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Domingo Martinez de Irala
Domingo Martinez de Irala was a Spanish Basque conquistador.
He headed for the Americas in 1535 enrolled in the expedition of Pedro de Mendoza and participated in the founding of Buenos Aires. He explored the Parana and Paraguay Rivers along with Juan de Ayolas and was commanding the rear-guard when Ayolas's advance party were wiped out by the Payagua Indians.
Unique in Spanish America, the colony had been granted by Charles V the right to elect its own commander under such circumstances;Abente, Diego (1989) "The Liberal Republic and the Failure of Democracy" The Americas 45(4): pp. 525-546, pages 525-526Rivarola, Juan Bautista (1952) La Ciudad de Asuncion y la Cedula Real del 12 Setiembre de 1537: Una Lucha por la Libertad A. G., Impr. Militar, Asuncion, Paraguay, OCLC 10830133, in Spanish and in August 1538, de Irala was elected by the conquistadors as Captain General of the Rio de la Plata.
In 1539, he began to move the inhabitants of Buenos Aires to Asuncion, and the city was abandoned by 1541.
He outlasted the Charles V's appointment, Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca, whom he had removed to Spain for trial as a traitor. Although Juan de Sanabria and his son Diego were appointed governor in 1547 and 1549, they never fulfilled their commissions, and de Irala was confirmed by the king as governor in 1552.
He ruled forcefully until his death around 1556. During his rule, he had churches and public buildings erected, towns established, and the native population subjugated and distributed among the colonists in encomiendas. He was succeeded by Gonzalo de Mendoza.
Sources
Maura, Juan Francisco (2008) Alvar Nunez Cabeza de Vaca: El gran burlador de America Publicaciones de Parnaseo, Universidad de Valencia, Valencia, Spain, in Spanish
Infoplease
1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica
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