Hernando Arias de Saavedra facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Hernandarias
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| Born | September 10, 1561 Asunción, Paraguay
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| Died | 1634 (aged 72/73) |
| Occupation | Spanish colonial Governor |
| Spouse(s) | Jerónima de Contreras |
| Children | Gerónima, Isabel and María |
| Parent(s) | Martín Suárez de Toledo, María de Sanabria |
Hernando Arias de Saavedra (born September 10, 1561 – died 1634), often called Hernandarias, was an important soldier and leader. He was special because he was the first person born in the Americas to become a governor of a European colony. He served as governor of the Governorate of the Río de la Plata twice (1597–1599 and 1602–1609) and of the Governorate of Paraguay once (1615–1617).
Contents
Early Life of Hernandarias
Hernandarias was born in Asunción, which is now in Paraguay. His mother was María de Sanabria, and his father was Martín Suárez, a military officer. He had a sister, Juana, who married Juan de Garay, another important figure. His grandparents were wealthy.
Hernandarias joined the military when he was young. He helped explore and conquer lands that are now part of Paraguay and Argentina. Because he was a good soldier and leader, he was made lieutenant-governor of Asunción in 1592. He held this job three times. People from Spain often thought that officials born in the Americas were not as good. But a new governor, Diego Rodríguez Valdés Vanda, said about Hernandarias:
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This means Hernandarias was seen as a very honest and good leader, even though he was born in the Americas. At the same time, his half-brother, Hernando de Trejo, became the bishop of Asunción.
Governor of Río de la Plata
In 1596, Hernandarias was chosen as Lieutenant-Governor of the Rio de la Plata province, which included Buenos Aires. When the governor died in 1597, King Phillip II ordered a new governor to be chosen. Hernandarias was picked by everyone in Asunción to be the governor of the Rio de la Plata province.
Hernandarias was governor three times: from 1597 to 1599, 1602 to 1609, and 1615 to 1617. As governor, he worked hard to help the small port town of Buenos Aires grow.
Building and Protecting Buenos Aires
He started the first primary schools and encouraged the use of bricks and tiles for building instead of adobe. He also rebuilt a fortress to protect the city from pirates. After English privateers captured two ships in 1607, he ordered a bigger fort to be built near the Matanza River. He also tried to stop smuggling, which was happening because of rules against importing and exporting goods.
Explorations and Reforms
During his time as governor, Hernandarias led several trips. He explored Uruguay and Brazil to stop the Portuguese bandeirantes (explorers and slave hunters). He also explored Patagonia and checked if rivers could be used for travel. In 1604, he was captured by the native Mapuche people far south of Buenos Aires, but he managed to escape.
In 1603, Hernandarias changed the rules for Amerindian workers. He ended the mita and encomienda systems. These systems forced native people to work for the Spanish, often in harsh conditions, in exchange for being taught Christianity. He got King Phillip III to agree to these changes. In 1608, he helped create special areas called Jesuit Reductions for native people, run by Jesuit and Franciscan priests. These areas protected native people from ranchers and the old labor systems. In 1611, a judge ordered that all native people who had been converted by the Jesuits should be free.
Hernandarias also tried to stop the yerba mate industry. He thought drinking mate was an unhealthy habit and that too many native workers were spending their time on it. He ordered production to stop, but the King and the people involved in the business did not agree, so his ban was not followed.
Building the Cathedral of Buenos Aires
Hernandarias was involved in moving the church in Buenos Aires in 1603. In 1616, the church's roof was falling apart, and during repairs, the whole church collapsed. In 1618, Hernandarias led the effort to build the new Cathedral of Buenos Aires. He worked with a carpenter named Pascual Ramírez to get wood from Paraguay and help from Spanish settlers and converted native people. He wrote that he built the church and other buildings "not just with my work and perseverance, but at the expense of my estate."
Official Decisions
On September 7, 1614, Hernandarias was named governor of Buenos Aires for his third and last time. He started this job on May 29, 1615. He suggested splitting the Governorate of the Río de la Plata into two parts: the Province of Buenos Aires and the Province of Paraguay. This change was ordered in 1617 and approved by the king in 1618, but it didn't happen until 1620. After his term ended in 1617, Diego de Góngora became the new governor.
Family Life
Hernandarias married Jerónima de Contreras. They had three daughters: Gerónima, Isabel, and María. Hernandarias retired with his wife to Santa Fe, Argentina. He died there in 1634 when he was 72 years old. He and his wife were buried at the San Francisco convent in Santa Fe.
Legacy of Hernandarias
Many places are named after Hernandarias to honor him:
- The Hernandarias District in Paraguay.
- The city of Hernandarias, Argentina in the Paraná District.
- The Hernandarias Subfluvial Tunnel in Argentina.
Cattle in Uruguay
In 1604, Hernandarias traveled along the Uruguay and Negro rivers for six months, looking for wood and other supplies. When he returned to Buenos Aires, he told King Felipe III that the lands on the eastern side of the Uruguay River (called Banda Oriental) were excellent for raising cattle. The King didn't follow his advice right away.
However, in 1610, the King gave Hernandarias the title "Natural Peoples Protector" and two islands where the Uruguay and Negro rivers meet: Vizcaíno Island and Lobos Island. In 1611, Hernandarias brought fifty young cows and some bulls to Lobos Island. He made a deal with the native people to protect the animals and their calves. He did this again in 1617 with fifty more animals on San Gabriel Island.
This act started a huge herd of cattle in the region. The large number of cattle later became very important for the history and settlement of what is now Uruguay, which the Spanish had mostly ignored before. The good pastures helped the cattle grow quickly. The abundance of cattle also attracted Portuguese people from Brazil, which led to the founding of Colonia del Sacramento by Portugal in 1678 and Montevideo by Spain in 1726.
See also
In Spanish: Hernando Arias de Saavedra para niños
