Francisco Pizarro
Who was Francisco Pizarro?
Spanish conquistador who conquered the Inca Empire
Biographical data adapted from Wikipedia’s article on Francisco Pizarro (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Biography
Francisco Pizarro was born around 1478 in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain, to a poor family of pig farmers. He was an illegitimate child and didn't receive much formal education, remaining illiterate for much of his life. Hoping to escape poverty, he went to the Spanish colonies in the Americas, where he spent decades gaining the experience and connections needed for one of history's boldest military campaigns.
Pizarro's early years in the New World connected him with some of the most important explorers of the time. He joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in crossing the Isthmus of Panama in 1513, becoming part of the first European group to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. Later, he served as mayor of Panama City, building some wealth and local influence. He launched two expensive and unsuccessful expeditions south along the Pacific coast of South America before finally getting the support he needed.
In 1529, Pizarro went to Spain and got permission from the Spanish crown to conquer Peru. His third expedition was successful. He arrived in South America when the Inca Empire was weakened by a civil war between Huascar and Atahualpa. Pizarro led his small force inland and established San Miguel de Piura, the first Spanish settlement in Peru. Using a mix of military strategy, superior weapons, and diplomacy, he arranged a meeting with the Inca emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca in November 1532. There, Pizarro's forces ambushed and captured Atahualpa despite being heavily outnumbered.
To secure his release, Atahualpa offered to fill a large room with gold and silver. Pizarro agreed to the ransom, which was collected from the empire, but then he had Atahualpa tried for treason, idolatry, and other crimes. The emperor was executed by garroting in July 1533. Later that year, Pizarro marched into Cuzco, the Inca capital, effectively completing the Spanish conquest of Peru. On January 18, 1535, he founded Lima on the Pacific coast, making it the administrative center of the new Spanish territory.
Despite his conquests, Pizarro struggled to keep control over his men. A bitter rivalry formed between him and his longtime partner Diego de Almagro, ending with Almagro’s capture and execution in 1538. Almagro's supporters, led by his son Diego de Almagro the Younger, avenged this by assassinating Pizarro at his palace in Lima on June 26, 1541. He died at around 63 years old, having turned the western coast of South America into a Spanish colony, which came at a great human cost to the indigenous people.
Before Fame
Francisco Pizarro grew up in poverty in Trujillo, Spain, with limited options as the illegitimate son of a minor nobleman and a woman of low social standing. He never learned to read or write, and the lack of opportunities in rural Extremadura pushed him to seek his fortune elsewhere. Like many young men from the area, he joined the military and eventually ended up in the Spanish colonies in the Caribbean and Central America in the early 1500s.
His time in the New World shaped his future. He joined early colonial expeditions, learned how to fight on the frontier against indigenous peoples, and formed connections with other ambitious soldiers and colonists. His involvement in Balboa's 1513 crossing of Panama was a turning point, giving him firsthand knowledge of the Pacific and sparking rumors of rich civilizations to the south. Although his two southern expeditions in the 1520s failed, they provided him with detailed geographic information and strengthened his determination to find and conquer the empire mentioned in coastal traders' accounts.
Key Achievements
- Led the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the largest empire in pre-Columbian America
- Founded the city of Lima in 1535, which became the administrative capital of Spanish South America
- Participated in the first European sighting of the Pacific Ocean from the Americas alongside Vasco Núñez de Balboa in 1513
- Captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532 with a numerically inferior force
- Received the title of Marquess and was inducted into the Order of Santiago in recognition of his conquests
Did You Know?
- 01.Pizarro was illiterate throughout his life, yet managed complex negotiations and administrative responsibilities across thousands of miles of new territory.
- 02.At the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532, Pizarro's force of fewer than 200 men captured Atahualpa, the ruler of an empire with a military estimated in the hundreds of thousands.
- 03.The ransom Atahualpa paid for his release included a room approximately 22 feet long and 17 feet wide filled with gold objects to a height of about eight feet, plus two smaller rooms filled with silver.
- 04.Pizarro was distantly related to Hernán Cortés, the conquistador who had conquered the Aztec Empire, and the two men were both from the Extremadura region of Spain.
- 05.The city of Lima, which Pizarro founded in 1535, became the capital of the Viceroyalty of Peru and remains the capital of modern-day Peru.
Family & Personal Life
Awards & Honors
| Award | Year | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Marquess | — | — |
| Order of Santiago | — | — |