 He was captured and killed in a campaign against the Mapuche.The city of Valdivia in Chile is named after him.Pedro de Valdivia is believed to have been born in Villanueva de la Serena 
(some say Castuera) in Extremadura, Spain around 1500 (some sources put his date of birth as early as 1497 or as late as 1505) to an impoverished hidalgo family.