Pedro de Valdivia (ca. 1502-1553) was a Spanish conquistador and professional soldier. He fought in Europe and in the civil wars of Peru and initiated the conquest of Chile.

Pedro de Valdivia was born in the district of La Serena in Estremadura. Joining the Spanish army early, he fought in Flanders and then at the battle of Pavia in 1525. He reached America in 1535, spent an uneventful year in Venezuela, and moved on to Peru. There he took part on the side of Hernando Pizarro in the battle of Las Salinas in 1538, which saw Almagro defeated and captured. Valdivia had married in Spain, but in Peru he became attached to the widow Inés de Suárez, who accompanied him to Chile as his mistress.

Early in 1540, with Francisco Pizarro's permission, Valdivia left Cuzco for Chile with a small expedition and one Sancho de Hoz as partner...