Antonio de Mendoza

Antonio de Mendoza y Pacheco, Marquis of Mondéjar, Count of Tendilla (1495–1552), was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from April 17, 1535 to November 25, 1550, and the second viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1551 to July 21, 1552.

While in the position of Viceroy of New Spain, he commissioned several expeditions to the northern regions, including Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's. He also brutally put down two Native American insurrections. He was also instrumental in establishing schools, hospitals, and universities.

He only held his position of Viceroy of Peru a short time before falling ill and dying.

Antonio de Mendoza in "Eyewear"
In 1536, Viceroy Antonio de Mendoza welcomed the four survivors of the Narváez expedition to Mexico City. One of those, Andrés Dorrantes de Carranza, owed substantial debts to Mendoza, and decided to help settle the debt by transferring ownership of the slave Estevánico to Mendoza. In 1539, Mendoza decided to send Estevánico on Francisco Vásquez de Coronado's expedition for the Seven Cities of Gold, which ultimately led to the slave's death.