Ercilla was born into a
Basque noble family. His father was Fortuño García de Ercilla, and his mother Doña Leonor de Zúñiga, both from
Bermeo (
Biscay). In 1548, after his father's death, his mother became lady-in-waiting to the Infanta
María and made young Alonso a page to the heir-apparent, Prince Philip (afterwards King
Philip II). Ercilla received a thorough education from the most learned teachers, and also enjoyed the advantages of extensive travel and life at court where he came in contact with high personages. When he was only fifteen, he accompanied 21-year-old Philip through Italy and Germany; and their travels lasted three years. Later, Ercilla accompanied his mother to Bohemia where he left her and then visited Austria, Hungary, and other countries. Returning to Spain, he soon started out again with Philip. In this capacity Ercilla (sometimes spelled Arcilla) visited Italy, Germany and the Netherlands, and was present in 1554 at the marriage of his master to Queen
Mary I of England. In London, he made the acquaintance of
Jerónimo de Alderete (1555), whose stories of his thrilling adventures in the New World so fired Ercilla's imagination that he was determined to accompany Alderete to the New World. He obtained leave from Philip, and they set sail for America, 15 October 1555. Soon after their arrival, however, Alderete died (near Panamá, April 1556). In 1556 Ercilla continued on his way to Peru and accompanied
García Hurtado de Mendoza, recently named Governor and
Commander-in-chief of Chile, where the
Araucanians had revolted. He distinguished himself in the ensuing campaign. Apparently, he remained in Chile seventeen months, between 1557 and 1559. He participated in the battles of Lagunillas, Quiapo and Millarapue, and witnessed the death of
Caupolicán, protagonist of
La Araucana. This is an epic poem of military exaltation in 37 "cantos" or verses, where the narrator relays the most significant facts of the
Arauco War against the Araucanos (
mapuches) and which he began to write during the campaign. In March 1558, García Hurtado de Mendoza founded the city of
San Mateo de Osorno and while their neighbours were preoccupied with the celebrations in the new city, García left by a secret entrance, disguised by a helmet with closed visor, accompanied by Ercilla and Pedro of Eyrie. They were confronted by
Juan de Pineda, an old enemy of Alonso de Ercilla, and there was a fight. García was warned of the situation. Alonso de Ercilla ran to a church and looked for asylum. The governor imprisoned both duelists and condemned them to be executed on the following day. However, many people considered the sentence unjust and tried to persuade García to reprieve them. The preparations for the execution continued and all hope of saving them was lost. Then two women, one Spanish and another Native American, approached the house of García, entering by the window, and managed to convince the governor to spare the lives of both. Ercilla was imprisoned for three months and soon afterwards was exiled to Peru.
Later life After Ercilla's return to Spain in 1562, he made several diplomatic journeys to Austria, where his mother was a maid of honor at the imperial court, and also visited Italy, France, Germany and
Bohemia. In 1570, he married Doña María de Bazán, a woman of illustrious family and of intellectual attainments and, after other diplomatic missions, settled permanently in Spain in 1577. In 1571 he was made a knight of the
Order of Santiago, and in 1578 he was employed by Philip II on a mission to
Zaragoza. He complained of living in poverty but left a modest fortune and was obviously disappointed at not being offered the post of secretary of state. Ercilla's later years were saddened by the loss of his only son, and his own death occurred in Madrid in 1594. == Works ==