Diego Lopez de Zuniga y Velasco, cuarto conde de Nieva (ca. 1510, Valladolid, Spain—February 20, 1564, Lima, Peru) was the sixth viceroy of Peru, from April 17, 1561 to his death on February 20, 1564.
Early career
Lopez de Zuniga was a knight of the military Order of Santiago, and from 1553 to 1559, governor of Galicia. He was named Peruvian viceroy in late 1560 by King Philip II to replace Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, who had been recalled. Lopez de Zuniga arrived in Lima and took up the office on February 20, 1561. After his arrival in Peru but before reaching the capital, he sent impertinent messages to his predecessor, just before the death of the latter. Some said that the recall and the insulting communications from Lopez de Zuniga had brought about the death of Hurtado de Mendoza.
Viceroy of Peru
On December 14, 1561 he ordered Gomez de Tordoya to explore the River Tono, and on December 24, 1561 he commissioned Juan Nieto to conquer the territory of Camana.
In 1562 the city of Santiago del Estero (today in Tucuman province, Argentina) was founded by Francisco Aguirre on orders of the viceroy. The following year the Audiencia of Quito was established. Lopez de Zuniga also founded the city of Safia (Santiago de Miraflores) and directed Cristobal de Valverde to found San Geronimo de Ica. He founded the town of Arnedo (now Chancay) with the intention of moving the University of San Marcos there, for its tranquility.
He began the construction of the entrances that surround the Plaza Mayor in Lima. These were destroyed in the earthquake of October 20, 1687, but later rebuilt.
In addition, he directed the separation of the diocese of Chile from that of Peru. He organized and improved schools for the sons of Indigenous leaders. Dona Ana de Solorzano founded a school for poor girls in 1562. Lopez de Zuniga favored the monasteries, ordered the construction of an aqueduct to bring potable water to Lima, and passed laws for the improvement of the government of the colony. During his term in office he sent 651,000 ducats to the royal treasury in Spain. He was the first viceroy of Peru to introduce the pomp of a viceregal court, with much attention paid to details of etiquette, ceremony and precedence.
Death
On February 1, 1564 he issued an edict setting a curfew for 10 p.m. in the city of Lima. On the following February 20, at midnight, four figures with their faces completely covered were seen violating the curfew. They entered the street of Trapitos and took up positions outside one of the houses there. At night this street was one of the most deserted in the city. The block in question was made up of four houses, none of which opened on Trapitos. There were no doors, but there were some balconies overlooking the street. Shortly after the arrival of the masked men, a rope ladder was thrown down from one of these balconies, and a man wrapped in a cape began to descend. Just before he reached the street, the four men lying in wait began to beat him with sandbags.
There was a single witness to these events, a young man taking the air on the balcony of the Zarate family residence nearby. This man was thought to be Pedro de Zarate. He called to his slaves, and together with them he went to investigate the incident. When they arrived, they found the victim dead and the assailants gone. And they discovered that the victim was in fact Viceroy Lopez de Zuniga y Velasco, apparently returning from a late-night tryst. Zarate was the son of one of the judges of the Audiencia of Lima, and this court was assembled to decide what action to take. The decision was made to move the body to the viceregal palace, and to announce that the viceroy had died of a sudden attack of apoplexy.
This was done, but rumors circulated concerning the other explanation of the viceroy's death. It was said that the woman involved was Catalina Lopez de Zuniga, a cousin of the viceroy and wife of Rodrigo Manrique de Lara. The later was said to have hired the assassins.
This account is the one currently accepted, but it is not certain that it is true. The viceroy was known for his affairs, so perhaps his reputation alone generated the rumors. At least one medical paper (see the fourth reference below) claims to have found evidence that the viceroy died of a stroke, presumably in his palace.
The body of Lopez de Zuniga y Velasco was interred in the church of San Francisco, and later transferred to Spain.
References
- Porras Barrenechea, Raul, and Ruben Vargas Ugarte, Historia general de los Peruanos. Vol 2. El Peru Virreinal. Lima. Talleres Graficos, 1977.
External links
Other pages about Colonial Peru
-Alonzo de Alvarado -Ana Francisca de Borja y Doria -Ana de Castro -Andres Hurtado de Mendoza -Antonio de Mendoza -Antonio de Morga -Balconies of Lima -Baltasar de la Cueva Enriquez -Battle of Sangarara -Bernardo de Iturriaza -Blasco Nunez Vela -Cabildo (council) -Carmine Nicolao Caracciolo -Cathedral of Lima -Comentarios Reales de los Incas -Convento de San Francisco -Cristobal Ramirez de Cartagena -Cristobal Vaca de Castro -Diego Ladron de Guevara -Diego Lopez de Zuniga y Velasco -Diego Morcillo Rubio de Aunon -Diego Nunez de Avendano -Diego Quispe Tito -Diego de Almagro -Diego de Benavides y de la Cueva -Fernando Torres de Portugal y Mesia -Francisco Ruiz Lozano -Francisco de Borja y Aragon -Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa -Garcia Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis of Canete -Government Palace (Peru) -Hans Heinrich Bruning Brookstedt -Hernando de Luque -Historic Centre of Lima -Jose Antonio de Areche -Jose Antonio de Mendoza -Jose de Armendariz -Juan Jimenez de Montalvo -Juan Pizarro II -Lima City Walls -Luis Jeronimo Fernandez de Cabrera -Manuel de Oms y de Santa Pau -Mateo de la Mata Ponce de Leon -Melchor Bravo de Saravia -Melchor Linan y Cisneros -Melchor de Navarra y Rocafull -Miguel Nunez de Sanabria -Osambela House -Pedro Alvarez de Toledo y Leiva -Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro -Pedro Bohorquez -Pedro de la Gasca -San Telmo (ship) -Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire -Torre Tagle Palace -Tupac Amaru II -Turibius of Mongrovejo -Viceroyalty of Peru
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