Answer:
The correct answer is D. The Spanish explorer who arrived in the Valle Central to found Santiago in 1541 was Pedro de Valdivia.
Step-by-step explanation:
On February 12, 1541, Pedro de Valdivia formally founded the city of "Santiago del Nuevo Extremo", official name of the city in honor of the Apostle James, patron saint of Spain, in the vicinity of Cerro Huelen, renamed "Santa Lucia" by the conqueror. Following the colonial norms, Valdivia entrusted the layout of the new city to the architect Pedro de Gamboa, who designed the city as a checkerboard.