Arias de Saavedra, Hernando [key], 1561–1634, Spanish colonial governor, b. Asunción, in present-day Paraguay. An able administrator, he was elected (1592) lieutenant governor of Asunción by the cabildo and was chosen governor of Río de la Plata prov. three times (1597–99, 1602–9, 1614–18). He consolidated the Spanish settlements, pacified the Native Americans, introduced public schools, and stimulated the growth of Buenos Aires. In 1617 he secured a royal order for the separation of Paraguay (then Guairá) from Río de la Plata, and granted the Jesuits territorial privileges for the religious colonization of the region.
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