Alonso Valiente facts for kids
Alonso Valiente (born around 1482 in Medina de las Torres, Spain – died around 1564 in New Spain, which is now Mexico) was a Spanish conquistador. This means he was an explorer and soldier who helped Spain conquer new lands. He was a cousin and secretary to the famous Spanish leader Hernán Cortés. Alonso Valiente was one of the first governors, called an Alguacil Mayor, of Mexico City. He was also the first encomendero of Tecamachalco. An encomendero was someone who was granted control over a group of native people and their land. He also helped start the city of Puebla de los Ángeles, where he served as mayor.
A Spanish Explorer and Conqueror
Alonso Valiente first traveled to the New World (the Americas) with Cristóbal Colón (Christopher Columbus) on his last big trip. He arrived in Santo Domingo (in what is now the Dominican Republic) in 1508. Valiente helped conquer Higüey in the Dominican Republic. He also helped conquer Borinquen, which Columbus named San Juan Bautista. Today, this island is known as Puerto Rico. He stayed there from 1509 to 1521.
Four months after the Spanish took Mexico City, Valiente arrived there. He brought his household and sixty Spanish soldiers he had supplied. Valiente took part in conquering Michoacán and Pánuco in Mexico. In 1524, he joined Cortés' trip to Las Hibueras, which is now Honduras. A document signed by Alonso Valiente shows this. There, Valiente helped conquer the three islands of Guanaja off the coast of Honduras.
The people on these islands told them that a ship from Cuba had captured and enslaved over sixty people. Cortés, following the Laws of Burgos (rules about how to treat native people), ordered Valiente and others to rescue them. He gave Valiente a brigantine, which is a type of sailing ship, and the best cannons available. Valiente's group could not catch the slave traders. But they learned the ship was originally sent from Santo Domingo for other reasons. The captain had changed his mind to capture slaves for profit. Alonso Valiente also helped discover the Old Bahama Channel, a sea route. He also joined the conquest of Chametla in Nueva Galicia.
Valiente held many important jobs. He was Cortés' secretary and a governor. His bravery and service were noted in his coat of arms in 1547. In the 1520s, Valiente was considered a citizen of Medellin (Spain), Veracruz, and Mexico City all at once. By 1547, he was a citizen of both Mexico City and Puebla, a city he helped establish.
Family and Life in New Spain
Valiente came to Mexico with his first wife, Juana de Mancilla. It is believed she died in the 1550s. Valiente did not marry again until around 1555.
Juana de Mancilla is remembered for a story in Mexico City. She was once suspected of sorcery (magic). This happened when a colonial official, called a factor, urged her to marry another man. The factor feared that Valiente and everyone on one of Cortés' trips had died. But Mancilla was sure that Valiente and the others were alive. So, she stayed loyal to Valiente. Because of her strong belief, the factor ordered her to be whipped, thinking her faith was sorcery.
Later, the factor received news that Valiente and the other conquerors were indeed alive. When the factor realized his mistake, he apologized. He asked every gentleman in the colony to ride their horses in the streets to honor Juana de Mancilla. From then on, she was known as Doña Señora Juana de Mancilla.
Cortés gave Valiente the encomienda of Tecamachalco in 1523. This property was worth 3,300 pesos (a type of money) in 1560. Valiente lived in Mexico City from 1526 to 1542. In 1527, he was also listed as living in Medellin, Spain. He was a lawyer for the conquerors Luis Ponce the León and Alonso de Ávila. He also lived in and was the mayor of Puebla from 1542 to 1555. He also owned land in Oaxtepec.
Alonso Valiente and Juan Altamirano stayed in Mexico when Cortés made his first trip to Spain. Both Valiente and Altamirano acted as Hernán Cortés' legal representatives while he was away.
Alonso Valiente had a second wife named Melchora de Aberrucia. They did not have any children. He lived with her in what is now the city of Puebla. He was one of the city's founders and first governors.
Popular Culture
Alonso Valiente is also known for buying an enslaved person who was baptized and given the Christian name of Juan Valiente. This person had been captured by the Portuguese in Northwest Africa. Alonso took Juan to Spain. He later allowed Juan to travel to South America to try his luck as a conqueror. Juan Valiente first went to Peru from Guatemala with Pedro de Alvarado. He then joined Pedro de Almagro's group and later Pedro de Valdivia. Juan Valiente helped establish Santiago, Chile. He is known in popular culture as one of the few African conquerors in the New World. Juan Valiente lived as a free man in Chile. He tried to pay for his freedom, but it was very hard to send the payments to New Spain. Juan Valiente died in Tucapel, Chile in 1553.
Alonso Valiente was also the first owner of La Casa del Conde (the count's house). This house was in one of his encomiendas in Tecamachalco. After Alonso Valiente died, his widow and second wife, Melchora de Aberrucia, took over the house. She later married Rodrigo de Vivero y Velasco. He was related to Luís de Velasco, who was the second Viceroy (a ruler representing the king) of New Spain. Their son, Rodrigo de Vivero y Aberrucia, became the first Count of the Valley of Orizaba. Since then, the house has been known as La Casa del Conde.
The Spanish comic book series from 1957, Capitán Valiente (the brave captain), was loosely based on Alonso Valiente. It was drawn by Manuel Gago García with stories by Pedro Quesada.
See also
In Spanish: Alonso Valiente para niños
