The Inca empire, with its lifestyle and beliefs, is still a mystery to researchers. No less questions are caused by 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. Find out its details will help this article.
Origin
Francisco Pizarro was born as a result of extramarital affairs of the son of the Spanish military, who had the high rank of captain of third. Don Gonzalo Pizarro de Aguilara married his cousin Francisco de Vargas and had many children from her. After the death of his wife, he also appeared several bastards from the maids. At the same time, the most famous of his offspring - Francisco, who was born long before don Gonzalo married, - the captain himself never recognized his 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 become a servant in one of the monasteries of Trujillo. 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, grazed 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 fellow countryman Nicolas de Owando, who was preparing to sail to the West Indies.
The first years in the New World
The beginning of 1502 in Spain was marked by excitement 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 Urab, the Spaniards founded a Christian settlement. Francisco Pizarro was appointed captain, who remained to live in the new fort with a handful of colonists. It was not easy for them, and they experienced both hunger and illness.
Expedition to the Pacific
In 1513, Francisco Pizarro took part in a military campaign in Panama led by Vasco de Balboa. The future founder of Lima lingered in these parts, and in 1519 became one of the first inhabitants of the new city, founded by Pedro Arias de Avila. In Panama, he remained as a colonist until 1523. During this time, Pissarro was repeatedly elected a member of the city magistrate, and later his mayor. During his tenure, Francisco even managed to make a small fortune.
The first and second expeditions to Peru
During his years in Panama, conquistador Francisco Pizarro often heard from the Indians about an unknown civilization and its large cities located in the south. Being an adventurer in his soul, the mayor of Panama could not sit still for a long time, so in 1524 he, along with his 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, since 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 his old friend Diego de Almagro and Bartolome Ruiz, they visited Tumbes and then returned to Panama. Two of Pissarro’s men were sent to explore territories near Tumbes. They were captured by the Indians and brought to their ruler Atahualpa in Kyoto. Thus, the first Spaniards the Incas saw were Rodrigo Sanchez and Juan Martin. The prisoners were sacrificed to the god Viracoce, by whose name the Incas subsequently began to call all Spaniards "viracoce."
A dozen brave
The double failure caused the Governor of Panama to send Pizarro a letter. In it, he refused to finance the expedition and ordered the mayor of Panama and his people to return to the city.
According to legend, after reading a letter, don Francisco Pizarro, interesting facts about which can be found in the notes of many of his contemporary colonialists, drew a line in the sand with his sword. Then the great conquistador invited the expedition members who wanted to go with him in search of wealth and glory, step over it and follow him 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 fame.
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 jail. Then don Francisco sailed to Spain and got 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 necessary amount. His joy was complete. After all, he received the rank of captain general, clan coat of arms and the right to become the governor of all lands located further 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 savages who did not know iron and steel and did not have firearms.
Third expedition
At the very beginning of 1531, Captain General Pizarro sailed on his victorious Inca expedition. Three small caravels set off on a long journey from the port of Panama. Under the command of don Francisco there were 180 men of infantry, as well as 37 cavalrymen with horses (about two for each person) and 2 small guns. Among the conquistadors were his brothers, faithful comrades-in-arms 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 the Pizarro soldiers were armed with spears and swords and clad in steel helmets and cuirasses.
The beginning 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. Then Pizarro ordered his unit to move south along the Pacific coast towards the city of Tumbes. The Indian villages that came in their way, the Spaniards ravaged and burned. At the same time, they were delighted, because everywhere they found a lot of gold jewelry.
However, don Francisco understood that with a handful of soldiers and almost no firearms he would not be able to conquer the Incas. Therefore, Pizarro sent his two ships to Panama and Nicaragua, so that their captains would hire armed adventurers for the looted 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 Kingdom of Spain appeared in South America, which was called 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 in the Middle Ages, was able to continue his conquering expedition and went to the mainland. But the rumor about the cruelty of the Spaniards has already spread to the border regions of Peru, so the Indians did not hesitate to kill every foreigner who fell into their hands. In addition, learning 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 moved on, the more he learned about the country he was about to conquer for the Spanish Crown. Soon, from the captured Indians, it became clear to him that it was 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. He was defended by the Saxo fortress, surrounded by a defensive rampart 10 m high.
As a nation, the Incas were a confederation consisting of several tribes, the most numerous of which were Quechua and 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 ordinary mortals. The inhabitants of Peru grew mainly maize and potatoes and bred llamas, which were used as pack animals. In addition, the Incas processed silver, copper and gold, and also knew how to make alloys from them.
Inca defense
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 rovers who were involved in delivering reports to the Supreme Inca could quickly move along these roads. In addition, Indians used smoke signals to communicate. The army of the Supreme Inca numbered about 200 thousand hardy and strong soldiers. However, their weapons could not stand comparison with the Spanish ammunition. Most of the troops were located in alpine impregnable fortresses.
Political Situation in Peru
At the time of the invasion of the Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, the bloody feud ended there very recently, 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 benefits were on the side of the first of the young people, Atahualpa set out to seize the capital of the Cusco empire and take the place of the Supreme Inca. He outwitted Huascar, pulled troops of loyal tribes to the city, and arrived in the capital. When the Supreme Inca realized what was happening, it was too late and he could not call in to help his troops. There was a bloody battle in which Atahualpa defeated. He ordered the death of his captive brother and took his place. It was at this moment that Francisco Pizarro appeared in Peru with his conquistadors.
The capture of Atahualpa
Upon learning of the approach of the Spaniards, the High Inca gathered thousands of troops and camped near the city of Caxamarca.
Unsuspecting Pizarro and his detachment, consisting of 110 infantrymen and 67 cavalrymen, moved forward unhindered, surprised that the Indians were simply leaving their settlements without any resistance. On November 15, 1532, they reached Kaksamarka and, evaluating the strength of the enemy, they realized that they could not win in open battle.
Then don Francisco matured an insidious plan. He invited Vrkhovnoy incu for negotiations and, having interrupted his bodyguards, captured Atahualpa. Pizarro himself was the only wounded in the battle with the Indians.
When the Incas learned that their demigod, whom it was inconceivable to touch even with a finger, was taken prisoner, they fled in horror.
News of this quickly spread throughout the empire. Many tribes revolted, and supporters of Huascar decided to regain power in the country.
Pissarro, meanwhile, demanded a ransom for his release from his "semi-divine captive." The Supreme Inca promised the Spaniard there to fill with gold a space 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 nevertheless executed Atahualpa on the orders of Francisco Pizarro. The Inca Conquest
The conquistodors freely entered Cuzco and placed there their governor, the brother of the executed Huascar, Manco. Thus, they “restored justice” and received support from part of the Inca nobility, and also gained control over a significant 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.
Power struggle
Having finished with the Incas, the Spaniards began to sort things out among themselves. Diego de Almagro accused his old friend Pizarro of the fact that the latter was unfair in the division of treasures. As a result of this conflict, a revolt was raised in the camp of the Spaniards.
In 1537, Pizarro, to whom reinforcements were sent from Spain, defeated a rebel detachment in a battle near Las Salinas. As for Diego de Almagro, don Francisco ordered him executed in the name of the King of Spain.
Death
In revenge for the death of their leader, the people of executed Diego de Almagro decided to end Pizarro. In June 1541, they broke into the palace of the Great Conquistador and killed an elderly adventurer. Thus, by the will of fate, Pizarro died not at the hands of the natives, but was stabbed to death by Spanish soldiers, who, thanks to him, from poor beggars turned into rich. However, as you know, the appetite comes with food, and the greed of the former associates of don Francisco made them forget all the merits of his old commander.
Historical Description of Francisco Pizarro
Compared with other Spanish conquistadors, the founder of Lima achieved the most significant results in the conquest of the Indians and civilizations of the New World. He managed to conquer densely populated, vast territories 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 christened the millions of Indians who were previously pagans.
The Spanish kingdom was fabulously enriched by the wealth that flowed in an endless stream into its treasury. At the same time, the great conquistador himself was practically unable to take advantage of the treasures he had stolen and relying on 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 contributed to the transformation of Spain into one of the European superpowers of that time.