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Blasco Núñez Vela (c.1490 - January 18, 1546) was the first Spanish viceroy
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
 of Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, from May 15, 1544 to January 18, 1546. He was charged by King Charles I
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 with the enforcement of the controversial New Laws
New Laws

The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
, which dealt with the failure of the encomienda
Encomienda

The encomienda system is a trusteeship labor system that was employed by the Spanish crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The etymology of encomienda and encomendero lies in the Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust"......
 system to protect the indigenous people of America from the rapacity of the conquistadors and their descendants.

z Vela was a native of Ávila
Ávila

This article is about the Spanish city. For other uses, see Avila?vila de los Caballeros is the capital of the ?vila , now part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Spain ....
, born into an ancient and noble family.






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Blasco Núñez Vela (c.1490 - January 18, 1546) was the first Spanish viceroy
Viceroy

A viceroy is a royal official who governs a country or province in the name of and as representative of the monarch. The term derives from the Latin prefix vice-, meaning "in the place of" and the French word roi, meaning king....
 of Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
, from May 15, 1544 to January 18, 1546. He was charged by King Charles I
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 with the enforcement of the controversial New Laws
New Laws

The New Laws of 1542 , also known as the "New Laws of the Indies for the Good Treatment and Presevation of the Indians" were created to prevent the exploitation of the indigenous people by the Encomienda, or landowners, by strictly limiting their power, during the Spanish colonization of the Americas....
, which dealt with the failure of the encomienda
Encomienda

The encomienda system is a trusteeship labor system that was employed by the Spanish crown during the Spanish colonization of the Americas. The etymology of encomienda and encomendero lies in the Spanish verb encomendar, "to entrust"......
 system to protect the indigenous people of America from the rapacity of the conquistadors and their descendants.

Origins

Núñez Vela was a native of Ávila
Ávila

This article is about the Spanish city. For other uses, see Avila?vila de los Caballeros is the capital of the ?vila , now part of the autonomous community of Castile-Leon, Spain ....
, born into an ancient and noble family. The Núñez Vela family, lords of Tabadillo, lived in this area from at least 1403, year. He was a descendant of Don Pedro Nuñez de la Fuente Almexir (Fuentearmegil) the loyal, who saved the life of the King of Spain, Alfonso VIII
Alfonso VIII of Castile

Alfonso VIII , called the Noble or el de las Navas, was the King of Castile from 1158 to his death and Kingdom of Toledo. He is most remembered for his part in the Reconquista and the downfall of the Almohad Caliphate....
 in 1163. He was a knight of the Order of Santiago and corregidor of Málaga
Málaga

M?laga is a port city in Andalusia, southern Spain, on the Costa del Sol coast of the Mediterranean. At the 2007 census the population is 576,725....
 and Cuenca
Cuenca, Spain

Cuenca is a city in the autonomous community of Castilla-La Mancha in central Spain. It is the capital of the province of Cuenca , one of the largest provinces in Spain , almost as large as countries like Slovenia or Montenegro....
, Spain, and devoted to the service of the king. One of his brothers was lord of the bedchamber to the king, and another was archbishop of Burgos. Although honest, loyal and courageous, Núñez was also very hot headed.

Appointment as viceroy

In March 1542 he was named viceroy, governor and captain general of Peru and president of the Audiencia, and also captain general of Chile
Chile

Chile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long and narrow coastal strip wedged between the Andes mountains and the Pacific Ocean....
, with a salary of 5,000 ducats.

He sailed from Sanlucar
Sanlúcar

Sanl?car may refer to:*Sanl?car de Barrameda, C?diz, Spain*Manolo Sanl?car, flamenco composer and guitarist*Sanl?car la Mayor, Sevilla, Spain...
 on November 3, 1542 in command of a fleet, with much pomp. He was accompanied by the members of the Audiencia and other illustrious personalities. His last instructions from the king were to "show himself to be a severe punisher of infractions." Núñez's adherence to these instructions was to prove very costly. He arrived in Lima on May 17, 1544.

The New Laws

The New Laws he had been sent to enforce had been promulgated by Charles, under the influence of reformers such as Bartolomé de las Casas
Bartolomé de Las Casas

File:Bartolomedelascasas.jpgBartolom? de las Casas, Dominican Order , was a 16th-century Spanish Empire Dominican Order priest, and the first resident Bishop of Chiapas....
, to improve the lot of the indigenous peoples of the Americas within the Spanish dominions. They were intended to clarify, expand and enforce provisions of the Laws of Burgos
Leyes de Burgos

The document known as the Leyes de Burgos was promulgated on December 27, 1512 in Burgos, Spain. They were the first codified set of laws governing the behavior of Spain settlers in Americas, particularly with regards to Indigenous peoples of the Americas....
 of 1512. The latter had provided many safeguards for the indigenous, but these had not been enforced. The New Laws became effective November 20, 1542, in Madrid.

In order to enforce the New Laws and suppress the insubordination of the conquistadors in New Spain
New Spain

The Viceroyalty of New Spain , was the political unit of Spain territories in North America and Asia-Pacific. The territory included the present-day Southwestern United States, Central America, the Caribbean, and the Philippines....
 and Peru, representatives of the Crown were provided with the powers, authority and splendor of the king. This new office was designated virrey (viceroy). Audiencia
Audiencia

For the modern court, see Audiencia Nacional of Spain.The Royal Audiencia and Chanciller?a was a court that functioned as an appellate court in Spain and its empire....
s were also appointed to assist the viceroys in the administration of civil and criminal justice. The Audiencias were composed of four oidores (judges).

Actions as viceroy

Núñez arrived at Nombre de Dios
Nombre de Dios

Nombre de Dios is a city on the Atlantic Ocean coast of Panama in the Colon Province.Founded as a Spanish colonization of the Americas in 1510 by Diego de Nicuesa, it was one of the first European settlements on the Isthmus of Panama and it is currently the oldest, continually populated town in Panama and America mainland....
 on January 10, 1544, and passed from there to Panama City
Panama City

Panama City is the Capital and largest city of the Panama. It has a population of 708,738, with a total metro population of 1,063,000, and it is located at the Pacific entrance of the Panama Canal, at ....
. Leaving the Audiencia in Panama, he sailed for Peru, arriving at Tumbes on March 14, 1544. He went from there to Trujillo, where he was solemnly received, and thence to La Barranca. In La Barranca he may have read on one of the walls, "Whoever comes to take my hacienda, his life will be taken".

The New Laws were not well received by the conquistadors because they provided that what was effectively Indian slavery had to end, that everyone had to pay a fair share of taxes, and that all the encomienda rights had to go to the king. The conquistadors would have nothing of this.

Núñez arrived in Lima
Lima

Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chill?n River, R?mac River and Lur?n River rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean....
, the capital of the colony, on May 17, 1544, where he was received in royal splendor and sworn into office. News of governmental measures he had already taken on the voyage had preceded him, and he was met with hostility and resistance from the officials and clergy. Núñez himself now had doubts about enforcing the New Laws in the current situation. He agreed to join the Spanish landowners in the colony in a petition to the emperor to suspend them, but claiming a lack of authority, he refused to suspend them on his own initiative.

The resistance aggravated his distrust and increased the severity of his measures. He imprisoned Cristóbal Vaca de Castro
Cristóbal Vaca de Castro

Crist?bal Vaca de Castro was a Spanish people colonial administrator in Peru....
, his predecessor as head of the colonial government, and then had him sent to Spain. On September 13, 1544, in a late night interview in the viceroy's palace, Núñez accused Juan Suárez de Carbajal of treason. The exchange became heated, and Núñez killed Suárez with a dagger.

Deposition as viceroy

The death of Suárez led the Audiencia to break with the viceroy. Believing they could rely on help from Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro

Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spain conquistador and younger half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Illegitimate son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodr?guez de Aguilar who as colonel of infantry served in the Italian Wars under Gonzalo Fern?ndez de C?rdoba, and in Navarre, with some distinction, and Mar?a A...
, brother of Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro Gonz?lez, 1st Marqu?s de los Atabillos was a Spain conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru....
, they determined to remove Núñez from office and send him back to Spain. (Pizarro had already raised a small army in opposition to the viceroy.) On September 18, 1544 they deposed him and ordered his imprisonment. The viceroy was sent a prisoner to the island of San Lorenzo, to be handed over to oidor Álvarez. In Álvarez's custody, Núñez left San Lorenzo for Panama on September 24. Just out of port, Álvarez told the viceroy he was now free, and turned over command of the ship to him.

The civil war

Núñez ordered the ship to sail for Tumbes, where he disembarked in the middle of October. He gathered an army and led it south to battle the conquistadors. Pizarro made his solemn entry into Lima on October 28, at the head of 1,200 well-trained and well-armed soldiers, with artillery, under the royal banner of Castile. Both sides claimed to be defenders of the king. Pizarro was sworn in before the Audiencia as interim governor and captain general of Peru, until a replacement could be named by the king.

Núñez and his small force left San Miguel (near Quito) just ahead of Pizarro's soldiers. The hope was to link up in the high country with Benalcazar, the loyal commander at Popayan. Indecisive skirmishes were fought along the line of march. Núñez, suspecting treachery among his officers, had three of them executed. Núñez arrived in Popayan, and Pizarro occupied Quito, formerly friendly territory for the viceroy. Pizarro lured Núñez out of Popayan to Quito by a stratagem. The two armies met January 18, 1546 at nearby Añaquito
Battle of Añaquito

After his unheard claims as governor of New Castile following the death of Francisco Pizarro, Gonzalo Pizarro?pressed claims to be recognized as the ruler of the land he and his brothers had conquered....
.

Seven hundred soldiers of the army of Pizarro fought Núñez and his smaller army of a few hundred at Añaquito. Núñez fought bravely, in spite of his age, but he was killed in the battle and then decapitated. His head was marched about on a pike to demonstrate that the conquistadors had won and were now in charge. Fearing the loss of the American colonies the Crown watered down the New Laws and restored the encomiendas.

King Charles recognized the fallen viceroy and his sons, ordering that Núñez be honored annually. Charles made two of his sons knights, one in the Order of Santiago and one in the Order of Alcántara. The sons became ambassador to France, captain general of artillery, and archbishop of Burgos.

See also

  • History of Peru
    History of Peru

    The history of Peru spans several millennia. Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico civilization, one of the oldest in the world, and to the Inca Empire, the largest state in Pre-Columbian Americas....
  • Spanish conquest of Peru
  • Valladolid debate
    Valladolid debate

    The Valladolid debate concerned the treatment of Indigenous people of the Americas of the New World. Held in the Spain city of Valladolid, it opposed two main attitudes towards the European colonization of the Americas....


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