Some of Gonzalo Pizarro’s associates, such as…
April 1547 CE
Some of Gonzalo Pizarro’s associates, such as Carvajal, have advised him to proclaim himself King of Peru and to disown any further claim by the King of Spain to the land, but he has refused.
The Emperor, recovering from a ruinous war, is unable to send an army against Pizarro.
He instead commissions Pedro de la Gasca, who in 1542 had negotiated for Charles in discussions with the pope and King Henry VIII, a position requiring great diplomatic skill.
The emperor charges Gasca with reestablishing royal authority in the wake of the civil wars here, naming him president of the Audiencia and providing him with unlimited authority to punish and pardon the rebels.
Gasca had sailed from Spain in May 1546, without troops or money.
Two Dominican priests and a few servants made up his party.
He had arrived in Panama, representing himself as a peacemaker charged only with reestablishing justice and granting a general amnesty.
Gasca had suggested that if he were unable to fulfill his offices, a royal fleet of 40 ships and 15,000 men was preparing to sail from Seville in June to restore the peace in Peru by more forceful methods.
Pizarro's fleet was stationed in Panama, and Gasca's diplomatic skills soon converted Pizarro's officers to the royalist cause.
Gonzalo Pizarro, however, has refused to submit, and fled secretly to Cuzco, where he has loyal troops.
Gasca lands at Tumbes in 1547, escorted by nearly the whole fleet of Pizarro.
He issues a proclamation announcing his mission as peacekeeper and inviting all good citizens to join him in restoring tranquility.
In another proclamation, he grants amnesty to all deserters and promises rewards to those who will take up arms in defense of the Crown.
He also repeals the New Laws, the cause around which the rebellion has been organized.