Key Facts
- Duration
- 1528–1542
- Established by
- Capitulation granted by King Charles I of Spain
- Governor
- Francisco Pizarro
- Approximate territory
- Roughly modern Peru
- Capital founded
- Lima, 1535
Imperial Zenith Metrics
Historical Trajectory
Phase I: Rise
In 1529, King Charles I of Spain granted Francisco Pizarro a capitulation appointing him governor of a region to be conquered along the western coast of South America. Pizarro launched his campaign against the Inca Empire in 1531, and by 1533 he and his brothers had subdued it, capturing and executing the Inca ruler Atahualpa. This conquest defined the territorial boundaries of the Governorate of New Castile, covering roughly present-day Peru.
Phase II: Zenith
At its height, the Governorate of New Castile encompassed the heartland of the former Inca Empire, giving Spain access to substantial silver and gold resources. Pizarro founded Lima in 1535 as the administrative capital, organizing Spanish colonial rule over a densely populated indigenous territory. The governorate served as the primary base for further Spanish expansion along the western coast of South America.
Phase III: Decline
Following the foundation of Lima in 1535, the governorate was divided to accommodate competing Spanish interests in the region. Ongoing conflict between conquistadors, including the rival claims of Diego de Almagro, undermined stable governance. By 1542, the Spanish Crown reorganized its South American holdings into the Viceroyalty of Peru, superseding the Governorate of New Castile and absorbing its territory into a more structured colonial administration.
Notable Imperial Reigns
Selected rulers mapping the empire’s trajectory