Cristóbal Vaca de Castro (c. 1492, Izagre, León,

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 ...

– 1566,

Valladolid Valladolid ( ; ) is a Municipalities of Spain, municipality in Spain and the primary seat of government and ''de facto'' capital of the Autonomous communities of Spain, autonomous community of Castile and León. It is also the capital of the pr ...

, Spain) was a

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...

colonial administrator in Peru.

Background

Vaca de Castro's parents were Garci Diez de Castro and Guiomar Cabeza de Vaca. He studied law in

Salamanca Salamanca () is a Municipality of Spain, municipality and city in Spain, capital of the Province of Salamanca, province of the same name, located in the autonomous community of Castile and León. It is located in the Campo Charro comarca, in the ...

. He married María Magdalena de Quiñones y Osorio, and had eight children with her. In 1536 he was named ''oidor'' (judge) in the Royal '' Audiencia'' of Valladolid. On September 9, 1540 he was named a knight of the

Order of Santiago The Order of Santiago (; ) is a religious and military order founded in the 12th century. It owes its name to the patron saint of Spain, ''Santiago'' ( St. James the Greater). Its initial objective was to protect the pilgrims on the Way of S ...

The road to Peru

In 1540 he was sent by Emperor

Charles V Charles V may refer to: Kings and Emperors * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise Others * Charles V, Duke ...

to restore order between the factions of

Gonzalo Pizarro Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso (; 1510 – 10 April 1548) was a Spanish conquistador. He was the younger paternal half brother of Francisco Pizarro, who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Pizarro was the illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro y ...

and Diego Almagro the Younger after the assassination of Diego de Almagro the Elder. Vaca de Castro had a reputation as a man of integrity, sagacity, and courage. His official title was ''juez pesquisidor'' (special investigator). He was authorized to take over the government of the colony in the event of the death of

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

. He sailed from

Sanlúcar de Barrameda Sanlúcar may refer to: * Sanlúcar de Barrameda, a city in the Province of Cádiz, Spain * Sanlúcar de Guadiana, a village in the Province of Huelva, Spain * Sanlúcar la Mayor, a city in the Province of Seville, Spain *Sanlúcar de Albaida, forme ...

on November 5, 1540, and arrived in

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

in January 1541. While he was there, he reformed the Audiencia, as its president. He sailed for Peru, but was forced by bad weather to land at Buenaventura (Colombia). He proceeded from Buenaventura by land to

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,280,522 residents estimate by National Administrative Department of Statistics, DANE in 2023. The city span ...

, where he remained three months because of illness. While in Cali, he mediated in a jurisdictional dispute between

Sebastián de Belalcázar Sebastián Moyano y Cabrera, best known as Sebastián de Belalcázar (; c. 1490 – April 28, 1551) was a Spanish conquistador. Belalcázar, also written as Benalcázar. He is known as the founder of important early virreinal cities in the northw ...

and

Pascual de Andagoya Pascual de Andagoya (1495–1548) was a Spanish Basque conquistador. He was born in the village of Andagoya, in the valley of Cuartango (Álava), in Spain. As often happened at the time, Andagoya left as an explorer of the New World at a very y ...

As governor of Peru

Still on the road to Peru, in

Popayán Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in the Pubenza Valley in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. The municipality has a population of 318,059, an a ...

he learned of the assassination of Francisco Pizarro and the election of Diego de Almagro as governor. He arrived in

Quito Quito (; ), officially San Francisco de Quito, is the capital city, capital and second-largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its metropolitan area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha Province, P ...

on September 25, 1541, where he united the royalist forces behind him. Having made himself governor of the colony, he raised a considerable number of troops. Supported by

Francisco de Carvajal Francisco de Carvajal (1464 – 10 April 1548) was a Spanish military officer, conquistador, and explorer remembered as ''"the demon of the Andes"'' due to his brutality and uncanny military skill in the Peruvian civil wars of the 16th centur ...

, he defeated Almagro on September 16, 1542 in the plains of Chupas. Almagro tried to flee after the defeat, but was taken prisoner. Pressured by the Pizarristas, Vaca de Castro ordered his execution. The

New Laws The New Laws ( Spanish: ''Leyes Nuevas''), also known as the New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Preservation of the Indians, were issued on November 20, 1542, by Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (King Charles I of Spain) and regard t ...

were passed in 1542. They were intended to ban the most obvious abuses of the

encomienda The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish Labour (human activity), labour system that rewarded Conquistador, conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including mil ...

system, and eventually abolish the system altogether. The New Laws caused difficulty for Vaca de Castro with Gonzalo Pizarro and other supporters of the old system. Vaca de Castro agreed to present their case to the Crown. Thereafter he concentrated his efforts on developing the country, through improving the means of communication, regulating the inns for cross-country travel, and overseeing the use of labor in the mines. In 1543 he sent Diego de Rojas and 200 men to the

Río de la Plata The Río de la Plata (; ), also called the River Plate or La Plata River in English, is the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River at Punta Gorda, Colonia, Punta Gorda. It empties into the Atlantic Ocean and ...

. The discovery of Tucumán is credited to this expedition.

Return to Spain

He was succeeded by the first viceroy of Peru,

Blasco Núñez Vela Blasco Núñez Vela (c. 1490 – January 18, 1546) was the first Spanish viceroy of South America ("Viceroyalty of Peru"). Serving from May 15, 1544 to January 18, 1546, he was charged by Charles V with the enforcement of the controversial ...

, in 1544. Núñez Vela had him arrested on charges of sympathizing with the rebellion of Gonzalo Pizarro. He was imprisoned in

El Callao Callao () is a Peruvian seaside city and Regions of Peru, region on the Pacific Ocean in the Lima metropolitan area. Callao is Peru's chief seaport and home to its main airport, Jorge Chávez International Airport. Callao municipality consists ...

, then sent by ship to Panama, and then on to Spain. In Spain, he was imprisoned on charges of illegal enrichment, but after three years in prison he was cleared of the charges. Later he was named commander of the Order of Santiago. He was president of the

Council of Castile The Council of Castile (), known earlier as the Royal Council (), was a ruling body and key part of the domestic government of the Crown of Castile, second only to the monarch himself. It was established under Isabella I in 1480 as the chi ...

between 1557 and 1561. He retired to the convent of San Agustín in

, where he died in 1566. He was interred in the convent.

References

* * Calvete de La Estrella, I.C., ''Elogio de Vaca de Castro''. Madrid, I. López de Toro, 1947. * García, C., ''Vida de D. Cristóbal Vaca de Castro, presidente y gobernador del Perú''. Madrid, 1957.

External links

Gran Enciclopedia Rialp article
1991
Columbia Encyclopedia article
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vaca de Castro, Cristobal 16th-century Spanish explorers Viceroys of Peru 1490s births 1566 deaths Year of birth uncertain Knights of Santiago People from the Province of León People of the Spanish colonial Americas 16th-century Peruvian people