Vincente de Valverde facts for kids
Quick facts for kids The Right Rev. Lord Brother Vicente de Valverde y Alvarez de Toledo, O.P. |
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| Bishop of Cuzco | |
Valverde in a detail from The Battle of Cajamarca in the Monastery of Santo Domingo, Cuzco, Peru (17th century)
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| Province | Seville |
| See | Cuzco |
| In Office | 1537-1541 |
| Successor | Juan Solano, O.P. |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | c. 1525 |
| Consecration | 1537 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1499 Oropesa, Province of Toledo, Crown of Castile |
| Died | 31 October 1541 Puná Island, New Spain |
| Parents | Francisco de Valverde & Ana Alvarez de Toledo |
Vicente de Valverde y Alvarez de Toledo was a Spanish Dominican friar. A friar is a member of a religious group who often travels and preaches. He was involved in the Conquest of the Americas, which was when Europeans explored and took control of lands in the Americas. Later, he became the first resident bishop in South America. A bishop is a high-ranking leader in the Christian church.
Valverde was born in Oropesa, Spain, around 1499. Most sources say he died on Puná Island, which is now part of Ecuador, in 1541. He was killed by local native people.
Contents
Early Life and Studies
Vicente de Valverde was born in Oropesa, a town near Toledo, at the end of the 1400s. His parents were Francisco de Valverde and Ana Alvarez de Toledo. He was related to important noble families in the area. This included Francisco Pizarro, who conquered Peru, and Hernán Cortés, who conquered Mexico.
In 1515, Valverde went to study at the University of Salamanca. While there, he decided to join the Dominican Order. He became a Dominican friar in 1523 at the Priory of San Esteban in Salamanca. By April 1524, he officially became a friar. He was ordained as a priest a few years later.
Journey to Peru
Valverde joined Francisco Pizarro as a missionary. A missionary is someone who travels to spread their religious beliefs. Pizarro was planning to conquer Peru. Valverde arrived in Peru around 1530. It is not fully clear if he traveled directly with Pizarro from Spain in 1529. He might have arrived in 1531 with more Spanish soldiers from Panama. Panama was the first main base for the Spanish forces.
Meeting the Inca Leader
Before the Battle of Caxamarca on November 16, 1532, Valverde tried to get the Great Inca leader Atahuallpa to surrender peacefully. Atahuallpa was the ruler of the Inca Empire. Valverde approached Atahuallpa holding a crucifix and a prayer book. He introduced himself as a messenger from the Spanish ruler.
Friar Vicente asked Atahuallpa to stop believing in his gods. He said they were not real. Atahuallpa replied that he could not change his beliefs. He believed in the powerful Sun and other gods.
March to Cuzco
After Atahuallpa's death, Pizarro continued his conquest. He decided to march into Cuzco on November 15, 1533. Cuzco was the capital city of the Inca Empire. Valverde went with Pizarro and his followers.
On March 23, 1534, a church was built in Cuzco. This church became Valverde's main church. Pizarro also gave Valverde control over a large group of native people. Some reports say Valverde treated these people poorly, using them like slaves.
Becoming a Bishop
Later in 1534, Valverde traveled back to Spain. He went to help Pizarro's brother, Hernando Pizarro. Hernando was negotiating with the Spanish court. While in Spain, Valverde gave the emperor a report about the conquest of Peru. He called it Relacion de la Conquista de los Reynos de Peru. In this report, he suggested that Native Americans might not have souls. This idea was very controversial.
In 1535, Valverde was chosen to be the bishop of Cuzco. In 1536, he was also named "Protector of the Natives" and "Inquisitor." A Protector of the Natives was supposed to defend the rights of the native people. An Inquisitor was a church official who investigated people for not following church rules.
That same year, the Holy See (the Pope's authority) made Cuzco the first diocese in South America. A diocese is an area managed by a bishop. This diocese covered almost the entire continent. Emperor Charles V named Valverde as the first Bishop of Cuzco. Pope Paul III officially confirmed this choice in January 1537.
Return to Peru and Building the Cathedral
After being officially made a bishop, Valverde returned to Peru in early 1538. This was just before the execution of Diego de Almagro, which Valverde had tried to stop. The new bishop found his duties very difficult. His diocese was huge, and he was also the Protector of the Natives. He felt he had to ignore the Spanish soldiers. These soldiers often did not care about justice or mercy for the native people.
In 1539, Valverde started work on the first cathedral for the diocese. A cathedral is the main church of a bishop's diocese. This church, now called the Church of the Triumph, was built where a temple once stood. This temple was part of the palace of Viracocha Inca, an earlier Inca ruler. On March 11, 1540, Valverde led the ceremony to officially open the new church.
Death
In June 1541, Francisco Pizarro was killed by followers of Diego de Almagro II. After this, Valverde fled towards Panama. He stopped briefly on Puná Island, near Guayaquil, in Ecuador. There, on October 31, 1541, he was captured and killed by the local native people.
Disputes and Criticisms
Some people criticized Valverde for how he treated the native people of Peru. They claimed that instead of teaching them the Catholic faith, he oppressed them. They said he enslaved them and forced them to work for the Church. These charges came about when Pizarro put Valverde on a team to divide lands and native people among Spanish officers.
A lawyer named Antonio de Game, who was a judge in Cuzco, wrote a letter to the emperor in 1539. He accused Valverde of unfair actions. He insisted that Valverde mistreated the natives instead of protecting them. He also claimed Valverde took most of the land for himself and his helper.
This was very different from what Bartolomé de Las Casas did. Las Casas was another Spanish Dominican friar and bishop. He strongly defended the rights of native people. He wrote books and visited Spain to tell King Philip II about the abuses by the Conquistadors.
However, whether these charges against Valverde are true is debated. Not all writers from that time mention them. Also, Valverde's main accusers might have had political reasons for their charges. They might have been against Pizarro's government.
See also
In Spanish: Vicente de Valverde para niños
