Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (Spanish pronunciation: [ˈpeðɾo ðe βalˈdiβja]; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first Governor of Colonial Chile. After having served with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1535, where he served as a soldier under the Pizarro brothers in Peru, gradually rising in power.
In 1540, Valdivia led an expedition of 150 Spaniards and 1,000 Peruvian Indians into Chile, where he defeated a large force of indigenous warriors and founded Santiago in 1541. He extended Spanish rule south to the Biobío River in 1546, fought again in Peru (1546–1548), and returned to Chile as Royal Governor in 1549. In 1550, he expanded Spanish rule further south into Araucanía, where he founded the city of Concepción and the eponymous city of Valdivia. He was captured and killed by Mapuche Indians during the Arauco War in 1553.