Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor

Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor (b. Kingdom of Portugal, 1470 – Puerto de los Leones, East Patagonia, Spanish Empire, May 1535) was a Portuguese navigator and explorer who was appointed by Charles V, emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, as adelantado and governor of New León. In this role, he founded the first European settlement in Patagonia and the second in what is now Argentina, one year before Pedro de Mendoza attempted the first foundation of Buenos Aires.

Biography up to the South American voyage

Family origins and early years

Simón de Alcazaba y Sotomayor was born in 1470 somewhere in the Kingdom of Portugal. He later entered the service of the House of Habsburg in 1522.

Capitulations with the Spanish Crown

By the Capitulation of Toledo, signed on July 26, 1529, by Queen Isabella of Portugal, consort of Charles V, 200 leagues southward from the mouth of the Santiago River (1°20'N to 9°57'S) were granted to Francisco Pizarro to form the Governorate of New Castilla.

Excerpt from the Capitulation of Simón de Alcazaba (1529):

Expedition to Patagonia

Juan de Mori, who held key positions among the expedition’s sailors —including as guardian of Alcazaba's illegitimate younger son— wrote a Report on the events of Simón de Alcazaba’s expedition to the Strait of Magellan, from his departure from Sanlúcar de Barrameda until his arrival in Santo Domingo.

Alcazaba departed from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda on September 21, 1534, leading an expedition of 250 men aboard two ships: the one he commanded, Madre de Dios, and the San Pedro,

Shortly afterward, Alcazaba and 200 men set off into inland eastern Patagonia to try to reach the Pacific by land. They reached the present-day Chico River, which they named Guadalquivir, and there they encountered Tehuelche natives who guided them for ten days toward a supposed city of gold.