The Quintrala's Grandfather: From the Holy Roman Empire to Colonial Chile

 

Academics debating the extraordinary journey of Pedro Lisperguer across the Holy Roman Empire and Colonial Spanish America

Today, the name Pedro Lisperguer Wittemberg is remembered primarily because he was the grandfather of Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer, better known as La Quintrala, the most legendary woman of colonial Chile. Yet reducing him to that family connection obscures the remarkable life of a man whose career spanned the courts of Europe and the frontiers of Spanish America.

Without Pedro Lisperguer's prestige, social standing and extraordinary career, the enduring myth of La Quintrala could scarcely be understood. Long before his descendants became part of Chilean folklore, he had already lived a life that stretched from the heart of the Holy Roman Empire to the distant Kingdom of Chile.

Born around 1530 in the imperial city of Worms, Pedro belonged to a respected patrician family whose members had served for generations in the city's government. Growing up in one of the most important free imperial cities of the Holy Roman Empire, he was introduced from an early age to the political culture of the Habsburg world.

His fortunes changed dramatically in 1545, when the court of Emperor Charles V passed through Worms. The young Pedro entered the service of the powerful House of Feria, one of the leading noble families of the Spanish Monarchy. What began as the career of a page soon developed into years of courtly service that would shape his future. Under the protection of the Count of Feria, he learned the customs of the royal household and accompanied his masters through different parts of the Habsburg dominions.

In 1554, Pedro joined the magnificent entourage that accompanied Prince Philip, the future Philip II of Spain, to England for his marriage to Queen Mary Tudor. For several months he lived in London at the centre of one of the sixteenth century's greatest diplomatic events. There he met men whose names would later become inseparable from the history of Chile, including Jerónimo de Alderete and the young poet and soldier Alonso de Ercilla. Their conversations opened a new horizon: the recently conquered lands of South America.

The following year Pedro obtained permission to sail to the Indies. Rather than travelling as an unknown adventurer, he crossed the Atlantic as part of the entourage of Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza, the newly appointed Viceroy of Peru. After crossing the Isthmus of Panama and reaching Lima, he was soon sent south to the Kingdom of Chile, where the longest and most significant chapter of his life would begin.

For nearly fifty years Pedro Lisperguer became one of the most influential figures in colonial Chile. He fought in the Arauco War, taking part in numerous military campaigns along the volatile southern frontier. His abilities extended well beyond the battlefield. Governors repeatedly entrusted him with organising expeditions, supplying troops, rebuilding fortifications and managing some of the kingdom's most demanding logistical operations.

His growing reputation brought increasing political responsibility. Throughout his career he served as captain, alderman, magistrate, royal representative and envoy of the Cabildo of Santiago before the Viceroy of Peru. On several occasions he acted as one of the kingdom's leading political figures during moments of crisis, demonstrating the confidence successive governors placed in his judgement and experience.

Pedro's influence was strengthened further through his marriage to Águeda Flores, herself the daughter of another German immigrant family established in Chile. Their union gave rise to one of the most powerful dynasties in colonial Chile, a lineage whose descendants would dominate political, economic and social life for generations. Among them was Catalina de los Ríos y Lisperguer—La Quintrala—whose controversial life would eventually eclipse the memory of her grandfather.

Like many prominent men of his age, Pedro's career was not free from conflict. He faced political disputes, judicial proceedings and periods of tension with colonial authorities. Yet these episodes never erased the reputation he had built over decades of service to the Spanish Crown.

His final years remain surrounded by uncertainty. After a lifetime spent serving the monarchy on the American frontier, he appears to have undertaken one last journey, probably intending to return to Europe. Most evidence suggests that he died in Panama around 1604 or 1605, bringing to an end a life that had connected the imperial cities of Germany with the distant landscapes of colonial Chile.

Pedro Lisperguer's biography illustrates the truly international character of the sixteenth-century Spanish Monarchy. His story links Worms, the Holy Roman Empire, the Low Countries, Spain, England, Panama, Peru and Chile in the life of a single individual. He was far more than the grandfather of La Quintrala. He was a European courtier, an experienced soldier, a royal official, a political leader and one of the principal architects of early colonial Chile.

Today, more than four centuries after his death, his remarkable journey deserves to be remembered in its own right—not merely as the prelude to the legend of La Quintrala, but as one of the most extraordinary transatlantic biographies of the Habsburg world.

For further information, see the book The German Conquistador Pedro Lísperguer Wittemberg: From Courtier to Charles V and Philip II to Celebrated Forerunner of Chile .

National Library of Spain Catalogue

Library of Congress

Emperor Charles V and Pedro Lisperguer in Worms (1545)

When the city of Worms is mentioned, historical memory inevitably turns to the famous Diet of 1521 and to the figure of Martin Luther. Yet, almost a quarter of a century later, Worms once again became the center of European politics. There, during the spring and summer of 1545, some of the events that would change the course of the Holy Roman Empire unfolded and, unexpectedly, also the destiny of a young German named Pedro Lisperguer.

Pedro was the son of Peter Birling, mayor of the Free Imperial City of Worms. As the city's highest civic authority, he bore much of the responsibility for coordinating the complex organization required by the prolonged stay of Charles V and his entire court in the city. For several months, Worms hosted the emperor, his brother Ferdinand, King of the Romans, as well as numerous princes of the Empire, cardinals, ambassadors, and councillors who debated the political and religious future of Europe. Worms was no ordinary city for Charles V. It was there that, while still a twenty-one-year-old emperor, he had attempted to halt the challenge posed by Martin Luther. Returning to its streets in 1545 meant returning to the very place where, a quarter of a century earlier, the religious division of the Holy Roman Empire had begun.

At first glance, everyday life seemed to proceed as usual. Charles V attended solemn religious ceremonies, received diplomatic delegations, and even found time to pursue one of his greatest passions: hunting in the nearby forests. Yet beneath this apparent calm, one of the greatest crises of sixteenth-century Europe was taking shape.

For almost three decades, the emperor had sought to preserve the religious unity of the Empire through dialogue. He had promoted negotiations between Catholics and Protestants, encouraged theological conferences, and repeatedly called for the convocation of a general council. Nevertheless, all these efforts had ultimately failed. At Worms he realized that the path of reconciliation had reached its limits. The discussions held with the papal legate, Cardinal Farnese, and with his principal advisers paved the way for a decision that would transform European history: the use of armed force against the Schmalkaldic League.

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It was precisely in this setting that the young Pedro Lisperguer began to gain first-hand insight into the workings of imperial politics. Thanks to his father's position, he had the opportunity to grow up in an environment dominated by emperors, kings, great nobles, diplomats, military commanders, and churchmen from every corner of the continent. It would be difficult to imagine a more extraordinary political education for a boy of barely fifteen years of age.

It is not unreasonable to assume that the assistance provided by Peter Birling to the emperor during those months fostered a relationship of trust between the family and the imperial court. Organizing the stay of Charles V in a Free Imperial City required close cooperation between the municipal authorities and the emperor's entourage. Within that context, personal contacts were undoubtedly established which, in all likelihood, helped open the doors of the Hispanic world to Pedro.

The chronology is, to say the least, significant. Shortly after these events, Pedro Lisperguer left Germany to enter the service of the Hispanic Monarchy. Years later, he accompanied Viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza on his expedition to Peru and eventually became one of the best-known conquerors of the Kingdom of Chile. His extraordinary American career may well have begun long before he embarked for the New World: it began in the streets of Worms, amid the intense political activity surrounding the court of Charles V.

Those months were also marked by deeply human events. Charles V received with immense joy the news of the birth of his grandson, the future Infante Don Carlos, but only a few days later he had to face the death of his daughter-in-law, Maria Manuela of Portugal. Amid celebrations, funerals, diplomatic receptions, and complex religious negotiations, the summer of 1545 unfolded while the emperor prepared to face one of the most difficult decisions of his reign.

On 7 August 1545, Charles V finally departed from Worms. His principal advisers left with him, and a new chapter in the history of the Empire began. Among those embarking upon a decisive new path was also a young man named Pedro Lisperguer.

History often remembers great battles and great treaties, yet forgets the places where individual destinies first began to take shape. For Pedro Lisperguer, that place was Worms. There, under the protection of his father, the mayor Peter Birling, and in direct contact with the court of Charles V, he began a journey that would forever unite the histories of Germany, Spain, and Chile.

More information in the book The German Conqueror Pedro Lisperguer Wittemberg: From Courtier of Charles V and Philip II to Celebrated Forerunner of Chile.

National Library of Spain Catalogue

Library of Congress

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Latin American Studies focused on Chile

New fifteen-year research on the first
colonial family of Chile revolutionizes
 Chilean historiography

    Are you interested in the fields of Latin American Studies, Holy Roman Empire, the Spanish Empire or Hispanic Studies? Take advantage of this wonderful fifteen-year research in the main libraries and archives of Spain. The Lisperguer Wittemberg's were a prominent German family, protected by Emperor Charles V, who thrived spectacularly in Peru, Chile, and Spain. From this family derives Catalina de los Ríos Lísperguer, nicknamed "la Quintrala" the main literary topic of Chile, their particular Quijote, with many repercussions on their culture. You may access this work in this link  https://www.books2read.com/u/3RBjGD

This work, acclaimed by many academies and scholars, has been divided into two volumes: "Los Lísperguer Wittemberg: una familia alemana en el corazón de la cultura chilena" and "El conquistador alemán Pedro Lísperguer Wittemberg." This new research of the first colonial family of Chile may enrich and enhance the knowledge of all people interested in these exciting subjects. 

    Along with the well-known family success in Spanish America,   new documents found in Spain have made possible to advance considerably in what was known about this famous family, its development, its relations, its possessions and especially interesting, everything concerning its origin. 


Thanks to this, today we can have a well-formed idea of the origin and idiosyncrasy of this important colonial family, the source of many cultural relations in literature, the performing arts, history, social sciences, and even popular culture. Don´t miss it! 

An exceptional case: a very special conqueror

As a way to understand the idiosyncrasy of the family and its later role in America, it is vital to read about the experiences of the conqueror Pedro  Lísperguer in Europe, near the emperor and his son Philip and other courtiers: 

The German conqueror Pedro Lísperguer

To get a better idea of all this I invite to read the preface and the introducción of the work. You can also read an outstanding article that appeared in the prestigious magazine Atenea, a renowned scientific publication from Concepción University. 

To access the article please click here

Thank you!

email de DPR

Further recommended reading: 

THE LISPERGUER VOLUMES: LEGACY, REVIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES

New research about the German Conqueror Pedro Lisperguer and La Quintrala

    

National Library of Spain, Madrid. By Edmund Gall (2013-04 Spain 081)

[CC BY-SA 2.0  (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)],

via Wikimedia Commons

Dear friends, lovers of  history: 

     I am a researcher of the National Library, Royal Academy of History, National Archives, and many other institutions in Spain, and I write to you concerning the following matter:

  I have been about a decade researching and studying the background of Peter Lisperg, a German conqueror in Chile, born in Worms in 1530, son of Peter Birlinger and Katharine Lisperg. There is no doubt that in Chile and Peru the Lisperguer family has achieved enormous success, considered by many historians the first family of this beautiful region of the world. Granddaughter of Peter Lisperg was Catalina de los Ríos Lisperguer, called “La Quintrala,” whose life constitutes the second literary topic of Chile nowadays, behind the great national landmark, La Araucana, of Alonso de Ercilla. This overwhelming success has attracted many scholars, universities, and public who have made an incredible attempt to solve the question of the origin of Peter Lisperg. The fact that in Chile Lisperg is believed to be descendant of the duchy of Saxony has spread his legend considerably. However, despite all of this enthusiasm until now has been impossible to trace the past of the famous conqueror. 

   Thanks to new evidence and documents found in Spain, it has been possible to go further into his background and family in Germany, his education in Spain, the traits of his personality, his political environment, shedding an overall new light over his figure. For the first time, a precise itinerary of the journey of Lisperg through The Low Countries, accompanying the emperor Charles V, and the Count of Feria has been laid out. This journey lasted for six months, in which Lisperg met the most important personalities in the empire and visited important cities like Bruges, Brussels, Antwerp, Leiden, and Utrecht. Also has been very interesting to revive with accuracy his living in Andalusia-Spain, where he stood for a decade (1545-1555) under two influences, the marquisate of Priego, with its geopolitical center in the city of Montilla (Córdoba) and the county of Feria, with its political headquarters in the city of Zafra (Badajoz). In the first years of his stay in Spain he was under the patronage of Pedro Fernández de Córdova, IV Count of Feria, Grandee of Spain, until his death in 1552. Therefore all circumstances of his living in Andalusia have been examined in detail. Essential too, has been to unfold the historical merits and greatness of the House of Feria and Priego, highlighting the main hero at that time, don Gonzalo Fernández de Córdova, The great Captain, the conqueror of Italy, between many other fascinating subjects.

   After the death of Pedro Fernández de Córdova in 1552, the county of Feria was inherited by his brother Don Gómez Suarez de Figueroa, V Count of Feria, Grandee of Spain. Protocols found in Spain prove how Peter Lisperg continued in Andalusia for a year under the protection of Gómez Suárez, with whom he traveled in July 1553 to London to attend the wedding of Philip II and Mary Tudor in 1554. He remained there for seven months with the most important knights, and nobility of England, Spain and the empire. The Count of Feria was the ambassador of Philip in England, a member of his council of state, and one of the most prominent politicians of Philip’s reign, in direct relationship with the Duke of Alba, Ruy Gómes and many others. After his experience in England, Lisperg returned to Spain with other courtiers. Anew in Andalusia, he obtained many licenses and protocols to allow his traveling to the New World. One of them was given directly by the emperor in Brussels, and all of this has been studied carefully. Later on, he embarked to the Indies, in San Lucar de Barrameda, Cádiz, in October 1555, with the viceroy Andrés Hurtado de Mendoza and has been very interesting to revive his rough crossing of the Atlantic Ocean, his arrival to the continent and crossing of the itsmo of Panama.

   But the primary purpose of this book has not been to describe the adventures and remarkable role of Peter Lisperg in Chile and Peru, because about this exists abundant literature. The main aim of this project has been to find out the origin of the family. New documents found in Spain have shown that a flourishing German family called Wittemberg, was established too in the peninsula. These documents reveal how the Lisperg and Wittemberg were linked, belonging to the same family. If the first chapter is dedicated to the education of Lisperg in Europe, the goal of the second chapter is to solve the challenging puzzle of setting the background of the family. To accomplish this objective, I have weighted the status of the family in the New World, gathering all possible information from the South American sources. But especially important has been to observe the nobility status of the Wittemberg´s in Spain. Thanks to many manuscripts completely unpublished up to now, it has been possible to know from which counties and duchies did the family come from in Germany, analyzing as well the coat of arms described in those documents. New evidence and statements of the Wittemberg’s brothers in Spain suggest that the family came from the Duchy of Württemberg. Nevertheless, I have also had a close collaboration with the Stadtarchiv of Worms, as a way to enhance what it is known about the Lispergs in this area.

     However, there are still many questions without an easy answer. If that noble status was so evident why did the Wittembergs incurred in some contradictions? What was the value at that time of those certificates of nobility enacted by these experts in international heraldry? What was the standard of living of the Wittemberg family in Andalusia? Were they merchants? Jews perhaps? Why did Peter Lisperg take the name of his mother, “Lisperg,” and some of his descendants use the traditional of “Wittemberg”? All these questions have been carefully assessed approaching the reader to the real nature of the family. Consultations to the regional archives of Saxony and Württemberg were unavoidable. To try to comprehend the dichotomy of the origin between Saxony and Württemberg, I have gathered all possible information in South America and Spain. At stake was the idiosyncrasy of the family. Interesting has been to check the family way of living in South America, their marriages, their bounding to nobles titles, their military careers, and prominent posts in this aristocratic society. But if the noble status of Peter Lisperg was so manifest, why did he marry an indigenous woman in Chile? All these facts and other paradoxes have been the delight of historians and sociologists for decades and for the first time have been deeply studied, giving proves which permit to discard the Jew background of the family completely and at the same time allow to go ahead in our comprehension of these mixed-race lineages of America, establishing parallels with similar families, who despite their exotic blood have attained an enormous success in those societies.

  The third chapter describes the development of the Wittemberg family in Spain. The story begins with the arrival of Johannes Wittemberg Dreyers to Spain in 1668, being a representative of Hanseatic merchants in Hamburg. Later on, he created his own shipping company with a German partner, achieving an immense commercial success for 130 years. Very interesting has been to analyze all the transactions and connections undertaken by the family in Spain and the destinations of their ships, mainly to the Baltic ports of the North of Europe. The evolution of the company has also been examined, knowing in detail all its members, among them many foreign consuls who have shared interests with the Wittemberg family. Through the study of its staff and partners, its businesses, and many records found in Spain have been possible to trace the background of the family in Hamburg.

   Through the study of their many testaments, partitions of goods, protocols of all kind, it has been possible to construct the genealogy of the family in Spain, their high rank marriages with many members of the nobility, enabling their members to occupy critical positions in the Spanish government, in the army, in the clergy. It is an absorbing story of an intelligent foreign clan, who in few years took control of the land, owning large country farms with beautiful mansions, where they cultivated all sort of crops, especially wine, a product they massively exported abroad. It is an ambitious inquiry which offers a new scope of this important German family, revealing their huge achievements, their marriages with grandees, their high style of life, the refinement of their furniture, silver dishes, silky clothes, and many delicate objects. It is a magnificent work, which illustrates the high standard of living of the family, how they played musical instruments, owned elegant carriages with their coat of arms printed on them, sent their sons to study in universities, becoming some of them lawyers, holding an immense power and recognition, creating truly prominent aristocratic dynasties in the Spanish eighteenth-century society.

   Member of this German family by his mother side was also Luis Joseph Velázquez de Velasco, Marquis of Valdeflores (1722-1772), member of the Royal Academy of History, a key figure in the early Spanish Enlightenment, whose “Geschichte der Spanischen Dichtung” was translated in 1769 by professor Andreas Dieze in Gottingen, and in 1860 Emil Hübner, member of the Die Königlich Preussische Akademie der Wissenschaften zu Berlin, took advantage of the many epigraphic gatherings of Valdeflores to form The Corpus Inscriptionum Latinarum. Velázquez, well educated and a member of many academies, was involved in the most important literary movements and cultural projects of that time. He is known to be the first who introduced the neoclassicism in Spain, and one of the youngest who undertook scientific journey through the peninsula to gather their antiquities.

            In conclusion this is an insightful work which compiles all facts concerning this wealthy German family, the clever Lisperguer Wittembergs, who did not only adapt themselves in advantageous terms to a foreign land, but they occupied the first posts of these societies, contracting the very best imaginable marriages, deriving from this family several nobles titles, who embody the mainstream of achievement in Spain and South America. The work is also enriched with several appendixes: a complete genealogy of the Wittemberg family in Spain, an important certificate of their nobility, a full chronology of Peter Lisperg, a compilation of all his licenses to embark to Chile and Peru, and a well-done genealogy of the Lisperguer family in South America.

 It is also interesting to say that at this very moment, “La Quintrala” and the Lisperg family is on the stage at the National Theater of Chile, and a good performance of their lives are permanently appearing in a TV series, novels, articles, even operas. In conclusion, the work that I present to the public at this moment, represents a real breakthrough in research terms, and I am sure it will be the genesis of many cultural initiatives in Chile, Spain and Germany, and any other country. 

                                                               Yours truly,

                                     Daniel Piedrabuena Ruiz-Tagle

Please don´t forget to comment or email me. 

P.D. Dear Readers:


The title of the book has changed. It has been divided into two volumes. The first one called "El conquistador alemán Pedro Lisperguer Wittemberg: De cortesano de Carlos V y Felipe II a célebre precursor de Chile," is available on Amazon in its digital version. Thank you. DPR.

Available here

Very recently I have also written an article about the origin of the Lisperguer family in the Atenea magazine. To read the article click here: 

The origin of Lisperguer family

I have also published a second book concerning this interesting matter: Los Lísperguer Wittemberg: una familia alemana en el corazón de la cultura chilena: Identidad y esplendor de la primera familia colonial de Chile. 

You can have it at the following link: 

Los Lísperguer Wittemberg here

Daniel Piedrabuena Ruiz-Tagle 

Don´t forget to leave your comment !!!

Thank you

email de DPR

Further recommended reading: 

THE LISPERGUER VOLUMES: LEGACY, REVIEWS AND PERSPECTIVES

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