Francisco Pizarro González, I marqués de los Atavillos, Conquistador del Perú

EL CONQUISTADOR:

Explorador y conquistador español del Perú gobernador de Nueva Castilla (actual territorio peruano) con sede de gobierno en Los Reyes (Lima). Es recordado por haber logrado imponerse sobre la civilización Inca con ayuda de diversos cacicazgos locales, conquistando el mencionado 'imperio' cuyo centro de gobierno se ubicaba en el hoy Perú, y estableciendo una dependencia española sobre él. Si bien tuvo el título de marqués, fué un ¨marqués carente de marquesado¨; sus descendientes tuvieron el título de marqueses de la Conquista . Para sus huestes indígenas era conocido como Apu (Jefe, Señor, General) o Machu Capitán (Viejo Capitan).

Infancia y juventud: Francisco Pizarro nació en la ciudad de Trujillo (Extremadura). Existen dudas acerca de la fecha exacta de su nacimiento puesto que, algunos historiadores indican que fue el 16 de marzo de 1476, otros dicen que fue la misma fecha, pero del año 1478, y otros más , llegan a hablar de 1472.

Fue hijo natural del hidalgo Gonzalo Pizarro Rodríguez de Aguilar, llamado "El Largo", que participó en las campañas de Italia, bajo el mando de Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, y de Francisca González y Mateos, campesina y doncella de la tía de Gonzalo, Beatriz Pizarro, devota del Convento de San Francisco el Real (junto a la Puerta de la Coria).

La infancia de Francisco Pizarro fue muy pobre y difícil; fue iletrado y criador de cerdos. Al parecer abandonó Trujillo y se dirigió a Sevilla entre 1492-93.

A la edad de 20 años se alistó en los tercios españoles que a las órdenes de Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, el Gran Capitán, luchaban en las conocidas como campañas de Nápoles contra los franceses. Según López de Gómara habría servido bajo las órdenes de éste, siempre como soldado, en el sur de la península, Calabria y Sicilia. Regresa a Sevilla donde permanecerá hasta su marcha a América. Poco se sabe de su estancia en esta ciudad.

Primeros años en América  

En 1502, llegó a América en la expedición de Nicolás de Ovando, el nuevo gobernador de La Española. De sus primeros años en América sabemos muy poco. Probablemente participó en la “pacificación” de la Española.

En 1508, el Rey de España Fernando el Católico sometió a concurso la conquista de Tierra Firme. Se crearon dos nuevas gobernaciones en las tierras comprendidas entre los cabos de la Vela (Colombia) y de Gracias a Dios, (en la frontera entre Honduras y Nicaragua). Se tomó el golfo de Urabá como límite de ambas gobernaciones: Nueva Andalucía al este, gobernada por Alonso de Ojeda, y Veragua al oeste, gobernada por Diego de Nicuesa.

En 1509, hubo una expedición comandada por el bachiller y Alcalde Mayor de Nueva Andalucía Martín Fernández de Enciso que salió a socorrer al gobernador Alonso de Ojeda, quien era su superior. Ojeda junto con setenta hombres, había fundado el poblado de San Sebastián de Urabá en Nueva Andalucía, lugar donde después se levantaría la ciudad de Cartagena de Indias; sin embargo, cerca del establecimiento existían muchos indígenas belicosos que usaban armas venenosas, y Ojeda había quedado herido de una pierna. Poco después, Ojeda se retiró en un barco a La Española, dejando el establecimiento a cargo de Francisco Pizarro, que en ese momento no era más que un valiente soldado en espera de que llegara la expedición de Enciso. Ojeda le pidió a Pizarro que se mantuviera con unos pocos hombres por cincuenta días en el poblado, o que de contrario usara todos los medios para regresar a La Española.

Hombre de fuerte carácter y poco dispuesto a la actividad sedentaria, participó en la expedición de Alonso de Ojeda que exploró América Central y Colombia (1510) y luego en la de Vasco Núñez de Balboa que culminó en el descubrimiento del Mar del Sur (más tarde, Océano Pacífico) en 1513. En enero de 1519, Francisco Pizarro arrestó a Vasco Núñez de Balboa por orden de Pedro Arias de Avila, Gobernador de Castilla de Oro. De 1519 a 1523, fue encomendero y alcalde de la ciudad de Panamá. Existen discrepancias sobre el estado de la fortuna de Pizarro durante su estancia en Panamá.

Al respecto, Horacio Urteaga afirmó que asegura que la situación económica de Pizarro y Almagro era holgada. Quintana y Mendiburu, que mucho averiguaron sobre la vida de los conquistadores, aseguran que Pizarro era uno de los moradores de Panamá menos acaudalados, y cuando llegó el caso de la famosa contrata para descubrir el Perú, ambos socios no pudieron poner otra cosa que su industria personal y su experiencia.

En efecto, en 1524, Pizarro se asocia con Diego de Almagro y Hernando de Luque, un hombre influyente, cura de Panamá, para conquistar "Birú" o "El Birú" (el Imperio Inca del Perú), del que tenían vagas noticias, repartiéndose las responsabilidades de la expedición. Pizarro la comandaría, Almagro se encargaría del abastecimiento militar y de alimentos y Luque estaría al cargo de las finanzas y de la provisión de ayuda. Existen noticias de un cuarto asociado, el licenciado Espinosa, que no quiso figurar oficialmente y que habría sido el financiador principal de las expediciones hacia el Perú.

Pizarro no fue ni el primero ni el único que intentó la conquista del Perú. Dos años antes, en 1522, Pascual de Andagoya intentó la aventura: su expedición terminó en un estrepitoso fracaso. Sin embargo, las noticias de la existencia de "Biru" y de sus enormes riquezas en oro y plata, influyeron sin duda en el ánimo de los asociados y pudieron haber sido decisivas en la toma de decision para acometer la empresa.

La conquista del Perú 

En 1531 llega a Perú, lugar de la muerte del Inca Huayna Cápac, lo que desató a su vez una guerra civil que enfrentó a los sucesores, Atahualpa y a su hermano, el Sapa Inca Huáscar. Pizarro se adentró temerariamente en el territorio inca con 180 soldados y 37 caballos, se dirigió a Cajamarca, donde toma prisionero a Atahualpa (16 de noviembre de 1532), y a pesar de haber recibido el rescate más alto de la historia le manda ajusticiar bajo los delitos de sublevación y mandar ejecutar a Huascar, aunque Pizarro se niega a quemar vivo al Inca.

Mantuvo una estrecha alianza con la nobleza del Cusco, partidaria de Huáscar, lo cual le permitió completar sin apenas resistencia la conquista del Perú. Tras nombrar Inca a un hermano de Atahualpa, Túpac Hualpa, marcha al Cusco, capital del Imperio Inca, ocupándola en noviembre 1533. Su hermano Juan es nombrado regidor de la ciudad. Contrajo matrimonio bajo el rito católico con la hija del Inca Huayna Cápac, Quispe Sisa, bautizada como Inés Huaylas Yupanqui, con la cual tuvo una primera hija que llamó como su padre, Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui y Gonzalo el segundo hijo del Conquistador, que murió joven.

El 18 de enero de 1535, fundó en la costa la Ciudad de los Reyes, pronto conocida como Lima, y Trujillo, con lo que se inició la colonización efectiva de los territorios conquistados. Mientras tanto, su hermano Hernando, que había partido a España para entregar el Quinto del Rey a la corona, regresó portando el título de marqués para su hermano Francisco, y el de adelantado para Almagro, al cual se le habían concedido 200 leguas al sur del territorio atribuido a Pizarro.

Guerra civil entre españoles  

Almagro, considerando que el Cusco estaba dentro de su jurisdicción destituyó a Juan Pizarro y lo encarceló junto a su hermano Gonzalo. Francisco acudió desde Lima y firmó un acuerdo con Almagro en Cusco, tras lo cual Almagro partió para Chile.

A la vuelta de su infructuosa expedición, Almagro trata de ocupar de nuevo el Cusco, el cual, defendido por su regidor Hernando Pizarro, estaba resistiendo un largo cerco por parte de los incas sublevados al mando de Manco Inca, que había conseguido huir de los españoles.

Mientras tanto Pizarro en Lima sufrió también el cerco de dicha ciudad por parte de Quizo Yupanqui, general y pariente de Manco Inca, quien tras estar a punto de tomar la capital, fue muerto en batalla. La victoria en Lima de Pizarro se debió a su estratégica alianza con los señores étnicos enemigos de los Incas. En este caso en peculiar destacó la alianza con la cacique de Huaylas. Estos acudieron a Lima con cinco mil hombres quienes pelearon junto a los hispanos en la defensa de Lima frente al cerco y ataque de Quizo Yupanqui.

Tras la llegada de Almagro al Cusco, Manco Inca levantó el cerco, lo que aprovechó Almagro para encarcelar a Hernando y Gonzalo Pizarro. Tras derrotar al lugarteniente de Pizarro, Alonso de Alvarado, en la Rota de Abanday, llega a un nuevo acuerdo con Pizarro en Mala (1537), por el que Hernando es puesto en libertad.

La paz fue corta y ambos bandos vuelven a enfrentarse en la batalla de las Salinas (1538), cerca de Cusco. Los almagristas son derrotados y Diego de Almagro procesado, condenado a muerte y ejecutado por Hernando Pizarro, en la Plaza Mayor de Cusco (8 de julio de 1538).

Tras la muerte de Almagro, Pizarro se dedicó a consolidar la colonia y a fomentar las actividades colonizadoras (envía a su hermano Gonzalo a Quito y a Pedro de Valdivia a Chile)

Sin embargo, los partidarios de Almagro se agruparon en torno a su hijo Almagro el Mozo, los cuales, bajo el mando de Juan de Rada entran en la residencia de Francisco Pizarro en Lima y le dan muerte el 26 de junio de 1541.

Palacio de la Conquista

Después de su regreso del Perú y ya notoriamente enriquecida la familia Pizarro, se erigió en la esquina sureste de la Plaza Mayor de Trujillo y al costado de Ayuntamiento, en la ciudad natal de Francisco Pizarro, un palacio de estilo plateresco en el siglo XVI construido por Hernando Pizarro y Francisco Pizarro sobre las antiguas carnicerías. Es el palacio más imponente de esta Plaza.

Este opulento palacio se estructura en cuatro plantas, siendo significativo por el escudo de armas de la familia Pizarro que se encuentra en el balcón de la esquina con su contenido iconográfico. En uno de sus lados está Francisco Pizarro y en el otro, su esposa, la princesa Inca Yupanqui, su hija Francisca y Hernando Pizarro. Coronan este edificio doce elegantes esculturas que representan alegorías de los vicios y virtudes. Son notables sus chimeneas, ventanas y artísticas rejas de forja.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro y González, 1st Marquess of los Atabillos (Spanish pronunciation: [fraN'%CE%B8isko pi'θařo γoN'θaleθ]; c. 1471 or 1476 – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.

Early life Pizarro was born in the town of Trujillo, in modern day Extremadura, Spain. Sources differ in the birth year they assign to him: 1471, 1475 – 1478, or unknown. He was an illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) (1446 – 1522) who as colonel of infantry served in the Italian campaigns under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, and in Navarre, with some distinction. His mother was Francisca González Mateos, a woman of slender means from Trujillo, daughter of Juan Mateos, of the family called Los Roperos, and wife María Alonso, labradores pecheros from Trujillo. His mother married late in life and had a son Francisco Martín de Alcántara, married to Inés Muñoz, who from the beginning was at the conquest of Peru, where he then lived, always at his brother's side, who held him always as one of his most trusted men. Through his father, Francisco was second cousin to Hernán Cortés, the famed conquistador of the Aztec Empire.[citation needed]

Expedition to the Americas On 13 February 1502, Pizarro sailed from Spain with the newly appointed Governor of Hispaniola, Nicolás de Ovando y Cáceres, on a fleet of 30 ships. It was the largest fleet that had ever sailed to the New World. The 30 ships carried 2,500 colonists.

Pizarro in Panama In 1513, Pizarro accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his crossing of the Isthmus of Panama and they became the first Europeans to view the Pacific coast of the New World. The following year, in 1514, Pedro Arias de Avila (Pedrarias) became the newly appointed governor of Castilla de Oro and succeeded Balboa. During the next five years, Pizarro became a close associate of Pedrarias Dávila and the governor assigned him a repartimiento of natives and cattle. When Pedrarias Dávila decided to get rid of Balboa out of distrust, he instructed Pizarro to personally arrest him and bring him to stand trial. Balboa was duly convicted and beheaded in January of 1519. For his loyalty to Pedrarias Dávila, Pizarro was bestowed the important political position of mayor (Alcalde) and magistrate of the then recently founded Panama City from 1519 to 1523.

Expeditions to South America The first attempt to explore western South America was undertaken in 1522 by Pascual de Andagoya. The native South Americans he encountered told him about a gold-rich territory called Virú, which was on a river called Pirú (later corrupted to Perú) and from which they came. These reports were related by the Spanish-Inca mestizo writer Garcilaso de la Vega in his famous Comentarios Reales de los Incas (1609).

Andagoya eventually established contact with several Native American curacas (chiefs), some of whom he later claimed were sorcerers and witches. Having reached as far as the San Juan River (part of the present boundary between Ecuador and Colombia), Andagoya fell very ill and decided to return. Back in Panama, he spread the news and stories about "Pirú" – a great land to the south rich with gold (the legendary El Dorado). These revelations, along with the accounts of success of Hernán Cortés in Mexico years before, caught the immediate attention of Pizarro, prompting a new series of expeditions to the south in search of the riches of the Incan Empire.

In 1524, while still in Panama, Pizarro formed a partnership with a priest, Hernando de Luque, and a soldier, Diego de Almagro, to explore and conquer the South. Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque later renewed their compact more explicitly, agreeing to conquer and divide equally among themselves the opulent empire they hoped to discover. While historians agree their accord was strictly verbal (no written document exists to prove otherwise), they are known to have dubbed their enterprise the "Empresa del Levante" and determined that Pizarro would command the expedition, Almagro would provide the military and food supplies, and Luque would be in charge of finances and any additional provisions they might need.

First expedition (1524) On 13 September 1524, the first of three expeditions left from Panama for the conquest of Peru with about 80 men and 40 horses. Diego de Almagro was left behind because he was to recruit men, gather additional supplies, and join Pizarro later. The Governor of Panama, Pedro Arias Dávila, at first approved in principle of exploring South America. Pizarro's first expedition, however, turned out to be a failure as his conquistadors, sailing down the Pacific coast, reached no farther than Colombia before succumbing to such hardships as bad weather, lack of food, and skirmishes with hostile natives, one of which caused Almagro to lose an eye by arrow-shot. Moreover, the place names the Spanish bestowed along their route, including Puerto deseado (desired port), Puerto del hambre (port of hunger), and Puerto quemado (burned port), only confirm their straits. Fearing subsequent hostile encounters like the one the expedition endured at the Battle of Punta Quemada, Pizarro chose to end his tentative first expedition and return to Panama.

Second expedition (1526) Two years after the first very unsuccessful expedition, Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque started the arrangements for a second expedition with permission from Pedrarias Dávila. The Governor, who himself was preparing an expedition north to Nicaragua, was reluctant to permit another expedition, having lost confidence in the outcome of Pizarro's expeditions. The three associates, however, eventually won his trust and he acquiesced. Also by this time, a new governor was to arrive and succeed Pedrarias Dávila. This was Pedro de los Ríos, who took charge of the post in July of 1526 and had manifested his initial approval of Pizarro's expeditions (he would later join him several years later in Peru).

In August 1526, after all preparations were ready, Pizarro left Panama with two ships with 160 men and several horses, reaching as far as the Colombian San Juan River. Soon after arriving the party separated, with Pizarro staying to explore the new and often perilous territory off the swampy Colombian coasts, while the expedition's second-in-command, Almagro, was sent back to Panama for reinforcements. Pizarro's Piloto Mayor (main pilot), Bartolomé Ruiz, continued sailing south and, after crossing the equator, found and captured a balsa (raft) of natives from Tumbes who were supervising the area. To everyone's surprise, these carried a load of textiles, ceramic objects, and some much-desired pieces of gold, silver, and emeralds, making Ruiz's findings the central focus of this second expedition which only served to pique the conquistadors' interests for more gold and land. Some of the natives were also taken aboard Ruiz's ship to serve later as interpreters.

He then set sail north for the San Juan river, arriving to find Pizarro and his men exhausted from the serious difficulties they had faced exploring the new territory. Soon Almagro also sailed into the port with his vessel laden with supplies, and a considerable reinforcement of at least eighty recruited men who had arrived at Panama from Spain with the same expeditionary spirit. The findings and excellent news from Ruiz along with Almagro's new reinforcements cheered Pizarro and his tired followers. They then decided to sail back to the territory already explored by Ruiz and, after a difficult voyage due to strong winds and currents, reached Atacames in the Ecuadorian coast. Here they found a very large native population recently brought under Inca rule. Unfortunately for the conquistadors, the warlike spirit of the people they had just encountered seemed so defiant and dangerous in numbers that the Spanish decided not to enter the land.

The Famous Thirteen After much wrangling between Pizarro and Almagro, it was decided that Pizarro would stay at a safer place, the Isla de Gallo, near the coast, while Almagro would return yet again to Panama with Luque for more reinforcements – this time with proof of the gold they had just found and the news of the discovery of an obvious wealthy land they had just explored. The new governor of Panama, Pedro de los Ríos, had learned of the mishaps of Pizarro's expeditions and the deaths of various settlers who had gone with him. Fearing an unsuccessful outcome, he outright rejected Almagro's application for a third expedition in 1527.

In addition, he ordered two ships commanded by Juan Tafur to be sent immediately with the intention of bringing Pizarro and everyone back to Panama. The leader of the expedition had no intention of returning, and when Tafur arrived at the now famous Isla de Gallo, Pizarro drew a line in the sand, saying: "There lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian."

Only thirteen men decided to stay with Pizarro and later became known as "The Famous Thirteen" (Los trece de la fama), while the rest of the expeditioners left back with Tafur aboard his ships. Ruiz also left in one of the ships with the intention of joining Almagro and Luque in their efforts to gather more reinforcements and eventually return to aid Pizarro. Soon after the ships left, the 13 men and Pizarro constructed a crude boat and left nine miles (14 km) north for La Isla Gorgona, where they would remain for seven months before the arrival of new provisions.

Back in Panama, Pedro de los Ríos (after much convincing by Luque) had finally acquiesced to the requests for another ship, but only to bring Pizarro back within six months and completely abandon the expedition. Both Almagro and Luque quickly grasped the opportunity and left Panama (this time without new recruits) for La Isla Gorgona to once again join Pizarro. On meeting with Pizarro, the associates decided to continue sailing south on the recommendations of Ruiz's Indian interpreters. By April 1528, they finally reached the northwestern Peruvian Tumbes Region. Tumbes became the territory of the first fruits of success the Spanish had so long desired, as they were received with a warm welcome of hospitality and provisions from the Tumpis, the local inhabitants. On subsequent days two of Pizarro's men reconnoitered the territory and both, on separate accounts, reported back the incredible riches of the land, including the decorations of silver and gold around the chief's residence and the hospitable attentions which they were received with by everyone. The Spanish also saw, for the first time, the Peruvian Llama which Pizarro called the "little camels". The natives also began calling the Spanish the "Children of the Sun" due to their fair complexion and brilliant armor. Pizarro, meanwhile, continued receiving the same accounts of a powerful monarch who ruled over the land they were exploring. These events only served as evidence to convince the expedition of the wealth and power displayed at Tumbes as an example of the riches the Peruvian territory had awaiting to conquer. The conquistadors decided to return to Panama to prepare the final expedition of conquest with more recruits and provisions. Before leaving, however, Pizarro and his followers sailed south not so far along the coast to see if anything of interest could be found. Historian William H. Prescott recounts that after passing through territories they named such as Cabo Blanco, port of Payta, Sechura, Punta de Aguja, Santa Cruz, and Trujillo (founded by Almagro years later), they finally reached for the first time the ninth degree of the southern latitude in South America. On their return towards Panama, Pizarro briefly stopped at Tumbes, where two of his men had decided to stay to learn the customs and language of the natives. Pizarro was also offered a native or two himself, one of which was later baptized as Felipillo and served as an important interpreter, the equivalent of Cortés' La Malinche of Mexico. Their final stop was at La Isla Gorgona, where two of his ill men (one had died) had stayed before. After at least eighteen months away, Pizarro and his followers anchored off the coasts of Panama to prepare for the final expedition.

Capitulación de Toledo When the new governor of Panama, Pedro de los Ríos, had refused to allow for a third expedition to the south, the associates resolved for Pizarro to leave for Spain and appeal to the sovereign in person. Pizarro sailed from Panama for Spain in the spring of 1528, reaching Seville in early summer. King Charles I, who was at Toledo, had an interview with Pizarro and heard of his expeditions in South America, a territory the conquistador described as very rich in gold and silver which he and his followers had bravely explored "to extend the empire of Castile." The King, who was soon to leave for Italy, was impressed at the accounts of Pizarro and promised to give his support for the conquest of Peru. It would be Queen Isabel, however, who, in the absence of the King, would sign the Capitulación de Toledo, a license document which authorized Francisco Pizarro to proceed with the conquest of Peru. Pizarro was officially named the Governor, Captain General, and the "Adelantado" of the New Castile for the distance of 200 leagues along the newly discovered coast, and invested with all the authority and prerogatives, his associates being left in wholly secondary positions (a fact which later incensed Almagro and would lead to eventual discords with Pizarro). One of the conditions of the grant was that within six months Pizarro should raise a sufficiently equipped force of two hundred and fifty men, of whom one hundred might be drawn from the colonies.

This gave Pizarro time to leave for his native Trujillo and convince his brother Hernándo Pizarro and other close friends to join him on his third expedition. Along with him also came Francisco de Orellana, who would later discover and explore the entire length of the Amazon River. Two more of his brothers, Juan Pizarro and Gonzalo Pizarro, would later decide to also join him as well as his cousin Pedro Pizarro who served as his page. When the expedition was ready and left the following year, it numbered three ships, one hundred and eighty men, and twenty-seven horses.

Since Pizarro could not meet the number of men the Capitulación had required, he sailed clandestinely from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda for the Canary Island of La Gomera in January 1530. He was there to be joined by his brother Hernando and the remaining men in two vessels that would sail back to Panama. Pizarro's third and final expedition left Panama for Peru on 27 December 1530.

Conquest of Peru (1532) In 1532 Pizarro once again landed in the coasts near Ecuador, where some gold, silver, and emeralds were procured and then dispatched to Almagro, who had stayed in Panama to gather more recruits. Though Pizarro's main objective was to then set sail and dock at Tumbes like his previous expedition, he was forced to confront the Punian natives in the Battle of Puná, leaving three Spaniards dead and 400 dead or wounded Punians. Soon after, Hernando de Soto, another conquistador that had joined the expedition, arrived to aid Pizarro and with him sailed towards Tumbes, only to find the place deserted and destroyed. Their two fellow conquistadors expected they had disappeared or died under murky circumstances. The chiefs explained the fierce tribes of Punians had attacked them and ransacked the place.

As Tumbes no longer afforded the safe accommodations Pizarro sought, he decided to lead an excursion into the interior of the land and established the first Spanish settlement in Peru (third in South America after Santa Marta, Colombia in 1526), calling it San Miguel de Piura in July 1532. The first repartimiento in Peru was established here. After these events, Hernando de Soto was dispatched to explore the new lands and, after various days away, returned with an envoy from the Inca himself and a few presents with an invitation for a meeting with the Spaniards.

Following the defeat of his brother, Huascar, Atahualpa had been resting in the Sierra of northern Peru, near Cajamarca, in the nearby thermal baths known today as the Baños del Inca (Incan Baths). After marching for almost two months towards Cajamarca, Pizarro and his force of just 106 foot-soldiers and 62 horsemen arrived and initiated proceedings for a meeting with Atahualpa. Pizarro sent Hernando de Soto, friar Vicente de Valverde and native interpreter Felipillo to approach Atahualpa at Cajamarca's central plaza. Atahualpa, however, refused the Spanish presence in his land by saying he would "be no man's tributary." His complacency, because there were fewer than 200 Spanish as opposed to his 80,000 soldiers sealed his fate and that of the Incan empire.

Atahualpa's refusal led Pizarro and his force to attack the Incan army in what became the Battle of Cajamarca on 16 November 1532. The Spanish were successful and Pizarro executed Atahualpa's 12-man honor guard and took the Inca captive at the so-called ransom room. Despite fulfilling his promise of filling one room (22 feet (7 m) by 17 feet (5 m) [2]) with gold and two with silver, Atahualpa was convicted of killing his brother and plotting against Pizarro and his forces, and was executed by garrote on 26 July 1533. Pizarro wished to find a reason for executing Atahualpa without angering the people he was attempting to subdue.

A year later, Pizarro invaded Cuzco with indigenous troops and with it sealed the conquest of Peru. It is argued by some historians that the growing resistance from the new Inca, Manco Inca Yupanqui, prolonged the conquest. Manco Inca Yupanqui was the brother of the puppet ruler, Tupac Huallpa.

During the exploration of Cuzco, Pizarro was impressed and through his officers wrote back to King Charles I of Spain, saying:

"This city is the greatest and the finest ever seen in this country or anywhere in the Indies... We can assure your Majesty that it is so beautiful and has such fine buildings that it would be remarkable even in Spain."

After the Spanish had sealed the conquest of Peru by taking Cuzco in 1533, Jauja in the fertile Mantaro Valley was established as Peru's provisional capital in April 1534. But it was too far up in the mountains and far from the sea to serve as the Spanish capital of Peru. Pizarro thus founded the city of Lima in Peru's central coast on 18 January 1535, a foundation that he considered as one of the most important things he had created in life.

After the final effort of the Inca to recover Cuzco had been defeated by Almagro, a dispute occurred between him and Pizarro respecting the limits of their jurisdiction. This led to confrontations between the Pizarro brothers and Almagro, who was eventually defeated during the Battle of Las Salinas (1538) and executed. Almagro's son, also named Diego and known as "El Mozo", was later stripped of his lands and left bankrupt by Pizarro.

Pizarro's death In Lima, Peru on 26 June 1541 "a group of twenty heavily armed supporters of Diego Almagro II stormed Pizarro's palace, assassinated him, and then forced the terrified city council to appoint young Almagro as the new governor of Peru", according to Burkholder and Johnson. "Most of Pizarro's guests fled, but a few fought the intruders, numbered variously between seven and 25. While Pizarro struggled to buckle on his breastplate, his defenders, including his half-brother Alcántara, were killed. For his part Pizarro killed two attackers and ran through a third. While trying to pull out his sword, he was stabbed in the throat, then fell to the floor where he was stabbed many times." Pizarro (who now was maybe as old as 70 years, and at least 62), collapsed on the floor, alone, painted a cross in his own blood and cried for Jesus Christ. He reportedly cried: Come my faithful sword, companion of all my deeds.[citation needed] He died moments after. Diego de Almagro the younger was caught and executed the following year after losing the battle of Chupas.

Pizarro's remains were briefly interred in the cathedral courtyard; at some later time his head and body were separated and buried in separate boxes underneath the floor of the cathedral. In 1892, in preparation for the anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the Americas, a body believed to be that of Pizarro was exhumed and put on display in a glass coffin. However, in 1977 men working on the cathedral's foundation discovered a lead box in a sealed niche, which bore the inscription "Here is the head of Don Francisco Pizarro Demarkes, Don Francisco Pizarro who discovered Peru and presented it to the crown of Castile." A team of forensic scientists from the United States, led by Dr. William Maples, was invited to examine the two bodies, and they soon determined that the body which had been honored in the glass case for nearly a century had been incorrectly identified. The skull within the lead box not only bore the marks of multiple sword blows, but the features bore a remarkable resemblance to portraits made of the man in life.

Pizarro's legacy By his marriage to N de Trujillo, Pizarro had a son also named Francisco, who married his relative Inés Pizarro, without issue. After Pizarro's death (this is WRONG, Pizarro ordered Inés to marry his assistant Fernando de Ampuero after Inés' mother sent Pizarro a huge army to "protect" him against Almagro; Pizarro was killed several years later, CFBMyV) , Inés Yupanqui, whom he took as a mistress, favourite sister of Atahualpa, who had been given to Francisco in marriage by her brother, married a Spanish cavalier named Ampuero and left for Spain, taking her daughter who would later be legitimized by imperial decree. Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui eventually married her uncle Hernándo Pizarro in Spain, on 10 October 1537; a third son of Pizarro, Francisco, by a relative of Atahualpa renamed Angelina, who was never legitimized, died shortly after reaching Spain.

Historians have often compared Pizarro and Cortés' conquests in North and South America as very similar in style and career. Pizarro, however, faced the Incas with a smaller army and fewer resources than Cortés at a much greater distance from the Spanish Caribbean outposts that could easily support him, which has led some to rank Pizarro slightly ahead of Cortés in their battles for conquest. Based on sheer numbers alone, Pizarro's military victory was one of the most improbable in recorded history. For example, Pizzarro had fewer soldiers than George Armstrong Custer did at the Battle of the Little Big Horn, while the Incas commanded forty times as many soldiers as Crazy Horse and Sitting Bull did. (Pizarro an advantage: the advice he received from Cortés. They had met in Spain while waiting to be received by the King. Cortés adviced Pizarro to kill all leaders thus Pizarro jailed Atahualpa and found a pretext to condemn him to death. The pretext was the accusation that Atahualpa had ordered the assassination of all the family of his half brother Huascar, which was never proved, CFBMyV)

Though Pizarro is well known in Peru for being the leader behind the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, a growing number of Peruvians regard him as a kind of criminal. By taking advantage of the natives, Pizarro ruled Peru for almost a decade and initiated the decline of Inca culture. The Incas’ polytheistic religion was replaced by Christianity and both Quechua and Aymara — the main Inca languages — were reduced to a marginal role in society for centuries, while Spanish became the official language of Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia and Chile. The cities of the Inca Empire were transformed into Spanish, Catholic cities. Pizarro is also vilified for having ordered Atahualpa's death despite his paid ransom of filling a room with gold and two with silver which was later split among all his closest Spanish associates.

Pizarro's sculptures In the early 1930s, sculptor Ramsey MacDonald created three copies of an anonymous European foot soldier resembling a conquistador with a helmet, wielding a sword and riding a horse. The first copy was offered to Mexico to represent Hernán Cortés, though it was rejected. Since the Spanish conquerors had the same appearance with helmet and beard, the statue was taken to Lima in 1934. One other copy of the statue resides in Wisconsin. The mounted statue of Pizarro in the Plaza Major in Trujillo, Spain was created by Charles Rumsey, an American sculptor. It was presented to the city by his widow in 1926.

In 2003, after years of lobbying by indigenous and mixed-raced majority requesting for the equestrian statue of Pizarro to be removed, the mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda Lossio, approved the transfer of the statue to another location: an adjacent square to the country's Government Palace. Since 2004, however, Pizarro's statue has been placed in a rehabilitated park surrounded by the recently restored 17th century pre-Hispanic murals in the Rímac District. The statue faces the Rímac River and the Government Palace.

The Palace of the conquest After their return from Peru and notoriously rich, the Pizarro family erected a plateresque-style palace on the corner of the Plaza Mayor in Trujillo, Spain. It was said to have been constructed on the orders of Pizarros daughter, Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui. It became an instant recognizable symbol of the plaza.

The opulent palace is sctructured in four stands, giving it the significance of the coat of arms of the Pizarro family, which is situated at one of its corner balconies displaying its iconographic content. At one of its sides it displays Francisco Pizarro and, at the other, his wife, the Inca princess Inés Huaylas, along with their daughter Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui and her husband Hernando Pizarro. The building's decor includes plateresque ornaments and balustrades.

Crónica del rescate de Atahualpa.Miguel de Estete: http://213.0.4.19/servlet/SirveObras/12252744320151506654435/p00000...

http://antonioescalera.blogspot.com.ar/2007/08/la-saga-de-los-pizar...

http://larepublica.pe/blogs/andares/2014/01/20/asu-mare-pizarro/

https://image.slidesharecdn.com/viajesdefranciscopizarro-1205142049...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Pizarro

En su último año de vida, Francisco Pizarro parecía que iba a gozar al fin de los dulces frutos de sus conquistas. A pesar de los fantasmas que le perseguían a sus 63 años, el extremeño vivía feliz en su recién construido palacio de Los Reyes junto a la bella Angélica Yupanqui. Había sido un solterón empedernido, pero, empeñado en que los españoles entroncaran con la población local, se casó al final de su vida con mujeres indígenas a modo de ejemplo. Disfrutaba de cierta calma, aplastada la rebelión de su viejo aliado, Diego de Almagro, hasta que una brutal muerte le sorprendió en su palacio.

El conquistador casi sobrevivió a todo. A la ingrata tierra extremeña, al duro viaje a través del Atlántico y a una lucha contra millares de guerreros incas, pero no pudo hacer nada contra la ira de sus propios compatriotas. Cuando Pizarro pensaba que moriría de viejo rodeado de sus hijos, su esposa y sus fieles hermanos, junto a los cuales había dado muerte al traicionero de Almagro, irrumpieron los almagristas el 26 de junio de 1541, hace 476 años, en el palacio del extremeño para darle «tantas lanzadas, puñaladas y estocadas que lo acabaron de matar con una de ellas en la garganta», según la descripción de un cronista.

Terminaba con puñaladas una vida marcada por las armas y las aventura. Nacido en la localidad de Trujillo (Extremadura), Francisco Pizarro era un hijo bastardo de un hidalgo emparentado con Hernán Cortés, que combatió en su juventud junto a las tropas españolas de Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba en Italia. En 1502, se trasladó a América en busca de fortuna y fama, donde oyó historias sobre un rico territorio al sur del continente que los nativos llamaban «Birú» (transformado en «Pirú» por los europeos). Francisco Pizarro, de 50 años de edad, decidió unir sus fuerzas con las de Diego de Almagro, de orígenes todavía más oscuros que el extremeño, y con las del clérigo Hernando de Luque para internarse en el sur del continente.