Please answer the following question: Facts: - death place: tucapel , canete , chile - caption: posthumous portrait by federico de madrazo - order: 1st royal governor of chile - successor: francisco de villagra francisco de villagra - monarch: charles i of spain charles i of spain - primeminister: pedro de la gasca - predecessor: none francisco de villagra - death date: december 25 , 1553 -lrb- aged 56 -rrb- - spouse: marina ortiz de gaete - term end: 1547 1553 - term start: 1540 1549 - birth date: april 17 , 1497 - name: pedro de valdivia - image: pedro de valdivia.jpg - birth place: villanueva , extremadura , spain de la serena , vegas altas , badajoz - religion: catholic Based on these bullet points, write a short biography describing the life of pedro de valdivia .
A:
pedro gutierrez de valdivia or valdiva -lrb- april 17 , 1497 -- december 25 , 1553 -rrb- was a spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of chile .after serving with the spanish army in italy and flanders , he was sent to south america in 1534 , where he served as lieutenant under francisco pizarro in peru , acting as his second in command .in 1540 he led an expedition of 150 spaniards into chile , where he defeated a large force of indians and founded santiago in 1541 .he extended spanish rule south to the bio-bio river in 1546 , fought again in peru -lrb- 1546 -- 48 -rrb- , and returned to chile as governor in 1549 .he began to conquer chile south of the bio-bio and founded concepcion in 1550 .he was captured and killed in a campaign against the araucanian indians .the city of valdivia in chile is named after him .