Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography/Zorrilla, Francisco

ZORRILLA, Francisco (thor-ril'-yah), Spanish administrator, b. in Murcia about 1490: d. in Santiago, Guatemala, in 1546. He was a knight of the order of Santiago, and, after serving as chief clerk in the office of the council of the Indies, was promoted treasurer of the city of Santiago de Guatemala, and sailed with Pedro de Alvarado, arriving in 1530. He became regidor of Santiago in 1534, and, during the absence of Alvarado, in 1540 was appointed a member of the council of government, which elected Beatriz de la Cueva regent. After the death of the latter, 11 Sept., 1541, Zorrilla assisted Bishop Francisco Marroquin in the government of Santiago and in rebuilding the city, which had been totally destroyed by volcanic eruptions, in which Doña Beatriz perished. Zorrilla left a valuable manuscript, which is preserved in the archives of the Indies at Seville and which is soon to be published by the Spanish government. It is entitled “Historia del descubrimiento, de la conquista, y de la administración de la provincia de Santiago de Guatemala.” The recent state publication, “ Cartas de Indias” (Madrid, 1872), contains also several interesting memoirs of Zorrilla upon the administration of Pedro de Alvarado, the Indians of Guatemala, and the intestine divisions among the early conquerors.