Historedia
AmericasEvent

Founding of La Paz

When
1548
Where
Site of the Inca settlement Laja
Episodes
1

On 20 October 1548, Captain Alonso de Mendoza founded La Paz at the site of the Inca settlement Laja. The city was named Nuestra Señora de La Paz to commemorate the restoration of peace after the insurrection against the first viceroy of Peru.

Episodes

  1. 20 October 1548 · Site of the Inca settlement LajaFounding of La Paz

    Alonso de Mendoza founded the city on 20 October 1548 at the site of Laja, naming it Nuestra Señora de La Paz to commemorate peace.

Background and detail

Founding. Captain Alonso de Mendoza established the city on 20 October 1548 at the site of the Inca settlement Laja. It served as a connecting point for commercial routes between Potosí, Oruro, and Lima. Juan de Vargas was appointed as the first mayor of the new settlement.

Naming. The city was originally named Nuestra Señora de La Paz, meaning Our Lady of Peace. This name commemorated the restoration of peace following the insurrection of Gonzalo Pizarro and fellow conquistadors against the first viceroy of Peru.

People involved

Sources

  1. La Paz Wikipedia, revision of 2026-09-13

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.