The governor of Paraguay appointed him his sec- retary, but he soon became dissatisfied with his position, and unsuccessfully requested employ- ment in the army. Shortly afterward he dis- covered that the Indians were about to attack the town, and with forty Spaniards put to flight sev- eral hundred of the savages. He was then ap- pointed captain, and sent with eighty Spaniards to sail up the Parana. After undergoing numer- ous dangers and discovering an immense country, he founded, near this river, in July, 1573, the city of Santa-Fe de Vera-Cruz, but before finishing it he was obliged, to hasten to the aid of his govern- ment against the Charruas Indians. He gave bat- tle near the river Uruguay, and defeated tliem completely. As a reward for these services he was named lieutenant-general by Philip II., and was afterward appointed governor of Assuncion in 1576. Having visited the old site of Buenos Ayres, he founded that city anew in 1580 on the ruins of the old, and surrounded it with fortifications. See- ing that he was obliged to meet frequent attacks by the Indians, he thought the best way to spare the effusion of blood was to try to civilize them. Accompanied by missionaries, he travelled over the different countries of his government with this object. He formed the Indians into colonies, built villages, gave them laws and established among them chiefs who, by their conduct, made the Span- ish name loved among the natives. The latter looked on the Spanish governor as their protector, and were always ready to arm in his defence. He then sailed up the Parana in order to reach As- suncion, but, meeting with a storm, he was obliged to land in an unknown country about the 30th degree of latitude. Here, during the night, he was surprised by savages who massacred him and thirty- nine, of his companions.
GARCES, Julian (gar'-thes), Mexican R. C.
bishop, b. in Munebrega, Aragon, in 1457; d. in
Puebla, Mexico, 11 Dec, 1547. He belonged to a
distinguished family, and in his youth entered the
Dominican order in San Pedro de Calatayud. His
superiors sent him to Prance to perfect his studies,
and he was graduated as doctor of theology of the
Sorbonne in 1488. In 1497 he was appointed by
Isabella I. professor at Alcala, and at the same time
acquired fame as one of the principal pulpit orators
of the kingdom. Charles V. made him his chap-
lain and court-preacher, and in 1519 appointed
him to the bishopric of Yucatan, but, owing to
continuous warfare with the Indians, that see was
not constituted till many years afterward, and in
1526 Garces was assigned to the newly created
bishopric of Tlaxcala, the third in the New World
since the discovery. He was consecrated at Badajoz
in 1527, and in 'February, 1529, took possession of
the see. He converted and baptized many thou-
sand Indians, and from the beginning constituted
himself a zealous defender of the race, represent-
ing to the emperor the unhappy condition of the
aborigines, and even trying to interest the pope in
their favor by his open letter of 1536, of which a
translation has been published by Davila in his
history. This letter was much commented on,
as it revealed for the first time in Europe the true
state of affairs in the New World, and excited the
apprehension of the government, so that Charles V.
wrote an autograph letter to Garces, admonishing
him to avoid for the future public discussion of
Amei-ican affairs. Garces, however, continued his
course in favor of the Indians, althoiigh with less
publicity, and to his endeavors with the authorities
was probably due the more merciful policy that
was observed toward the Indians of Mexico, and
their liberty from the servitude imposed on Pe-
ruvian Indians. During Garces's administration
the city of Puebla de los Angeles was founded, to
which he transferred the seat of the bishopric. lie
wrote a commentary on the works of St. Augustin,
the manuscript of which existed in 1824 in the
library of Tlaxcala. According to the historian,
Ferdinand Denis, there exists also at the library of
the Escorial (Madrid) a manuscript history of the
conquest of Mexico by Garces.
GARCIA, Alexo (gar-the'-ah), Portuguese ex-
plorer, b. in Oporto in 1485; d. in I pare, Uruguay,
in 1526. He came to South America with the ex-
pedition of Diaz de Solis in 1516, and when that
explorer was killed, Garcia escaped, married an In-
dian woman, and soon gained influence with the
neighboring tribes. With their help he explored
the country watered by the rivers Plate, Uruguay,
and Parana, and in 1524 ascended the Paraguay
river nearly to its sources. In the next year he
penetrated as far as the Andes, and acquired from
the Indians some bars of silver, which subsequently
fell into the hands of Sebastian Cabot, and caused
the latter to name the river Plate. In 1526 Garcia
resolved to reach the kingdom of the Incas, of
which he had heard. He carried with him his wife
and son, but was attacked by hostile Indians, and
assassinated. His son was carried into captivity,
but liberated in 1543 by Alvar Nunez Cabeza de
Vaca, and became one of the most useful inter-
preters of, the colonial government.
GARCIA, Diego, Portuguese navigator, b. in
Lisbon in 1471 ; d. in Madrid in 1529 (according
to Sala, about 1535). He entered the Spanish ser-
vice in his youth, and undertook in 1511 an expedi-
tion to South America, the accounts of which have
been lost. Garcia was at Palos de Moguer when
Charles V. resolved to send an expedition to ex-
plore the southern seas under Sebastian Cabot, and
at the same time the mercantile company, formed
for the spice-trade at Coruiia, fitted out an expedi-
tion, of which the command was given to Garcia.
He sailed with three vessels, 15 Jan., 1526, from
Cape Finisterre, and, after a long and stormy pas-
sage, anchored in San Vicente, 11 Jan.. 1527. There
he found a Portuguese settler, Joao Romalho, who
had been abandoned on the coast by the first dis-
coverer of Brazil, Pedro Alvarez Cabral, and from
him obtained provisions. After exploring the
Uruguay river, and sailing up the Parana as far as
27° S.. he met, in July, 1527, a launcli, manned by
Europeans, from whom he learned that Sebastian
Cabot, whose expedition had left Spain after him,
was besieged by Indians farther down the river.
Garcia sailed immediately to his aid, and. after de-
feating the Indians in several battles, continued to
explore the upper course of the river, and, leaving
his ships at the mouth of the Paraguay, ascended
that river in his boats as far as 18° S. He fought
continuous battles with the Indians, and, not find-
ing any precious metals, abandoned his explora-
tion, and in October, 1528, sailed for Spain. He
is said to have made, about 1532, a voyage to the
East Indies, in which he discovered the fertile isl-
and named after him. situated about 400 miles
from Mauritius. Garcia's narrative of his expedi-
tion, with a map, was published in the 15th vol-
ume of the " Revista do institute historico e geo-
graphico do Brasil." See also Adolpho de Varn-
hagen's " Historia Geral do Brasil," and Ferdinand
Denis's "Le Bresil." .
GARCIA, Manuel, Chilian soldier, b. in Santiago in 1803 ; d. near Santiago, 4 March, 1872. In 1817 he became a cadet in the military school established by O'Higgins, took part in the battle of
