Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro González (circa 1478 – 26 June 1541) is a Spanish conquistador who conquers the Incan Empire.

Pizarro González is born in Trujillo, Spain, the illegitimate son of Gonzalo Pizarro, an infantry colonel, and Francisca González, a woman of poor means.

His exact birth date is uncertain, but is believed to be sometime in 1478.

Scant attention is paid to his education and he grows up illiterate.

He is a distant cousin of Hernán Cortés.

On November 10, 1509, Pizarro sls from Spain to the New World with Alonzo de Ojeda on an expedition to Urabí.

He sails to Cartagena and joins the fleet of Martín Fernández de Enciso, and, in 1513, accompanies Balboa to the Pacific.

In 1514, he finds a supporter in Pedrarias Dávila, the Governor of Castilla de Oro, and is rewarded for his role in the arrest of Balboa with the positions of mayor and magistrate in Panama City, serving from 1519 to 1523.

Reports of Peru's riches and Cortés's success in Mexico tantalize Pizarro and he undertakes two expeditions to conquer the Incan Empire in 1524 and in 1526.

Both fail as a result of native hostilities, bad weather, and lack of provisions.

Pedro de los Ríos, the Governor of Panama, makes an effort to recall Pizarro, but the conquistador resists and remains in the south.

In April 1528, he reaches northern Peru and finds the natives rich in precious metals.

This discovery gives Pizarro the motivation to plan a third expedition to conquer Peru, and he returns to Panama to make arrangements, but the Governor refuses to grant permission for the project.

Pizarro retursto Spain to appeal directly to King Charles V. His plea is successful, and he receives not only a license for the proposed expedition, but also considerable authority over any lands conquered during the venture.

He is joined by family and friends, and the expedition leaves Panama in 1530.

When hostile natives along the coast threaten the expedition, Pizarro moves inland and founds the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura.

Inca Atahualpa refuses to tolerate a Spanish presence in his lands, but is captured by Pizarro during the Battle of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532.

A ransom for the emperor's release is demanded and Atahualpa fills a room with gold, but Pizarro charges him with various crimes and executes Atahualpa on July 26, 1533, much to the opposition of his associates, who think the conquistador is overstepping his authority.

The same year, Pizarro entersthe Incan capital of Cuzco, and the conquest of Peru is complete.

In January 1535, Pizarro founds the city of Lima, a project he considers his greatest achievement.

Quarrels between Pizarro and his longtime comrade-in-arms Diego Almagro culminate in the Battle of Las Salinas.

Almagro is captured and executed, and, on June 26, 1541, his embittered son assassinated Pizarro in Lima.

The conqueror of Peru is laid to rest in the Lima Cathedral.

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