; d. 1558 Asunción

Asunción

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...

, Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

) was a Spanish

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

 conquistador

Conquistador

Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...

 and colonizer.

A native of Andalusia

Andalusia

Andalusia is the most populous and the second largest in area of the autonomous communities of Spain. The Andalusian autonomous community is officially recognised as a nationality of Spain. The territory is divided into eight provinces: Huelva, Seville, Cádiz, Córdoba, Málaga, Jaén, Granada and...

 in Spain

Spain

Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...

, he joined his brother Pedro

Pedro de Mendoza

Pedro de Mendoza y Luján was a Spanish conquistador, soldier and explorer, and the first adelantado of the Río de la Plata.- Setting sail :...

 at his new colony of New Andalusia

New Andalusia

The name New Andalusia refers to two separate regions of the Spanish Empire in the Americas.* New Andalusia Governorate - created as one of Charles V's grants of 1534...

 in 1536. Together with Juan de Salazar y Espinosa

Juan de Salazar de Epinosa

Juan de Salazar y Espinosa was a Spanish explorer, founder of the Paraguayan city of Asuncion. Born in the city of Espinosa de los Monteros in Burgos, Spain, not much is known about his early life....

, he founded Nuestra Señora Santa María de la Asunción

Asunción

Asunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...

 (Asunción del Paraguay) on 15 August 1537, which soon became the seat of the colony. Under succeeding governors, he acted as their captain and lieutenant

Lieutenant

A lieutenant is a junior commissioned officer in many nations' armed forces. Typically, the rank of lieutenant in naval usage, while still a junior officer rank, is senior to the army rank...

, while exploring Paraguay

Paraguay

Paraguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...

 and Brazil

Brazil

Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...

.

He succeeded Domingo Martínez de Irala

Domingo Martínez de Irala

Domingo Martínez 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...

 as acting governor

Governor

A governor is a governing official, usually the executive of a non-sovereign level of government, ranking under the head of state...

 of the renamed Governorate of Rio de la Plata in 1556. During his term, the Ciudad Real del Guayrá

Maringá

Maringá is a city in southern Brazil that was founded on May 10, 1947. Maringá is the third largest city in the state of Paraná. The city has a population of 357,117 , 612,617 in its metropolitan area...

 was founded by Ruy Díaz de Malgarejo at the confluence of the Pepirí-Guazú and Paraná

Paraná River

The Paraná River is a river in south Central South America, running through Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina for some . It is second in length only to the Amazon River among South American rivers. The name Paraná is an abbreviation of the phrase "para rehe onáva", which comes from the Tupi language...

 rivers. This city received the settlers of Ontiveros

Ontiveros

Ontiveros mey refer to:*Karin Ontiveros, a Mexican model and beauty pageant titleholder.*Lupe Ontiveros, a Mexican-American film and television actress.*Fontiveros, a Spanish municipality....

 when it was abandoned and later grew large enough to briefly become the namesake for the governorate

Governorate

A governorate is an administrative division of a country. It is headed by a governor. As English-speaking nations tend to call regions administered by governors either states, provinces, or colonies, the term governorate is often used in translation from non-English-speaking administrations.The...

 of Paraguay.

Mendoza was succeeded in his turn by captain Francisco Ortiz de Vergara

Francisco Ortiz de Vergara

Francisco Ortiz de Vergara was a Spanish conquistador and colonizer, born in Seville.He succeeded Gonzalo de Mendoza as governor of Rio de la Plata. He was elected, rather than appointed by the king or his predecessor...

in 1558.