High in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the Inca built a dazzling empire that governed a population of 12 million people. Although they had no writing system, they had an elaborate government, great public works and a brilliant agricultural system. In the five years before the Spanish arrival, a devastating war of succession gripped the empire.
Atahuallpa was consolidating his rule when Pizarro and his soldiers appeared. Francisco Pizarro was the son of a Spanish gentleman and worked as a swineherder in his youth. He became a soldier and in went to Hispaniola with the new Spanish governor of the New World colony. Pizarro served under Spanish conquistador Alonso de Ojeda during his expedition to Colombia in and was with Vasco Nunez de Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean in Hearing legends of the great wealth of an Indian civilization in South America, Pizarro formed an alliance with fellow conquistador Diego de Almagro in and sailed down the west coast of South America from Panama.
The first expedition only penetrated as far as present-day Ecuador, but a second reached farther, to present-day Peru. There they heard firsthand accounts of the Inca empire and obtained Inca artifacts. The Spanish christened the new land Peru, probably after the Vire River.
Returning to Panama, Pizarro planned an expedition of conquest, but the Spanish governor refused to back the scheme. In , Pizarro returned to Panama. In , he sailed down to Peru, landing at Tumbes.
Pizarro invited Atahuallpa to attend a feast in his honor, and the emperor accepted. Having just won one of the largest battles in Inca history, and with an army of 30, men at his disposal, Atahuallpa thought he had nothing to fear from the bearded white stranger and his men.
Pizarro, however, planned an ambush, setting up his artillery at the square of Cajamarca. On November 16, Atahuallpa arrived at the meeting place with an escort of several thousand men, all apparently unarmed. The Spanish enforced this heavy labor tax once they gained control of the region. The Spanish forces gave the newly seized Inca region this title and started to collect taxes and labor from the local people. This internal dispute started around between two sons of the deceased emperor who both wanted control, causing instability in the Inca Empire.
The Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro, along with a small military retinue, landed on South American soil around The Spanish recognized the wealth and abundance that could be had in this territory; at this point the Inca Empire was at its largest, measuring around , square miles. In Pizarro went back to Spain to ask for the official blessing of the Spanish crown to the conquer the area and become governor. He returned with his blessings around and began the official takeover of the region.
Although Pizarro had a small force behind him, many problems within the Inca Empire worked to his advantage between and It began to brew just one year after Pizarro first landed in the region. Around , the ruling Inca emperor, Huayna Capac, and his designated heir, Ninan Cuyochic, died of disease. It was most likely smallpox, which had quickly traveled down to South America after the arrival of Spanish explorers in Central America.
Inca Emperor Atahualpa. Although Atahualpa successfully won the Inca Civil War and ruled as emperor, he was soon captured by the Spanish and killed in On his way to the Incan capital, Pizarro learned of the war and began recruiting soldiers still loyal to Huascar. Pizarro met Atahualpa just outside Cajamarca, a small Incan town tucked into a valley of the Andes.
Though he had nearly 80, soldiers with him in the mountains, Atahualpa consented to attend the feast with only 5, unarmed men. He was met by Vicente de Valverde, a friar traveling with Pizarro.
Atahualpa angrily refused, prompting Valverde to give the signal for Pizarro to open fire. Trapped in tight quarters, the panicking Incan soldiers made easy prey for the Spanish. Pizarro himself suffered the only Spanish injury: a cut on his hand sustained as he saved Atahualpa from death.
Realizing Atahualpa was initially more valuable alive than dead, Pizarro kept the emperor in captivity while he made plans to take over his empire. Pizarro consented, but after receiving the ransom, Pizarro brought Atahualpa up on charges of stirring up rebellion. By that time, Atahualpa had played his part in pacifying the Incans while Pizarro secured his power, and Pizarro considered him disposable.
These groups had previously been conquered by the Aztecs and forced to serve the Empire, and they resented having to make tributes and provide victims for religious sacrifices. Under constant attack, the Spanish were forced to flee the city. Atahualpa accepted — backed by thousands of loyal warriors, he was not afraid of Pizarro and his men, who numbered less than However, Pizarro launched an attack, killing thousands of Incas and capturing Atahualpa.
The Inca leader knew what the gold-hungry Spanish were after and offered to pay a ransom by filling the room where he was being held with gold. Pizarro accepted, and during the following months Incas brought gold, silver, jewelry, and other riches from all over the Empire.
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