 1578 to 1592. Nephew to Kin ...

. He was in the assault of the city of Zichem, the attack of Borgerhout and the siege and assault of Maestricht where he was one of the first that mounted the walls; twice wounded taking two flags, for which he was awarded twelve ducados by the Duke.

Military service in Chile and Peru

He returned to Spain and then went to

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in western South America. It is the southernmost country in the world and the closest to Antarctica, stretching along a narrow strip of land between the Andes, Andes Mountains and the Paci ...

, fighting with skill and bravery for

Governor A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...

Alonso de Sotomayor against the

Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indigenous inhabitants of south-central Chile and southwestern Argentina, including parts of Patagonia. The collective term refers to a wide-ranging e ...

. His most famous action was at the

siege A siege () . is a military blockade of a city, or fortress, with the intent of conquering by attrition, or by well-prepared assault. Siege warfare (also called siegecrafts or poliorcetics) is a form of constant, low-intensity conflict charact ...

Purén Purén is a List of cities in Chile, city (2002 pop. 12,868) and Communes of Chile, commune in Malleco Province of La Araucanía Region, Chile. It is located in the west base of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta (650 km. south of Santiago). The ec ...

where he killed the

Toqui Toqui (or Toki) (Mapudungun for ''axe'' or ''axe-bearer'') is a title conferred by the Mapuche (an indigenous Chilean and Argentines, Argentinian people) on those chosen as leaders during times of war. The toqui is chosen in an assembly or parl ...

Cadeguala in mounted single combat. Soon after

Martín García Óñez de Loyola Don Martín García Óñez de Loyola ( – December 24, 1598) was a Spanish-Basque soldier and Royal Governor of Colonial Chile. He was the grand-nephew of Saint Ignatius of Loyola, the founder of the Jesuits. Óñez de Loyola first gained r ...

replaced Sotomayor, García de Ramón moved to

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

, and earned the confidence of the Viceroy of Peru,

García Hurtado de Mendoza, 5th Marquis of Cañete García Hurtado de Mendoza y Manrique, 5th Marquis of Cañete (July 21, 1535 – May 19, 1609) was a Spanish Royal Governor of Chile, Governor of Chile, and later Viceroy of Peru (from January 8, 1590 to July 24, 1596). He is often known simply a ...

who entrusted him with many positions, that he carried out with brilliance including those of

corregidor Corregidor (, , ) is an island located at the entrance of Manila Bay in the southwestern part of Luzon in the Philippines, and is considered part of Cavite City and thus the province of Cavite. It is located west of Manila, the nation's capi ...

Arica Arica ( ; ) is a commune and a port city with a population of 222,619 in the Arica Province of northern Chile's Arica y Parinacota Region. It is Chile's northernmost city, being located only south of the border with Peru. The city is the ca ...

and

Potosí Potosí, known as Villa Imperial de Potosí in the colonial period, is the capital city and a municipality of the Potosí Department, Department of Potosí in Bolivia. It is one of the list of highest cities in the world, highest cities in the wo ...

. From 1599, when Francisco de Quiñónez was sent to Chile, he was '' maestre de campo'' of all Peru and was one of the most trusted military advisors of Viceroy, Luis de Velasco.

First Governorship of Chile

García de Ramón was sent to relieve Francisco de Quiñónez as interim governor arriving in Chile on July 29, 1600. He arrived in Santiago the next day and was installed as governor. He soon discovered things were worse in southern Chile than he had known in Peru, La Imperial had been lost in April. Without reinforcements from Peru he was forced to extract men, arms and supplies from the cities of Chile by means of imposing extraordinary contributions, special taxes, and confiscating cattle, horses, saddles and arms that allowed him quickly form a well equipped army of 400 men by December 1600. By early January, his army had marched to

Chillán Chillán () is the capital List of cities in Chile, city of Ñuble Region, Diguillín Province, Chile, located about south of the country's capital, Santiago, near the center of the country. It has been the capital of the new Ñuble Region since ...

where he was forced to leave a detachment to prevent Mapuche incursions above the

Itata River The Itata River flows in the Ñuble Region, southern Chile. Until the Conquest of Chile, the Itata was the natural limit between the Mapuche The Mapuche ( , ) also known as Araucanians are a group of Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Indi ...

. He moved on to Concepcion where he planned to relieve the remaining besieged fort

Valdivia Valdivia (; Mapuche: Ainil) is a city and commune in southern Chile, administered by the Municipality of Valdivia. The city is named after its founder, Pedro de Valdivia, and is located at the confluence of the Calle-Calle, Valdivia, and ...

and cities of Villarica, and Osorno. His attempt to send aid by ship to Valdivia and Chiloé failed when the ship was stolen by deserters from the army fleeing Chile for Peru. Unwilling to give up he planned to advance south via the central valley, to

Angol Angol is a commune and capital city of the Malleco Province in the Araucanía Region of southern Chile. It is located at the foot of the Cordillera de Nahuelbuta and next to the Vergara River, that permitted communications by small boats to the ...

and Lumaco, to aid Villarrica, and on to Osorno in the south linking up with Francisco del Campo advancing from fort

. However, he and 310 men had not advanced further than Quilacoya (47 km southward by the Biobio River) when he had word that Arauco was now under siege and required relief. He had turned back to go to its aid when he was informed that Alonso de Ribera had arrived to assume the governorship in February 1601.

Second Governorship of Chile

Appointed in 1605 to replace Alonso de Ribera as Governor of Chile, he used the base of

forts A fortification (also called a fort, fortress, fastness, or stronghold) is a military construction designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from ...

established by his predecessor as bases for his campaigns against the Mapuche. In 1606, the Spanish forces of Garcia Ramon fought the Mapuche army under the caciques Ainavilu, Anganamen,

Pelantaru Pelantaro or Pelantarú (; from ) was one of the vice toquis of Paillamachu, the ''toqui'' or military leader of the Mapuche people during the Mapuche uprising in 1598. Pelantaro and his lieutenants Anganamon and Guaiquimilla were credited wit ...

and Longoñongo in the Battle of Boroa. Approximately 500 Spaniards, defeated 6,000 Mapuches. García de Ramón then built Fort San Ignacio de la Redención near Boroa but it was soon abandoned after the ambush of most of its garrison. In 1607, García de Ramón rebuilt Fort Purén and San Jerónimo de Millapoa in Catirai but as a result of the Parliament of Catirai he soon dismantled the later.

References

Sources

* José Toribio Medina
Diccionario biográfico colonial de Chile, Impr. Elziviriana, Santiago, 1906, Pg. 338 - 341 Alonso García de Ramón
*

Diego Barros Arana Diego Jacinto Agustín Barros Arana (; August 16, 1830 – November 4, 1907) was a Chilean professor, legislator, minister and diplomat. He is considered the most important Chilean historian of the 19th century. His main work ''General History o ...

Historia general de Chile. Tomo tercero
*

*

*

{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcia de Ramon, Alonso 1550s births 1610 deaths People from Cuenca, Spain Royal governors of Chile Spanish soldiers