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128-516: When Francisco Pizarro arrived in Cajamarca on November 15, 1532, he sent a messenger to Atahualpa , proposing they meet in the main plaza. Pizarro decided to send a friar, Vincente de Valverde , along with an interpreter ( Felipillo ) to speak with Atahualpa. The next day, on November 16, 1532, Friar Valverde presented himself to Atahualpa and explained through the interpreter the mysteries of Catholic religion, and that, on account of their heathenism,

256-616: A meridian drawn from the Arctic Pole to the Antarctic , at a distance of 370 leagues (1,800 km) west of Cape Verde . Spain received the lands west of this line. The known means of measuring longitude were so inexact that the line of demarcation could not in practice be determined, subjecting the treaty to diverse interpretations. Both the Portuguese claim to Brazil and the Spanish claim to

384-482: A base for conquering much of Ecuador and Chile . Central Colombia , home of the Muisca was conquered by licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada , and its northern regions were explored by Rodrigo de Bastidas , Alonso de Ojeda , Juan de la Cosa , Pedro de Heredia and others. For southwestern Colombia, Bolivia , and Argentina , conquistadors from Peru combined parties with other conquistadors arriving more directly from

512-530: A dispute occurred between Pizarro and Almagro respecting the limits of their jurisdiction, as both claimed the city of Cuzco. The king of Spain had awarded the Governorate of New Toledo to Almagro and the Governorate of New Castile to Pizarro. The dispute had originated from a disagreement on how to interpret the limit between the governorates. This led to confrontations between the Pizarro brothers and Almagro, who

640-447: A fate? And from your hands, too, you, who have met with friendship and kindness from my people, with whom I have shared my treasures, who have received nothing but benefits from my hands!" Two hours after sunset on 29 Aug. 1533, the Inca was prepared to be burned at the stake , when Friar Valverde offered death by garrote , if Atahualpa would consent to be baptized. The Inca agreed, assuming

768-403: 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 Martín de Alcántara, were killed". For his part, Pizarro killed two attackers and ran through a third. A contemporary chronicler, Agustín de Zárate , wrote that Pizarro fought until "he was too exhausted to brandish his sword" and then

896-459: A force of just 110-foot soldiers, 67 cavalry, three arquebuses and two falconets . He sent Hernando Pizarro and de Soto to meet with Atahualpa in his camp. Atahualpa agreed to meet Pizarro in his Cajamarca plaza fortress the next day. Fray Vincente de Valverde and native interpreter Felipillo approached Atahualpa in Cajamarca's central plaza. After the Dominican friar expounded the "true faith" and

1024-587: A free conquistador with the Spaniards to fight the Maya in Yucatán in 1540. After the conquests he settled in the city of Mérida in the newly formed colony of Yucatán with his family. In 1574, the Spanish crown ordered that all slaves and free blacks in the colony had to pay a tribute to the crown. However, Toral wrote in protest of the tax based on his services during his conquests. The Spanish king responded that Toral need not pay

1152-571: A husband. Women who travelled thus include María de Escobar, María Estrada , Marina Vélez de Ortega, Marina de la Caballería, Francisca de Valenzuela, Catalina de Salazar. Some conquistadors married Native American women or had illegitimate children. European young men enlisted in the army because it was one way out of poverty. Catholic priests instructed the soldiers in mathematics, writing, theology, Latin, Greek, and history, and wrote letters and official documents for them. King's army officers taught military arts. An uneducated young recruit could become

1280-419: A military leader, elected by their fellow professional soldiers, perhaps based on merit. Others were born into hidalgo families, and as such they were members of the Spanish nobility with some studies but without economic resources. Even some rich nobility families' members became soldiers or missionaries, but mostly not the firstborn heirs. The two most famous conquistadors were Hernán Cortés who conquered

1408-594: A new governor was to arrive and succeed Dávila. Pedro de los Ríos took charge as the new colonial administrator in July 1526 and initially approved Pizarro's expeditions (he would join him several years later in Peru). On 10 March 1526, 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

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1536-406: A privileged class of mainly Spanish descent. In the early 1930s, sculptor Ramsay 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 Cortés, though it was rejected. The statue was taken to Lima in 1934 and re-purposed to represent Pizarro. One other copy of

1664-571: A religious homogeneity. The 1492 discovery of the New World by Spain rendered desirable a delimitation of the Spanish and Portuguese spheres of exploration, thus dividing the world into two areas of exploration and colonization. This was settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas (7 June 1494) which modified the delimitation authorized by Pope Alexander VI in two bulls issued on 4 May 1493. The treaty gave to Portugal all lands which might be discovered east of

1792-666: A result of his expedition, the 1529 Diego Ribeiro world map outlined the East coast of North America almost perfectly. The Spaniard Cabeza de Vaca was the leader of the Narváez expedition of 600 men that between 1527 and 1535 explored the mainland of North America. From Tampa Bay, Florida , on 15 April 1528, they marched through Florida. Traveling mostly on foot, they crossed Texas, New Mexico and Arizona, and Mexican states of Tamaulipas , Nuevo León and Coahuila . After several months of fighting native inhabitants through wilderness and swamp ,

1920-662: A river called Pirú (later evolving to Perú). These reports were relayed by the Spanish-Inca mestizo writer Garcilaso de la Vega in Comentarios Reales de los Incas (1608). 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 ill and returned to Panama. He spread

2048-621: A series of discussions and debates among the Bishops of the Dominican and Franciscan orders. The two orders had very different approaches to the conversion of the Indians. The Franciscans used a method of mass conversion, sometimes baptizing many thousands of Indians in a day. This method was championed by prominent Franciscans such as Toribio de Benavente . The conquistadors took many different roles, including religious leader, harem keeper, King or Emperor, deserter and Native American warrior. Caramuru

2176-660: A slaved domestic servant in Puebla, Mexico. In 1533, Juan Valiente made a deal with his owner to allow him to be a conquistador for four years with the agreement that all earnings would come back to Alonso. He fought for many years in Chile and Peru. By 1540, he was a captain, horseman, and partner in Pedro de Valdivia's company in Chile. He was later awarded an estate in Santiago; a city he would help Valdivia found. Both Alonso and Valiente tried to contact

2304-526: A small contingent to find it. With the guidance of Hopi Indians, Cárdenas and his men became the first outsiders to see the Grand Canyon. However, Cárdenas was reportedly unimpressed with the canyon, assuming the width of the Colorado River at six feet (1.8 m) and estimating 300-foot-tall (91 m) rock formations to be the size of a person. After unsuccessfully attempting to descend to the river, they left

2432-413: A smaller room with silver, asking for two months to do so. The total collection of the gold, after being melted down into standard ingots, and before division amongst the Spaniards, amounted to 1,326,539 pesos de oro , worth 15,500,000 in 1847 U.S. dollars. This equates to nearly half a billion dollars in today's money. The silver amounted to 51,610 marks. Some of the most beautiful articles were saved for

2560-549: A woman of poor means. His date of birth is uncertain, but it is believed to be sometime in the 1470s, probably 1475. Little attention was paid to his education and he grew up illiterate. His father served in Navarre and in the Italian campaigns under Córdoba . His mother married late in life and had a son Francisco Martín de Alcántara, who was at the conquest of Peru with his half-brother from its inception. Through his father, Francisco

2688-677: Is now the southern and western United States , and from Mexico sailing the Pacific Ocean to the Spanish East Indies . Other conquistadors took over the Inca Empire after crossing the Isthmus of Panama and sailing the Pacific to northern Peru . From 1532 to 1572, Francisco Pizarro succeeded in subduing this empire in a manner similar to Cortés. Subsequently, other conquistadores used Peru as

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2816-548: 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." The Spanish sealed the conquest of Peru by entering Cuzco on 15 November 1533. Jauja , in the fertile Mantaro Valley , was established as Peru's provisional capital in April 1534, but it

2944-583: Is the term used to refer to Spanish and Portuguese soldiers and explorers who carried out the conquests and explorations of the Age of Discovery . Conquistadors sailed beyond the Iberian Peninsula to the Americas , Oceania , Africa and Asia , establishing new colonies and trade routes . They brought much of the " New World " under the dominion of Spain and Portugal. After Christopher Columbus ' arrival in

3072-570: Is today Panama, reaching Inca territory by 1526. After one more expedition in 1529, Pizarro received royal approval to conquer the region and be its viceroy. The approval read: "In July 1529 the queen of Spain signed a charter allowing Pizarro to conquer the Inca. Pizarro was named governor and captain of all conquests in New Castile." The Viceroyalty of Peru was established in 1542, encompassing all Spanish holdings in South America. In early 1536,

3200-666: The Aztec Empire and Francisco Pizarro who led the conquest of the Inca Empire . They were second cousins born in Extremadura , where many of the Spanish conquerors were born. Catholic religious orders that participated and supported the exploration, evangelizing and pacifying, were mostly Dominicans , Carmelites , Franciscans and Jesuits , for example Francis Xavier , Bartolomé de Las Casas , Eusebio Kino , Juan de Palafox y Mendoza or Gaspar da Cruz . In 1536, Dominican friar Bartolomé de las Casas went to Oaxaca to participate in

3328-554: The Governor of Cuba Hernando de Soto . Dávila made an agreement with Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro , which brought about the discovery of Peru, but withdrew in 1526 for a small compensation, having lost confidence in the outcome. In 1526 Dávila was superseded as Governor of Panama by Pedro de los Ríos , but became governor in 1527 of León in Nicaragua. An expedition commanded by Pizarro and his brothers explored south from what

3456-449: The Isthmus of Panama to the Pacific. The following year, Pedro Arias Dávila became the newly appointed governor of Castilla de Oro and succeeded Balboa. During the next five years, Pizarro became a close associate of Dávila and the governor assigned him a repartimiento of natives and cattle. When Dávila decided to get rid of Balboa out of distrust, he instructed Pizarro to personally arrest him and bring him to stand trial. Balboa

3584-508: The Isthmus of Panama , where they became the first Europeans to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. He served as mayor of the newly founded Panama City for a few years and undertook two failed expeditions to Peru. In 1529, Pizarro obtained permission from the Spanish crown to lead a campaign to conquer Peru and went on his third, and successful, expedition. When local people who lived along

3712-497: The Paraná River . In 1517, Francisco Hernández de Córdoba sailed from Cuba in search of slaves along the coast of Yucatán . The expedition returned to Cuba to report on the discovery of this new land. After receiving notice from Juan de Grijalva of gold in the area of what is now Tabasco , the governor of Cuba , Diego de Velasquez , sent a larger force than had previously sailed, and appointed Cortés as Captain-General of

3840-580: The Persian Gulf , the East Indies , and East Africa ; and Filipe de Brito e Nicote who led conquests into Burma . Portugal established a route to China in the early 16th century, sending ships via the southern coast of Africa and founding numerous coastal enclaves along the route. Following the discovery in 1492 by Spaniards of the New World with Italian explorer Christopher Columbus ' first voyage there and

3968-635: The West Indies in 1492, the Spanish, usually led by hidalgos from the west and south of Spain, began building a colonial empire in the Caribbean using colonies such as Santo Domingo , Cuba , and Puerto Rico as their main bases. From 1519 to 1521, Hernán Cortés led the Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire , ruled by Moctezuma II . From the territories of the Aztec Empire , conquistadors expanded Spanish rule to northern Central America and parts of what

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4096-526: The 1520s and 1530s. Granted a house plot in Mexico City, he raised a family there, working at times as a guard and town crier. He claimed to have been the first person to plant wheat in Mexico. Sebastian Toral was an African slave and one of the first black conquistadors in the New World. While a slave, he went with his Spanish owner on a campaign. He was able to earn his freedom during this service. He continued as

4224-455: The 15th century, Portuguese explorers sailed the coast of Africa, establishing trading posts for tradable commodities such as firearms, spices, silver, gold, and slaves crossing Africa and India. In 1434 the first consignment of slaves was brought to Lisbon ; slave trading was the most profitable branch of Portuguese commerce until the Indian subcontinent was reached. Due to the importation of

4352-660: The Adelantado of Canary Islands , Pedro Fernández de Lugo , arrived to Santa Marta , a city founded in 1525 by Rodrigo de Bastidas in modern-day Colombia, as governor. After some expeditions to the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta , Fernández de Lugo sent an expedition to the interior of the territory, initially looking for a land path to Peru following the Magdalena River . This expedition was commanded by Licentiate Gonzalo Jiménez de Quesada , who ended up discovering and conquering

4480-607: The Americas. After Mexico fell, Hernán Cortés's enemies Bishop Fonseca , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar , Diego Columbus and Francisco Garay were mentioned in Cortés' fourth letter to the King in which he describes himself as the victim of a conspiracy. Infante Dom Henry the Navigator of Portugal, son of King João I , became the main sponsor of exploration travels. In 1415, Portugal conquered Ceuta , its first overseas colony. Throughout

4608-501: The Americas. The predisposition inspired a lot of the entradas to seek slaves as part of the conquest. After his father's death in 1479, Ferdinand II of Aragón married Isabella I of Castile , unifying both kingdoms and creating the Kingdom of Spain . He later tried to incorporate the kingdom of Portugal by marriage. Notably, Isabella supported Columbus' first voyage that launched the Spanish conquistadors into action. The Iberian Peninsula

4736-554: The Armada. Cortés then applied all of his funds, mortgaged his estates and borrowed from merchants and friends to outfit his ships. Velásquez may have contributed to the effort, but the government of Spain offered no financial support. Pedro Arias Dávila , Governor of the Island La Española was descended from a converso 's family. In 1519 Dávila founded Darién , then in 1524 he founded Panama City and moved his capital there laying

4864-666: The Atabillos ( / p ɪ ˈ z ɑːr oʊ / ; Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko piˈθaro] ; c.  16 March 1478  – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador , best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire . Born in Trujillo, Spain , to a poor family, Pizarro chose to pursue fortune and adventure in the New World . He went to the Gulf of Urabá , and accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his crossing of

4992-459: The Aztecs, the slow progression of conquest, erection of towns, and cultural dominance over the natives brought more Spanish troops and support to modern-day Mexico. As trading routes over the seas were established by the works of Columbus, Magellan, and Elcano, land support system was established as the trails of Cortés' conquest to the capital. Human infections gained worldwide transmission vectors for

5120-704: The Caribbean and Río de la Plata - Paraguay respectively. These conquests founded the basis for modern Hispanic America and the Hispanosphere . Spanish conquistadors also made significant explorations into the Amazon Jungle , Patagonia , the interior of North America , and the discovery and exploration of the Pacific Ocean. Conquistadors founded numerous cities, some of them in locations with pre-existing settlements, such as Cusco and Mexico City . Conquistadors in

5248-626: The Castilian Crown. For example, Ioánnis Fokás (known as Juan de Fuca) was a Castilian of Greek origin who discovered the strait that bears his name between Vancouver Island and Washington state in 1592. German-born Nikolaus Federmann , Hispanicised as Nicolás de Federmán, was a conquistador in Venezuela and Colombia. The Venetian Sebastiano Caboto was Sebastián Caboto, Georg von Speyer Hispanicised as Jorge de la Espira, Eusebio Francesco Chini Hispanicised as Eusebio Kino , Wenceslaus Linck

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5376-692: The Colorado River, sailed up the Gulf of California and a short distance into the river's delta. The Basques were fur trading, fishing cod and whaling in Terranova ( Labrador and Newfoundland ) in 1520, and in Iceland by at least the early 17th century. They established whaling stations at the former, mainly in Red Bay , and probably established some in the latter as well. In Terranova they hunted bowheads and right whales , while in Iceland they appear to have only hunted

5504-829: The Gulf of California coast to what is now Sinaloa , Mexico, over a period of roughly eight years. They spent years enslaved by the Ananarivo of the Louisiana Gulf Islands . Later they were enslaved by the Hans , the Capoques and others. In 1534 they escaped into the American interior, contacting other Native American tribes along the way. Only four men, Cabeza de Vaca, Andrés Dorantes de Carranza , Alonso del Castillo Maldonado , and an enslaved Moroccan Berber named Estevanico , survived and escaped to reach Mexico City . In 1539, Estevanico

5632-479: The Inca capital of Cuzco and completed his conquest of Peru. In January 1535, he founded the city of Lima . Pizarro eventually fell victim to political power struggles and was assassinated in 1541. Francisco Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Cáceres , Spain (then in the Crown of Castile ) in modern-day Extremadura , Spain. He was the illegitimate son of infantry colonel Gonzalo Pizarro (1446–1522) and Francisca González,

5760-526: The Inca captive at the so-called Ransom Room . By February 1533, Almagro had joined Pizarro in Cajamarca with an additional 150 men and 50 horses. Despite fulfilling his promise of filling one room (22 by 17 feet or 7 by 5 metres) with gold and two with silver, Atahualpa was convicted of 12 charges, including killing his brother and plotting against Pizarro and his forces. He was executed by garrote on 29 August 1533. Francisco Pizarro and de Soto were opposed to Atahualpa's execution, but Francisco consented to

5888-658: The Incan silver mines, Potosí was the most important site in Colonial Spanish America, located in the current department of Potosí in Bolivia and it was the location of the Spanish colonial mint. The first settlement in the way was the fort of Sancti Spiritu , established in 1527 next to the Paraná River . Buenos Aires was established in 1536, establishing the Governorate of the Río de la Plata . Africans were also conquistadors in

6016-461: The Moluccas depended on the treaty. It was particularly valuable to the Portuguese as a recognition of their new-found, particularly when, in 1497–1499, Vasco da Gama completed the voyage to India. Later, when Spain established a route to the Indies from the west, Portugal arranged a second treaty, the Treaty of Zaragoza . Sevilla la Nueva , established in 1509, was the first Spanish settlement on

6144-657: The Muslims back to Granada, which was the Muslims' last control of the Iberian Peninsula. The marriage between Ferdinand of Aragon and Isabel of Castile resulted in joint rule by the spouses of the two kingdoms, honoured as the "Catholic Monarchs" by Pope Alexander VI. Together, the Crown Kings saw about the fall of Granada, victory over the Muslim minority, and expulsion or forcibly converted Jews and non-Christians to turn Iberia into

6272-447: The Punian natives in the Battle of Puná , leaving three or four Spaniards dead and many wounded. Soon after, Hernando de Soto , another conquistador who had joined the expedition, arrived with 100 volunteers and horses to aid Pizarro and with him sailed towards Tumbes, only to find the place deserted and destroyed. The two conquistadors expected that the settlers had disappeared or died under murky circumstances. The chiefs explained that

6400-460: The South. Pizarro, Almagro and Luque later explicitly renewed their compact, agreeing to conquer and divide equally among themselves the empire they hoped to vanquish. While their accord was strictly oral, they dubbed their enterprise the Empresa del Levante and determined that Pizarro would command the expedition, Almagro would provide military and food supplies and Luque would be in charge of finances and additional provisions. In November 1524,

6528-423: The Spaniards in his land. At this point Pizarro and his forces decided to come out on horseback with firearms , causing many of Atahualpa's army to flee upon hearing the sounds of artillery and arquebus. Many natives died as they tried to fight against the better-armed Spaniards. Thereafter, Pizarro went on to look for Atahualpa himself, who was shielded by his faithful nobles who, in the end, were also captured by

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6656-405: The Spaniards. Some scholars have stated that Vincente de Valverde did not signal the attack on the Incan. It was during this time that Atahualpa gave orders for the execution of his half-brother, Huáscar , who he believed was an obstacle to his ruling of the empire. Atahualpa gave these orders, hoping to prevent Pizarro from carrying out his threat to "determine which of the two had best title to

6784-688: The basis for the exploration of South America's west coast and the subsequent conquest of Peru . Dávila was a soldier in wars against Moors at Granada in Spain, and in North Africa, under Pedro Navarro intervening in the Conquest of Oran . At the age of nearly seventy years he was made commander in 1514 by Ferdinand of the largest Spanish expedition. Dávila sent Gil González Dávila to explore northward, and Pedro de Alvarado to explore Guatemala . In 1524 he sent another expedition with Francisco Hernández de Córdoba , executed there in 1526 by Dávila, by then aged over 85. Dávila's daughters married Rodrigo de Contreras and conquistador of Florida and Mississippi,

6912-437: The battlefield but also to serve as interpreters, informants, servants, teachers, physicians, and scribes. India Catalina and Malintzin were Native American women slaves who were forced to work for the Spaniards. Castilian law prohibited foreigners and non-Catholics from settling in the New World. However, not all conquistadors were Castilian. Many foreigners Hispanicised their names and/or converted to Catholicism to serve

7040-706: The building of the palace; it features busts of them and others. It instantly became a recognizable symbol of the plaza. The opulent palace is structured 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. The building's decor includes plateresque ornaments and balustrades . Fiction Conquistador Conquistadors ( / k ɒ n ˈ k ( w ) ɪ s t ə d ɔːr z / , US also /- ˈ k iː s -, k ɒ ŋ ˈ -/ ) or conquistadores ( Spanish: [koŋkistaˈðoɾes] ; Portuguese: [kõkiʃtɐˈðoɾɨʃ, kõkistɐˈdoɾis] ; lit 'conquerors')

7168-404: The capital of the Aztec Empire. The fall of Tenochtitlan marks the beginning of Spanish rule in central Mexico, and they established their capital of Mexico City on the ruins of Tenochtitlan. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire was one of the most significant events in world history. In 1516, Juan Díaz de Solís , discovered the estuary formed by the confluence of the Uruguay River and

7296-600: The central focus of this second expedition. Some natives were taken aboard Ruiz's ship to serve as interpreters. He then set sail north for the San Juan River, arriving to find Pizarro and his men exhausted from the difficulties they had faced exploring the new territory. Soon Almagro sailed into the port laden with supplies and a reinforcement of at least eighty recruits who had arrived at Panama from Spain with an expeditionary spirit. The findings and excellent news from Ruiz along with Almagro's new reinforcements cheered Pizarro and his tired followers. They decided to sail back to

7424-446: The coast resisted this invasion, Pizarro moved inland and founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura . After a series of manoeuvres, Pizarro captured the Incan emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca in November 1532. A ransom for the emperor's release was demanded and Atahualpa filled a room with gold, but Pizarro charged him with various crimes and executed him in July 1533. The same year, Pizarro entered

7552-403: The coasts near Ecuador, the province of Coaque and the region of esmeraldas , where some gold, silver and emeralds were procured and then dispatched to Almagro. The latter had stayed in Panama to gather more recruits. Sebastián de Belalcázar soon arrived with 30 men. Though Pizarro's main objective was then to set sail and dock at Tumbes like his previous expedition, he was forced to confront

7680-427: The crown, assassination of his brother Huáscar, squandering public revenues, idolatry, adultery, and attempting to incite an insurrection. He was found guilty and sentenced to be burned alive that night. Father Vincente de Valverde signed the judgement stating, "in his opinion, the Inca, at all events, deserved death." Atahualpa turned to Pizarro and exclaimed, "What have I done, or my children, that I should meet such

7808-415: The decorations of silver and gold around the chief's residence and the hospitable attentions with which they were received by everyone. The Spanish also saw for the first time the Peruvian llama , which Pizarro called "little camels". Pizarro continued receiving the same accounts of a powerful monarch who ruled over the land they were exploring. These events served as evidence to convince the expedition that

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7936-592: The distance of 200 leagues along the newly discovered coast and invested with all authority and prerogatives, leaving his associates in secondary positions (a fact that later incensed Almagro and would lead to eventual discord). One of the grant conditions was that within six months, Pizarro should raise a sufficiently equipped force of 250 men, of whom 100 might be drawn from the colonies. This gave Pizarro time to leave for his native Trujillo and convince his brother Hernando Pizarro and other close friends to join him on his third expedition. Francisco de Orellana joined

8064-419: The early conquest campaigns in the Caribbean and Mexico. In the 1500s there were enslaved black and free black sailors on Spanish ships crossing the Atlantic and developing new routes of conquest and trade in the Americas. After 1521, the wealth and credit generated by the acquisition of the Aztec Empire funded auxiliary forces of black conquistadors that could number as many as five hundred. Spaniards recognized

8192-410: The early days of the war when theoretically the Inca had a much greater advantage. Despite winning the majority of the battles, the inability of the Incan forces to overwhelm Cuzco's fortifications, manned as they were by only 200 fighting men armed with gunpowder weapons, signalled the definitive victory of Spanish forces. After the final effort of the Inca to recover Cuzco had been defeated by Almagro,

8320-417: The emperor's royal fifth, which included vases, imitations of plants and animals, and a fountain. The Inca now demanded to be set free. Diego de Almagro demanded the Inca's death, necessary for peace and in the interests of the Spanish crown, though Pizarro and Hernando de Soto were reluctant. Pizarro finally conceded to a trial, acting as a judge alongside Almagro. The twelve charges included usurpation of

8448-455: The empire of Castile". The king, who was soon to leave for Italy, was impressed at his accounts and promised his support for the conquest of Peru. Queen Isabel , though, in the absence of the king, signed the Capitulación de Toledo on 6 July 1529, a license document that authorized Pizarro to proceed with the conquest of Peru . Pizarro was officially named the Governor, Captain general , Adelantado and Alguacil Mayor , of New Castile for

8576-590: The exploration of 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 bad weather, lack of food and skirmishes with hostile natives, one of which caused Almagro to lose an eye by arrow-shot. The place names the Spanish bestowed along their route, including Puerto Deseado (desired port), Puerto del Hambre (port of hunger) and Punta Quemado or Puebla Quemado (burned port), confirmed their difficulties. Fearing subsequent hostile encounters like

8704-622: The features bore a remarkable resemblance to portraits made of the man in life. By his marriage to Quispe Sisa, Pizarro had a son also named Francisco, who married his relative Inés Pizarro, without issue. After Pizarro's death, Inés Yupanqui , whom he took as a mistress, Inca princess and 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 Hernando Pizarro in Spain, on 10 October 1537;

8832-478: The fierce tribes of Punians had attacked them and ransacked the place. As Tumbes no longer afforded safe accommodations, Pizarro led an excursion into the interior in May 1532 and established the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura , and a repartimiento . Leaving 50 men back at the settlement under the command of Antonio Navarro, Pizarro proceeded with his conquest accompanied by 200 men on 24 September 1532. After arriving at Zaran, de Soto

8960-435: The first Adelantado of Cuba , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar founded the island's first Spanish settlement at Baracoa; other towns soon followed, including Havana , which was founded in 1515. After he pacified Hispaniola , where the native Indians had revolted against the administration of governor Nicolás de Ovando , Diego Velázquez de Cuéllar led the conquest of Cuba in 1511 under orders from Viceroy Diego Columbus and

9088-434: The first circumnavigation of the world by Ferdinand Magellan in 1521, expeditions led by conquistadors in the 16th century established trading routes linking Europe with all these areas. The Age of Discovery was hallmarked in 1519, shortly after the European discovery of the Americas, when Hernán Cortés began his conquest of the Aztec Empire. As the Spaniards, motivated by gold and fame, established relations and war with

9216-463: The first of three expeditions left Panama for the conquest of Peru with about 80 men and 4 horses. Juan de Salcedo was the standard bearer, Nicolás de Ribera was the treasurer and Juan Carvallo was the inspector. 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

9344-480: 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 given two Peruvian boys to learn Spanish, one of whom was later baptized as Felipillo and served as an important interpreter, the equivalent of Cortés' La Malinche of Mexico, and another called Martinillo. Their final stop

9472-590: The first time: from Africa and Eurasia to the Americas and vice versa . The spread of Old World diseases , including smallpox , influenza , and typhus , led to the deaths of many indigenous inhabitants of the New World . In the 16th century, perhaps 240,000 Spaniards entered American ports. By the late 16th century, gold and silver imports from the Americas provided one-fifth of Spain's total budget. Contrary to popular belief, many conquistadors were not trained warriors, but mostly artisans, lesser nobility or farmers seeking an opportunity to advance themselves in

9600-414: 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 Marquess Don Francisco Pizarro who discovered and conquered

9728-551: The group and would later discover and explore the length of the Amazon River . Two half-brothers from his father, Juan Pizarro and Gonzalo Pizarro , and a half-brother from his mother, Francisco Martín de Alcántara, later also decided to join him, as well as his cousin Pedro Pizarro , who served as his page. When the expedition left the following year, it numbered three ships, 180 men and 27 horses. Pizarro could not raise

9856-513: The indigenous Muisca , and establishing the New Kingdom of Granada , which almost two centuries would be a viceroyalty. Jiménez de Quesada also founded the capital of Colombia, Santafé de Bogotá . Juan Díaz de Solís arrived again to the renamed Río de la Plata , literally river of the silver, after the Incan conquest. He sought a way to transport the Potosi's silver to Europe. For a long time due to

9984-559: The indigenous line. They would then fall back before the cavalry charge and draw the Europeans into a canyon where prepositioned forces could crush them under avalanches of rocks and missile weapons. Instead of charging the numerically inferior Europeans as they had done early on, Incan soldiers used their discipline and knowledge of the terrain in order to draw the armoured cavalry charge into a death trap. Well documented battlefield deaths show that many more Spaniards died in these battles than in

10112-460: The intention of bringing Pizarro and his crew back to Panama. Pizarro had no intention of returning and when Tafur arrived at 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. For my part, I go to the south." Only 13 men stayed with Pizarro. They later became known as "The Famous Thirteen " ( Los trece de la fama ), while

10240-466: The island of Jamaica , which the Spaniards called Isla de Santiago . The capital was in an unhealthy location and consequently moved around 1534 to the place they called "Villa de Santiago de la Vega", later named Spanish Town , in present-day Saint Catherine Parish . After first landing on " Guanahani " in the Bahamas , Columbus found the island which he called "Isla Juana", later named Cuba. In 1511,

10368-460: The kingdoms of Peru and presented them to the crown of Castile." A team of forensic scientists from the United States, led by William R. 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

10496-635: The latter. The Spanish fishery in Terranova declined over conflicts between Spain and other European powers during the late 16th and early 17th centuries. In 1524, the Portuguese Estêvão Gomes , who had sailed in Ferdinand Magellan 's fleet, explored Nova Scotia, sailing South through Maine, where he entered New York Harbor and the Hudson River and eventually reached Florida in August 1525. As

10624-424: The name Doña Angelina and made the concubine of Francisco Pizarro. By 1538, it was known she had borne Pizarro two sons, Juan and Francisco. In Lima, on 26 June 1541 "a group of 20 heavily armed supporters of Diego de Almagro II "el mozo" stormed Pizarro's palace, assassinating him and then forcing the terrified city council to appoint young Almagro as the new governor of Peru". "Most of Pizarro's guests fled, but

10752-483: The name Francisco Atahualpa in honor of Francisco Pizarro. His last requests to Pizarro were that his remains be transported to Quito, and that he have compassion on his children. After Atahualpa was executed, the end of the "Tahuantinsuyo" (Inca Empire) was near, with the Spanish conquest of Peru . 7°09′28″S 78°31′00″W  /  7.15778°S 78.51667°W  / -7.15778; -78.51667 Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of

10880-613: The need to pay tribute to the Emperor Charles V , Atahualpa replied, "I will be no man's tributary." His complacency, because fewer than 200 Spanish remained, as opposed to his 50,000-man army, of which 6,000 accompanied him to Cajamarca, sealed his fate and that of the Inca empire. Atahualpa's refusal led Pizarro and his force to attack the Inca army in what became the Battle of Cajamarca on 16 November 1532. The Spanish were successful. Pizarro executed Atahualpa's 12-man honor guard and took

11008-477: The new and often perilous territory off the swampy Colombian coasts, while the expedition's co-commander, Almagro, returned 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) under sail, with natives from Tumbes . To everyone's surprise, these carried textiles, ceramic objects and some pieces of gold, silver and emeralds, making Ruiz's findings

11136-778: The new world since they had limited opportunities in Spain. A few also had crude firearms known as arquebuses . Their units ( compañia ) would often specialize in forms of combat that required long periods of training that were too costly for informal groups. Their armies were mostly composed of Spanish troops, as well as soldiers from other parts of Europe and Africa. Native allied troops were largely infantry equipped with armament and armour that varied geographically. Some groups consisted of young men without military experience, Catholic clergy who helped with administrative duties, and soldiers with military training. These native forces often included African slaves and Native Americans, some of whom were also slaves. They were not only made to fight in

11264-515: 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 for Cortés' success in Mexico , caught the attention of Pizarro, prompting a series of expeditions to the south. 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

11392-470: The northern lands of New Spain in 1540–1542. Francisco Vázquez de Coronado reached Quivira in central Kansas. Juan Rodríguez Cabrillo explored the western coastline of Alta California in 1542–1543. Vázquez de Coronado's 1540–1542 expedition began as a search for the fabled Cities of Gold, but after learning from natives in New Mexico of a large river to the west, he sent García López de Cárdenas to lead

11520-486: The northwest of Hispaniola . Juan Ponce de León equipped three ships with at least 200 men at his own expense and set out from Puerto Rico on 4 March 1513 to Florida and surrounding coastal area. Another early motive was the search for the Seven Cities of Gold , or "Cibola", rumoured to have been built by Native Americans somewhere in the desert Southwest. In 1536 Francisco de Ulloa , the first documented European to reach

11648-453: The northwestern Peruvian Tumbes Region . Tumbes became the first success the Spanish had so long desired. 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, Alonso de Molina and Pedro de Candia , reconnoitred the territory and both, on separate accounts, reported back the riches of the land, including

11776-562: The number of men the Capitulación required and sailed clandestinely from the port of Sanlúcar de Barrameda for the Canary Island of La Gomera in January 1530. He was there 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. In 1531, Pizarro once again landed on

11904-505: The one the expedition endured at the Battle of Punta Quemada , Pizarro ended his first expedition and returned to Panama. Two years later Pizarro, Almagro and Luque started the arrangements for a second expedition with permission from Pedrarias Dávila , Panama's governor. Dávila, who himself was preparing an expedition north to Nicaragua, was reluctant to permit another expedition, having lost confidence in Pizarro. The three associates eventually won his trust and he acquiesced. By this time,

12032-589: The other to make an agreement about Valiente's manumission and send Alonso his awarded money. They were never able to reach each other and Valiente died in 1553 in the Battle of Tucapel. Other black conquistadors include Pedro Fulupo, Juan Bardales, Antonio Pérez, and Juan Portugués. Pedro Fulupo was a black slave that fought in Costa Rica. Juan Bardales was an African slave that fought in Honduras and Panama. For his service he

12160-504: The party reached Apalachee Bay with 242 men. They believed they were near other Spaniards in Mexico, but there was in fact 1500 miles of coast between them. They followed the coast westward, until they reached the mouth of the Mississippi River near to Galveston Island . Later they were enslaved for a few years by various Native American tribes of the upper Gulf Coast . They continued through Coahuila and Nueva Vizcaya ; then down

12288-402: The pope had granted Atahualpa's kingdom to the Spaniards. Atahualpa professed not to understand the tenor of this discourse, and would not resign his kingdom, saying he would "be no man's tributary." Upon hearing this, the friar gave a Bible to Atahualpa, who, after merely observing it and turning a few pages, threw the book on the floor. Atahualpa then demanded a full account of the presence of

12416-425: The requests for another ship, but only to bring Pizarro back within six months and completely abandon the expedition. Almagro and Luque 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

12544-470: The rest of the expeditioners stayed with Tafur. Ruiz left in one of the ships with the intention of joining Almagro and Luque in their efforts to gather reinforcements. Soon after the ships left, Pizarro and his men constructed a crude boat and journeyed 25 leagues north to 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

12672-480: The sceptre of the Incas." After the battle of Cajamarca, Atahualpa offered Pizarro to buy his liberty by filling the room where he was kept prisoner with gold and the two following rooms with silver, up to the level of the reach of his arm. The room was 6.70 m (22 feet) long and 5.18 m wide (17 feet) long, while the red line marking the height of the Inca's reach, was 2.75 m (9 feet) high. Atahualpa also offered to twice fill

12800-635: The service of the Portuguese Crown led numerous conquests and visits in the name of the Portuguese Empire across South America and Africa , going "anticlockwise" along the continent's coast right up to the Red Sea , as well as commercial colonies in Asia, founding the origins of modern Portuguese-speaking world . Notable Portuguese conquistadors include Afonso de Albuquerque who led conquests across India ,

12928-569: The slaves as early as 1441, the kingdom of Portugal was able to establish a number of population of slaves throughout the Iberia due to its slave markets' dominance within Europe. Before the Age of Conquest began, the continental Europe already associated darker skin color with slave-class, attributing to the slaves of African origins. This sentiment traveled with the conquistadors when they began their explorations into

13056-406: The spring of 1528, accompanied by Pedro de Candia, some natives and llamas, plus samples of fabric, gold and silver. Pizarro reached Seville in early summer. King Charles I , who was at Toledo , had an interview with Pizarro and heard of his expeditions in South America. The conquistador described the territory as rich in gold and silver that he and his followers had bravely explored "to extend

13184-566: The statue resides in Wisconsin. The mounted statue of Pizarro in the Plaza Mayor in Trujillo, Spain, was created by American sculptor Charles Rumsey . It was presented to the city by his widow in 1926. The statue long stood an adjacent square to Peru's Government Palace . In 2003, after years of requests for the statue to be removed, the mayor of Lima, Luis Castañeda Lossio , approved the transfer of

13312-624: The statue to another location. Since 2004, however, Pizarro's statue has been in a park surrounded by the recently restored 17th-century walls in the Rímac District . The statue faces the Rímac River and the Government Palace. After returning from Peru extremely wealthy, the Pizarro family erected a plateresque -style palace on the corner of the Plaza Mayor in Trujillo. Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui and her uncle/husband Hernando Pizarro ordered

13440-489: The tax because of his service. Toral died a veteran of three transatlantic voyages and two Conquest expeditions, a man who had successfully petitioned the great Spanish King, walked the streets of Lisbon, Seville, and Mexico City, and helped found a capital city in the Americas. Juan Valiente was born in West Africa and purchased by Portuguese traders from African slavers. Around 1530 he was purchased by Alonso Valiente to be

13568-480: The territory already explored by Ruiz and, after a difficult voyage due to strong winds and currents, reached Atacames on the Ecuadorian coast. Here, they found a large native population recently brought under Inca rule. Unfortunately for the conquistadores , the people they encountered seemed so defiant and numerous that the Spanish decided not to enter the land. After much wrangling between Pizarro and Almagro, it

13696-409: The third son of Pizarro who was never legitimized, Francisco, by Dona Angelina, a wife of Atahualpa that he had taken as a mistress, died shortly after reaching Spain. After his invasion, Pizarro destroyed the Inca state and while ruling the area for almost a decade, initiated the decline of local cultures. The Incas' polytheistic religion was replaced by Christianity and much of the local population

13824-448: The three years of continuous warfare since the arrival of Pizarro, Incan military leaders had become familiar with Spanish military tactics and developed effective counters. Perhaps the most effective of these military innovations was the one that dealt with the Europeans' greatest advantage on the battlefield: horses. Incan soldiers would offer battle but hold their position until the Spaniards had concentrated their cavalry in order to break

13952-413: The trial due to the "great agitation among the soldiers", particularly by Almagro. De Soto was on a reconnaissance mission the day of the trial and execution and upon his return expressed his dismay, stating, "he should have been taken to Castile and judged by the emperor." King Charles later wrote to Pizarro: "We have been displeased by the death of Atahualpa, since he was a monarch and particularly as it

14080-577: The value of these fighters. One of the black conquistadors who fought against the Aztecs and survived the destruction of their empire was Juan Garrido . Born in Africa, Garrido lived as a young slave in Portugal before being sold to a Spaniard and acquiring his freedom fighting in the conquests of Puerto Rico, Cuba, and other islands. He fought as a free servant or auxiliary, participating in Spanish expeditions to other parts of Mexico (including Baja California) in

14208-637: The wealth and power displayed at Tumbes were an example of the riches of the Peruvian territory. 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 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

14336-825: Was Wenceslao Linck, Ferdinand Konščak , was Fernando Consag, Amerigo Vespucci was Américo Vespucio, and the Portuguese Aleixo Garcia was known as Alejo García in the Castilian army. The origin of many people in mixed expeditions was not always distinguished. Various occupations, such as sailors, fishermen, soldiers and nobles employed different languages (even from unrelated language groups), so that crew and settlers of Iberian empires recorded as Galicians from Spain were actually using Portuguese, Basque, Catalan, Italian and Languedoc languages, which were wrongly identified. Castilian law banned Spanish women from travelling to America unless they were married and accompanied by

14464-572: Was a Portuguese settler in the Tupinambá Indians. Gonzalo Guerrero was a Maya war leader for Nachan Can, Lord of Chactemal . Gerónimo de Aguilar , who had taken holy orders in his native Spain, was captured by Maya lords too, and later was a soldier with Hernán Cortés. Francisco Pizarro had children with more than 40 women, many of whom were ñusta . The chroniclers Pedro Cieza de León , Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés , Diego Durán , Juan de Castellanos and friar Pedro Simón wrote about

14592-477: Was a second cousin, once removed, of Hernán Cortés . On 10 November 1509, Pizarro sailed from Spain to the New World with Alonso de Ojeda on an expedition to Urabá . Pizarro became a participant in Ojeda's failed colony, commanding the remnants until he abandoned it with the survivors. He sailed to Cartagena and joined the fleet of Martín Fernández de Enciso and, in 1513, accompanied Balboa in his crossing of

14720-531: Was appointed governor of the island. As governor he authorized expeditions to explore lands further west, including the 1517 Francisco Hernández de Córdoba expedition to Yucatán . Diego Velázquez , ordered expeditions, one led by his nephew, Juan de Grijalva , to Yucatán and the Hernán Cortés expedition of 1519. He initially backed Cortés's expedition to Mexico, but because of his personal enmity for Cortés later ordered Pánfilo de Narváez to arrest him. Grijalva

14848-447: Was at La Isla Gorgona, where two of his ill men (one had died) had stayed. After at least 18 months away, Pizarro and his followers anchored off the coasts of Panama to prepare for the final expedition. When the new governor of Panama, Pedro de los Ríos, 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

14976-402: Was beheaded in January 1519. For his loyalty to Dávila, Pizarro was rewarded with the positions of mayor ( Alcalde ) and magistrate of the then recently founded Panama City from 1519 to 1523. 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

15104-673: Was decided that Pizarro would stay at a safer place, the Isla de Gallo, near the coast, while Almagro would return to Panama with Luque for more reinforcements – this time with proof of the gold they had found and the news of the discovery of the obviously wealthy land they had 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 rejected Almagro's application for continued resources. In addition, he ordered two ships commanded by Juan Tafur to be sent immediately with

15232-605: Was dispatched to a Peruvian garrison at Caxas. After a week, he returned with an envoy from the Inca himself, with presents and an invitation to visit the Inca ruler's camp. Following the defeat of his brother, Huáscar , in the Inca Civil War , Atahualpa had been resting in the Sierra of northern Peru, near Cajamarca , in the nearby thermal baths known today as the Inca Baths . Arriving at Cajamarca on 15 November 1532, Pizarro had

15360-459: Was done in the name of justice." Pizarro advanced with his army of 500 Spaniards toward Cuzco, accompanied by Chalcuchimac , one of the leading Inca generals of the north and a supporter of Atahualpa, who was subsequently burned at the stake. Manco Inca Yupanqui joined Pizarro after the death of Túpac Huallpa . During the exploration of Cuzco, Pizarro was impressed and through his officers wrote back to King Charles I of Spain, saying: "This city

15488-400: 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. Atahualpa's wife, 10-year-old Cuxirimay Ocllo Yupanqui, was with Atahualpa's army in Cajamarca and had stayed with him while he was imprisoned. Following his execution, she was taken to Cuzco, given

15616-457: Was granted manumission and a pension of 50 pesos. Antonio Pérez was from North Africa, and a free black. He joined the conquest in Venezuela and was made a captain. Juan Portugués fought in the conquests in Venezuela. During the 1500s, the Spanish began to travel through and colonize North America. They were looking for gold in foreign kingdoms. By 1511 there were rumours of undiscovered lands to

15744-449: Was high up in the mountains and too distant from the sea to serve as the capital. Pizarro founded the city of Lima on Peru's central coast on 6 January 1535, which he considered to be one of the most important things he had created in life. By early 1536, Manco Inka, supported by an army of perhaps 100,000 people, initiated a siege of Cuzco. At the same time, smaller Incan expeditionary forces moved to destroy other European strongholds. In

15872-508: Was largely divided before the hallmark of this marriage. Five independent kingdoms: Portugal in the West, Aragon and Navarre in the East, Castile in the large center, and Granada in the south, all had independent sovereignty and competing interests. The conflict between Christians and Muslims to control Iberia, which started with North Africa's Muslim invasion in 711, lasted from the years 718 to 1492. Christians, fighting for control, successfully pushed

16000-632: Was one of four men who accompanied Marcos de Niza as a guide in search of the fabled Seven Cities of Cibola , preceding Coronado . When the others were struck ill, Estevanico continued alone, opening up what is now New Mexico and Arizona. He was killed at the Zuni village of Hawikuh in present-day New Mexico. The viceroy of New Spain Antonio de Mendoza , for whom is named the Codex Mendoza , commissioned several expeditions to explore and establish settlements in

16128-498: Was reduced to serfdom under the Spanish elite . The cities of the Inca Empire were transformed into Spanish Catholic cities. Pizarro is also reviled for ordering Atawallpa's death despite the ransom payment (which Pizarro kept, after paying the Spanish king his due). Some Peruvians, particularly those of indigenous descent, may regard him negatively, although until relatively recently Pizarro had been portrayed positively, for instance in textbooks, for introducing Catholicism and creating

16256-468: Was sent out with four ships and some 240 men. Hernán Cortés, led an expedition (entrada) to Mexico, which included Pedro de Alvarado and Bernardino Vázquez de Tapia. The Spanish campaign against the Aztec Empire had its final victory on 13 August 1521, when a coalition army of Spanish forces and native Tlaxcalan warriors led by Cortés and Xicotencatl the Younger captured the emperor Cuauhtemoc and Tenochtitlan,

16384-501: Was struck fatally in the throat. When he fell to the ground he reportedly drew a cross on the floor with his blood and kissed it before dying. A modern forensic examination of his remains indicated that Pizarro had been savagely attacked with multiple stab wounds to his head and neck as well as defensive wounds to his hands and arms. 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

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