Martín García Óñez de Loyola
| Martín García Óñez de Loyola | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Royal Governor of Chile | |
|
In office 1592–1598 |
|
| Monarch | Philip II |
| Preceded by | Pedro de Viscarra de la Barrera |
| Succeeded by | Pedro de Viscarra de la Barrera |
| Personal details | |
| Born | c. 1549 Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa, Spain |
| Died | December 24, 1598 Curalaba, Chile |
| Spouse(s) | Beatriz Clara Coya |
| Religion | Catholic |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance |
 Spain
|
| Years of service | 1530s–1563 |
| Battles/wars | |
Don Martín García Óñez de Loyola (1549 in Azpeitia, Gipuzkoa – December 24, 1598 at Curalaba) was a Spanish Basque soldier and Royal Governor of the Captaincy General of Chile.
As a young man in 1568, he arrived in Peru at the side of the new viceroy Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa, as captain of the guard. In 1572, during the military expedition against Tupac Amaru- the last descendant of the Incasresisting foreign domination - Oñez de Loyola lead a brilliant action of an advance column which fell upon the camp of the Inca and captured him.
For this great feat, he gained the rank of corregidor in a number of Peruvian towns, entitling him to their goods and labor. He was also rewarded with a wife, a member of the royal Incan house and niece of Tupac Amaru. She was baptized with the Christian name Beatriz Clara Coya.
With these recommendations, the king named him governor of Paraguay in 1592. However, just before he assumed the position, Philip II designated him Royal Governor of Chile, as he was considered the officer most apt to finish the War of Arauco.
Oñez de Loyola arrived in Chile on September 23, 1592. He was determined to pacify the Arauco. To further this end he immediately set out for Concepción at the head of 110 troops which he had met at the capital. However, he realized that with such scarce resources he would not be able to achieve his objective and he requested reinforcements from Peru.
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Wikipedia