Francisco Xerez had arrived in the New…

Francisco Xerez had arrived in the New World on 1514 under the expedition that Ferdinand II of Aragon had sent under the guidance of Pedrarias Dávila.

The expedition had landed in the city of Santa María la Antigua del Darién, Panama.

During the next decade, he had remained in Castilla de Oro, exploring the Isthmus of Panama along with Vasco Nuñez de Balboa and Gaspar de Espinosa.

As one of the first settlers in Acla, Panama, he became the actuary of the local Spanish administrators.

A participant in the first two unsuccessful expeditions led by Pizarro, Diego de Almagro and Hernando de Luque in 1524, Xerez had not remained with Pizarro and his dozen or so companions—later called the Famous Thirteen—on the Isla de Gallo in 1527.

Between 1528 and 1530, Xerez lived in Natá of the Coclé Province as the actuary of governor Pedro de los Ríos.

During this last year, when Francisco Pizarro had returned from his interview with King Charles V in Toledo, Spain, Xerez had once again joined Pizarro and his followers on their voyage to conquer the Inca Empire.

Following the successful Battle of Cajamarca, Pizarro designates Xerez as his personal secretary and offers him a significant amount of the gold Atahualpa has paid as a ransom.

Xerez writes with great detail about the events that preceded the Spanish conquest and the first encounter Pizarro had with Atahualpa in Cajamarca.