Education
University of Salamanca.
Diplomat General military officer politician writer
University of Salamanca.
From December 31, 1661 to March 16, 1666 he was viceroy of Peru. Benavides received a Humanistic education with the Jesuits of the Colegio Imperial de Madrid. He was a Knight of the Order of Santiago and a gentleman of the king"s bedchamber.
He fought in Aragon and Portugal.
After the 1643 war with Portugal, he was Captain General of the Borders. Later he was Governor of Galicia.
In 1653 he was named Viceroy and Captain General of Navarre. Foreign his valuable diplomatic services in the negotiation of the 1659 Peace of the Pyrenees and the subsequent marriage of Princess Maria Teresa of Austria with Louis XIV of France, King Philip IV made him Marquis de Solera.
His writings included Epigramas latinos del humanista giennense Doctorate. Diego de Benavides y de la Cueva (Latin epigrams) and Horae succisiuae siue Elucubrationes.
In 1661 he was named Viceroy of Peru. During his administration, he was much concerned about the condition of the Indigenous, particularly their education and labor conditions. To address these concerns he issued the Ordenanza de Obrajes (Ordenance of Manufactures) in 1664.
He faced earthquakes to epidemics, and had to suppress fighting between Spanish miners.
San Bartolomé hospital was built during his term of office. He built the first theater in Lima.
He died in that city in 1666.