Rodrigo González de Marmolejos, illegitimate bishop? A discussion about why was the Kingdom of Chile's first prelate in the second half of the 16th century

Abstract

This research will examine the details of the life of the religious Rodrigo González de Marmolejos and his appointment as bishop of Santiago de Chile. This study will examine the veracity of the claims regarding the legitimacy of the first prelate of Santiago de Chile, Rodrigo González de Marmolejos. A detailed analysis of the primary source material, mainly that preserved in the General Archive of the Indias, along with the published documentation, leads us to raise reasonable suspicion of the bishop's governance. Moreover, we will conduct our own inquiries, derived from an examination of the clientele networks that sustained the prelate's authority and interests with regard to the religious. The question of the legitimacy of Rodrigo González de Marmolejos as a prelate leads us to conclude that the first bishop of Chile was not González de Marmolejos.