The Inca Empire with its way of life and beliefs is still a mystery to researchers. The biography of Francisco Pizarro, the man who conquered Peru and laid the foundation for the destruction of one of the oldest and most developed civilizations of the New World, raises no less questions. This article will help you find out its details.
Origin
Francisco Pizarro was born as a result of an extramarital affair of the son of a Spanish military man, who had a high rank of captain third. Don Gonzalo Pizarro de Aguilara married his cousin Francisco de Vargas and had many children with her. After the death of his wife, he also had several bastards from maids. At the same time, the most famous of his offspring - Francisco, who was born long before Don Gonzalo's marriage - the captain himself never recognized as a son.
The boy, who was destined for an amazing fate, was born after Pizarro Sr. seduced his mother, Francisco. After the death of her father, the girl was forced to hire a servantin one of the monasteries of Trujillo. The pregnant Francisco was expelled from the monastery, but later she was able to marry Juan Casco. In the house of this man, the future great conquistador Francisco Pizarro was born.
Early years
At the age of 17, the illiterate Pizarro (Francisco Pizarro Gonzalez), who as a child herded pigs and received no education, entered the royal military service. It is known that the young man participated in the armed conflict in Italy and quit when he was about 22 years old. Then Francisco returned to Estramadura and immediately enlisted in the retinue of his countryman Nicholas de Ovando, who was preparing to sail for the West Indies.
First years in the New World
The beginning of 1502 in Spain was marked by a rush caused by rumors of fabulous riches that await those who reach the shores of the mysterious "terra incognita" discovered by Columbus.
Pizarro sailed to America under the command of Alonso de Ojeda. Upon arrival in the town of Uraba, the Spaniards founded a settlement of Christians. Francisco Pizarro was appointed its captain, who remained to live in the new fort along with a handful of colonists. They had a hard time, and they experienced both hunger and disease.
Expedition to the Pacific Ocean
In 1513, Francisco Pizarro became a member of a military campaign in Panama led by Vasco de Balboa. The future founder of Lima stayed in these parts, and in 1519 he became one of the first inhabitants of the new city founded by Pedro Arias de Avila. He remained in Panama as a colonist until 1523. During this time Pissarro wasrepeatedly elected a member of the city's magistrate, and later its mayor. During his tenure, Francisco even managed to make a small fortune.
First and second expeditions to Peru
During the years of living in Panama, the conquistador Francisco Pizarro often heard from the Indians about an unknown civilization and its large cities located in the south. Being an adventurer at heart, the mayor of Panama could not sit in one place for a long time, so in 1524 he, together with Comrade Diego de Almagro and the Catholic priest Hernando de Luca, organized an expedition along the Ecuadorian and Colombian coasts. The expedition of Francisco Pizarro ended in failure, because, after wandering for about a year, the Spanish detachment returned to Panama empty-handed. However, failure did not stop the future great conquistador, and a year later he made another attempt. Together with their old friend Diego de Almagro and Bartolome Ruiz, they visited Tumbes, and then returned to Panama. Two of Pissarro's men were sent to reconnoiter territories near Tumbes. They were captured by the Indians and brought to their ruler Atahualpa in Kyoto. Thus, the first Spaniards that the Incas saw were Rodrigo Sanchez and Juan Martin. The captives were sacrificed to the god Viracocha, after whom the Incas later began to call all the Spaniards "Viracoche".
A Dozen of the Brave
Double failure caused the governor of Panama to send a letter to Pizarro. In it, he refused to finance the expedition and ordered the mayor of Panama and his peopleback to town.
According to legend, after reading the letter, Don Francisco Pizarro, interesting facts about which can be found in the notes of many of his contemporaries-colonizers, drew a line on the sand with his sword. Then the great conquistador invited the members of the expedition, who wished to go with him in search of we alth and glory, to cross it and follow him to the south. After these words, only 12 people remained under the command of Pizarro, including his old friend Diego de Almagro. It turned out that only this dozen brave men were ready to unconditionally believe in their leader and follow him to glory.
Trip to Spain
Nevertheless, Pizarro had to return to Panama. He tried to persuade the governor to help with the organization of the third expedition, however, he realized that he could easily end up in prison. Then Don Francisco sailed to Spain and obtained an audience with Charles the Fifth. With great difficulty, he managed to convince the monarch to give him money for a campaign to conquer the Inca empire.
In 1530, the future founder of the city of Lima went to Panama, taking with him the required amount. His joy was complete. After all, he received the rank of captain general, the family coat of arms and the right to become governor of all lands located further than 600 miles south of Panama, provided that these lands become the property of the Spanish crown.
Pizarro believed in his luck and hoped to quickly conquer the savages who did not know iron and steel and did not have firearms.
Thirdexpedition
At the very beginning of 1531, Captain-General Pizarro set sail on his victorious expedition to conquer the Incas. From the port of Panama City, three small caravels set off on a long journey. Under the command of Don Francisco, there were 180 infantrymen, as well as 37 cavalrymen with horses (about two for each person) and 2 small guns. Among the conquistadors were his brothers, faithful fellow members of the second expedition and the Catholic missionary Hernando de Luca. The detachment had only 3 arquebuses. Another 20 people had long-range crossbows. The rest of Pizarro's soldiers were armed with spears and swords and wearing helmets and cuirasses of steel.
The start of the expedition to Peru
Strong headwinds forced Don Francisco's caravels to take refuge in the bay, which the Spaniards named after St. Matthew. Pizarro then ordered his detachment to move south along the Pacific coast towards the city of Tumbes. The Indian villages that came across on their way, the Spaniards ravaged and burned. At the same time, they were completely delighted, as they found a lot of gold jewelry everywhere.
However, Don Francisco knew that with a handful of soldiers and almost no firearms, he would not be able to conquer the Incas. Therefore, Pizarro sent two of his ships to Panama and Nicaragua, so that their captains would hire armed adventurers for the stolen gold.
Discovery of Peru
After the departure of two ships, the members of the expedition no longer had the opportunity to continue it. Therefore, they decided to wait for reinforcements on the island of Puno, located south of Tumbes. Thus,in 1532, the first military base of the Spanish kingdom appeared in South America, which was named San Miguel de Piura. A few months later, a caravel sailed there, sent to Nicaragua, on which reinforcements of about 100 people arrived.
Captain-General Francisco Pizarro, whose discoveries made Spain the richest country of the Middle Ages, was able to continue his aggressive expedition and went to the mainland. But the rumor about the cruelty of the Spaniards had already spread throughout the border regions of Peru, so the Indians did not hesitate to kill every foreigner that fell into their hands. In addition, having learned about the approach of the Spaniards, they began to leave their villages, leaving the conquistadors without provisions.
Peru at the time of the Spanish conquest
The further Pizarro advanced, the more he learned about the country he was going to conquer for the Spanish Crown. Soon, from the captive Indians, it became clear to him that we were talking about a huge state in which about 10 million inhabitants lived. The area of the empire was 4800 by 800 kilometers. The capital of the country was the city of Cuzco, located high in the Andes. It was defended by the Saxo fortress, surrounded by a 10 m high defensive rampart.
As a nation, the Incas were a confederation of several tribes, the largest of which were the Quechua and the Aymara.
Arable land was public property and was divided into 3 parts: for the Sun and its priests, for the supreme ruler of the Inca and for mere mortals. The inhabitants of Peru grew mainlymaize and potatoes and bred llamas, which were used as beasts of burden. In addition, the Incas processed silver, copper and gold, and also knew how to make alloys from them.
Inca defenses
In Peru, there were two main roads connecting the north and south of the country. One went along the coastline in the west, and the second - through the Andes. Troops and messengers could quickly move along these roads, who were engaged in the delivery of reports for the supreme Inca. In addition, the Indians used smoke signals to communicate. The army of the Supreme Inca consisted of about 200 thousand hardy and strong soldiers. However, their weapons could not bear comparison with the ammunition of the Spaniards. Most of the troops were stationed in high mountain impregnable fortresses.
Political situation in Peru
At the time of the invasion of the Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, a bloody civil strife had recently ended there, greatly weakening the country.
The fact is that the former supreme leader divided the empire into two parts between his two sons - Huascar and Atahualpa. Although the advantages were on the side of the first of the young people, Atahualpa set out to capture the capital of the empire, Cusco, and take the place of the Supreme Inca. He outwitted Huascar, pulled troops of tribes loyal to him to the city and arrived at the capital. When the Supreme Inca realized what was happening, it was too late and he could not call his troops for help. There was a bloody battle in which Atahualpa won. He ordered the death of his captured brother and took his place. It was at this moment that Francisco Pizarro appeared in Peru withby their conquistadors.
Capturing Atahualpa
Having learned about the approach of the Spaniards, the Supreme Inca gathered an army of many thousands and camped near the city of Caxamarca.
Unsuspecting Pizarro and his detachment, consisting of 110 infantry and 67 cavalry, moved forward unhindered, surprised that the Indians simply left their settlements without putting up any resistance. On November 15, 1532, they reached Caxamarka and, having assessed the strength of the enemy, they realized that they could not win in an open battle.
Then, Don Francisco came up with a cunning plan. He invited the High Inca to negotiations and, having killed his bodyguards, took Atahualpa prisoner. The only wounded in the battle with the Indians was Pizarro himself.
When the Incas found out that their demigod, whom it was unthinkable to touch even a finger, was captured, they fled in horror.
The news of this quickly spread throughout the empire. Many tribes rebelled, and supporters of Huascar decided to regain power in the country.
Meanwhile, Pissarro demanded a ransom from his "semi-divine prisoner" for his release. The Supreme Inca promised the Spaniard there to fill with gold a room of 35 square meters. m to the height of a raised hand, and give twice as much silver. Although he kept his word, the Spaniards still executed Atahualpa on the orders of Francisco Pizarro. Conquest of the Incas
The Conquistodores freely entered Cuzco and installed Manco, the brother of the executed Huascar, as their vicegerent. Thus, they "restoredjustice "and received support from part of the Inca nobility, and also gained control over a large part of the South American continent.
Pizarro himself became the Governor-General of the Inca Empire and annexed its lands to the possessions of Spain.
Struggle for power
Having finished with the Incas, the Spaniards began to sort things out among themselves. Diego de Almagro accused his old friend Pizarro of being unfair in sharing the treasure. As a result of this conflict, a rebellion was raised in the camp of the Spaniards.
In 1537, Pizarro, who was sent reinforcements from Spain, defeated a rebellious detachment in a battle near Las Salinas. As for Diego de Almagro, Don Francisco ordered his execution in the name of the King of Spain.
Death
In retaliation for the death of their leader, the people of the executed Diego de Almagro decided to put an end to Pizarro. In June 1541, they broke into the palace of the Great Conquistador and killed the elderly adventurer. So, by the will of fate, Pizarro did not die at the hands of the natives, but was stabbed to death by Spanish soldiers, who, thanks to him, turned from poor ragamuffins into rich men. However, as you know, appetite comes with eating, and the greed of Don Francisco's former associates made them forget all the merits of their old commander.
Francisco Pizarro's historical profile
Compared to other Spanish conquistadors, the founder of Lima achieved the most significant results in the conquest of the Indians and the civilizations of the New World. He managed to conquer densely populated, hugeterritories with the least number of soldiers. These lands were rich in gold and silver. Over time, they were settled by immigrants from Spain, and the Catholic Church forcibly baptized millions of Indians who were previously pagans.
The Spanish kingdom was fabulously enriched by the we alth that flowed into its treasury in an endless stream. At the same time, the great conquistador himself practically failed to take advantage of the treasures he stole and the due honors.
Now you know who Francisco Pizarro is (years of life - c. 1471/1476-1541). He went down in history as a brutal conqueror who enslaved Latin America and helped turn Spain into one of the European superpowers of the time.
