Alonso de Camargo

Alonso de Camargo (b. Trujillo, Crown of Castile, 1500 – d. Viceroyalty of Peru, Spanish Empire, 1546) was a 16th-century Spanish naval officer He later appears in Peru, having entered through the Río de la Plata alongside Governor Diego de Rojas. He became a city councillor ("regidor") and resident of Quito, and was an hidalgo. It appears he was granted a royal decree to colonize Chile prior to Pedro de Valdivia, although the plan was never carried out.

Camargo set sail from Seville in August 1539 titular adelantado of New León, with the goal of exploring the Strait of Magellan and colonizing Tierra del Fuego. The expedition was financed by his relative Gutierre de Vargas Carvajal (1506–1559), and brother of Francisco de Camargo.

Replica of the Nao Victoria, similar to Camargo’s Incógnita, used by Magellan’s fleet in 1522.

Upon sighting Cape Virgenes

Meanwhile, the flagship commanded by Francisco de la Ribera entered the Strait on 20 January and managed to pass the first narrows, but upon reaching the second, amid rough seas and hurricane-force winds, the vessel was lost. The crew—about 150 men—along with Ribera, managed to reach the coast using small boats but were left stranded on the continental shores of the Strait.

These men moved inland into Patagonia, led by captain Sebastián de Argüello, since the fledgling adelantado Francisco de la Ribera died shortly thereafter. It has been said—though without any evidence—that they were the founders of a city in Patagonia.

Participation in the Civil Wars of the Conquerors of Peru and Death Upon his arrival in Peru, Alonso de Camargo sided with the royalists in defense of the King of Spain, as the Camargo family were noble supporters of the Crown during the context of the civil wars among the conquerors. In 1541, he commanded the ship that transported the forces of Pedro Álvarez Holguín to defend Arequipa from Diego de Almagro II. He later went to Cuzco under the orders of Cristóbal Vaca de Castro, and while in Chuquisaca alongside Diego Centeno, they killed Francisco de Almendras, who was stationed there under orders of the rebel Gonzalo Pizarro.

In 1546, after numerous battles against the rebels, he was defeated by Francisco de Carvajal at the Battle of Pocona, taken prisoner by the rebels. Although Carvajal spared his life, Camargo did not yield: once free, he conspired against him and attempted to stab him upon leaving church. As a result, he was sentenced to death for conspiracy.

The Legend of the City of the Caesars

It is said that they were the founders of the legendary Patagonian city, the City of the Caesars, also known as Trapalanda or the Enchanted City. Stories and legends about the fate of these castaways began to spread throughout Chile, Buenos Aires, and the Tucumán region. Some Amerindians claimed to have encountered Argüello and other companions of friar Francisco.

In 1589, the Governor of Tucumán, Juan Ramírez de Velazco, took testimony from indigenous witnesses who claimed to have seen the people of "Trapalanda" in their wondrous city. In 1620, two sailors traveled through Chile claiming they had been expelled from the "Enchanted City". Historically, however, none of these accounts has ever been verified.