Hernando de Lerma (born November 1, 1541) was a conqueror,
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
,
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
and city founder from
SevilleSeville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
.
On November 13, 1577, Lerma was named Governor of
TucumánSan Miguel de Tucumán is the largest city in northern Argentina, with a population of 527,607 per the . The metropolitan area totals 830,000, making it the fifth-largest in the country. It is the capital of the province of Tucumán...
, (in present
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
) by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
King
Philip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
. Described by historians as a man of violence, de Lerma had problems with several people from the area, including fellow countrymen. Among those he persecuted were the spokesman of a
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
bishop. He also disliked Francisco Salcedo, another Catholic man who built a church in
Santiago del EsteroSantiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants and a surface of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of 1,042 km north-northwest from Buenos Aires...
.
Many of de Lerma's opponents ended up in jail or being killed.
Hernando de Lerma (born November 1, 1541) was a conqueror,
politicianA politician or political leader is an individual who is involved in influencing public decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, coup d'état, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest,...
,
lawyerA lawyer, according to Black's Law Dictionary, is "a person learned in the law; as an attorney, counsel or solicitor; a person licensed to practice law." Law is the system of rules of conduct established by the sovereign government of a society to correct wrongs, maintain stability, and deliver...
and city founder from
SevilleSeville is the artistic, cultural, and financial capital of southern Spain. It is the capital of Andalusia and of the province of Seville. It is situated on the plain of the River Guadalquivir, with an average elevation of above sea level. The inhabitants of the city are known as Sevillanos or...
,
SpainSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
.
On November 13, 1577, Lerma was named Governor of
TucumánSan Miguel de Tucumán is the largest city in northern Argentina, with a population of 527,607 per the . The metropolitan area totals 830,000, making it the fifth-largest in the country. It is the capital of the province of Tucumán...
, (in present
ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
) by
SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
King
Philip IIPhilip II was King of Spain and Portugal, Naples, Sicily, and, during his wife Mary Tudor's reign, King of England and Ireland...
. Described by historians as a man of violence, de Lerma had problems with several people from the area, including fellow countrymen. Among those he persecuted were the spokesman of a
CatholicThe word Catholic is derived from the Greek adjective , meaning "universal". In the context of Christian ecclesiology, it has a rich history and several usages. For some, the term "Catholic Church" refers to the church in full communion with the Bishop of Rome, made up of the Latin Rite and the 22...
bishop. He also disliked Francisco Salcedo, another Catholic man who built a church in
Santiago del EsteroSantiago del Estero is the capital of Santiago del Estero Province in northern Argentina. It has a population of 244,733 inhabitants and a surface of 2,116 km². It lies on the Dulce River and on National Route 9, at a distance of 1,042 km north-northwest from Buenos Aires...
.
Many of de Lerma's opponents ended up in jail or being killed. Salcedo retired to another city and became convalescent, but he was returned to Tucumán by de Lerma's men after he found him. In Tucumán, Salcedo was tried and jailed. A large number of Salcedo's supporters were killed.
In April of 1582, de Lerma founded the city of
SaltaSalta is a city in northwestern Argentina and the capital city of the Salta Province. With a population of 464,678 inhabitants as of the , it is Argentina's 8th largest city.- Overview :...
, next to the
Arenales River-References:* Rand McNally, The New International Atlas, 1993.*...
. He foresaw Salta as an economic center, since the Spanish government had opened seaports in
Santiago de ChileSantiago , is the capital and largest city of Chile, and the centre of its largest conurbation . It is located in the country's central valley, at an elevation of 520 m AMSL...
,
CallaoCallao is the largest and most important port in Peru. The city is coterminous with the Constitutional Province of Callao, the only province of the Callao Region. Callao is located west of Lima, the country's capital, and is part of the Lima Metropolitan Area, a large metropolis that concentrates...
and
Buenos AiresBuenos Aires is the capital, and largest city, of Argentina, currently the second-largest metropolitan area in South America, after São Paulo. It is located on the eastern shore of the Río de la Plata, on the southeastern coast of the South American continent...
. Salta's situation between the
Viceroyalty of PeruCreated in 1542, the Viceroyalty of Peru was a Spanish colonial administrative district that originally contained most of Spanish-ruled South America, governed from the capital of Lima...
and the port at the
Río de la PlataThe Río de la Plata —always rendered River Plate in British English and the Commonwealth, and occasionally rendered [La] Plata River in other English-speaking countries— is the river formed by the combination of the Uruguay River and the Paraná River...
river, according to de Lerma, would be an advantage for the city, as it connected the city directly with the aforementioned places, and de Lerma believed that
MadridMadrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. It is the third-most populous municipality in the European Union after Greater London and Berlin, and its metropolitan area is the third-most populous city by urban area in the European Union after Paris and London.The city is located on the river...
's government would re-route their shipments through Salta. He had the city named "Lerma City on Salta Valley". Hernando de Lerma befriended Indians who populated the area, believing their hands could be of help to him. He also attracted other Spaniards to the area.
After he established the city, however, de Lerma had to face many new rivals and problems. More conquerors arrived in Salta and tried to seize the city, causing multiple feuds. The city went through many periods of disease, and it had been erected in an area with frequent tremors.
In 1584, de Lerma was arrested and sentenced to jail in Salta. He appealed, and returned to Spain to take his case to the supreme court, but his appeal was rejected and he was sent to a Spanish jail. While it is known he died in jail, the year in which he died is not known.
Historian Paul Goussac said that "de Lerma's administration was nothing but a series of criminal attempts." Salta-born historian Armando Bazan describes de Lerma "as malign as a disease" in one of his books.
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