Francisco Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Spain in 1474. In 1502 he moved to the West Indies, to what is now Haiti. There he lived with his uncle who is said to have helped Pizarro on his expeditions. Pizarro was from Spain and was sent to explore for the Spanish crown. After Pizarro explored and conquered a lot of South America, Spain was the most powerful country in the world. Pizarro, besides conquering Peru, also acquired Ecuador and Columbia for Spain. After his travels he died in Lima, Peru. He was murdered by Almagros son who wanted revenge for his father’s death. Pizarro’s half brother supposedly killed Almagro. Pizarro is credited with conquering the Inca Empire.
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1: Untitled Path Ver detalle |
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3: Haiti Ver detalle |
4: Inca Captial Ver detalle |
5: Lima, Peru Ver detalle |
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7: Spain Ver detalle |
8: Trujillo, Spain Ver detalle |
9: Tumbez Ver detalle |
Pizarro's first expedition was in 1509 when he signed on as first mate on a ship captained by Balboa. On this expedition he journeyed across the Isthmus of Panama and discovered the Pacific Ocean.
In 1532 Pizarro embarked on his last expedition. He took a huge army and lots of supplies to go back to the Inca city. There he laid siege to the city and wiped it out, massacring the unsuspecting Indians, but he managed to capture the Inca ruler Atahualpa. He set a ransom for the ruler at a room of gold plus the same room filled two times with silver. The Incas agreed and paid the ransom, but Pizarro killed Atahualpa anyway.
He took possession of the remaining Inca territory and sent his closest friend, Almagro, to push south and claim Chile. Almagro defeated the city of Cuzco but was taken prisoner and executed in July, 1538.
In Lima, Peru on June 26, 1541, Francisco Pizarro was murdered by Almagros son who wanted revenge for his father’s death which he blamed on Pizarro.
In 1522 tales from the travels of Cortez spread news about the countries situated along the shore to the south. Enthusiastic about the possibilities, Pizarro joined with Diego de Almagro, a soldier of fortune and a Spanish clergyman named Lugue to conquer the lands south of Panama. Their goal seemed so unattainable that the people of Panama called them the “Company of Lunatics.” They sailed down the coast of western South America. There they went inland a little ways and found evidence of the Inca Empire and gold. Pizarro returned to Panama with the news.
Back in Panama Pizarro made plans to sail to Spain in order to inform the King and get funding for more men and provisions for crops and other foods that were not abundant in Panama. Thrilled by the news of gold, the King appointed Pizarro as the governor of Peru, the name he had given the land. Pizarro sailed back to Panama, where he made plans for a long expedition and war with the Incas that would make him the ruler of Peru.
After years of pig herding Pizarro moved to the West Indies (to what is now Haiti) in 1502 where he lived with his father's brother. Pizarro was fascinated by the tales he heard from sailors returning from expeditions to North and South America. Pizarro eagerly signed on to sail with those captains heading to unknown lands.
Pizarro and his men returned to the location where they had first discovered the Incas. This time Pizarro went deep into the land but did not find any signs of Incas, so he traveled along the coast to the city of Tumbez. Then he turned inward towards the Inca Empire. There he was invaded by a large Inca army. Many of his men were lost in the battle and many provisions and maps they had made were lost. Defeated, Pizarro and his men returned to their ships and set sail back to Panama, realizing that the Incas were very powerful.