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Francisco Pizarro (c. 1475–June 26, 1541)
was a Spain|Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the
Inca Empire and founder of the city of Lima,
Peru|Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru.

Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Extremadura
province, Spain. He was an illegitimate son of
Gonzalo Pizarro (The Elder) who as colonel of
infantry afterwards served in Italy under Gonsalvo
de Cordova, and in Navarre, with some distinction.
Francisco was the eldest brother of Gonzalo
Pizarro (The Lad), Juan Pizarro II | Juan Pizarro,
and Hernándo Pizarro.

Of Pizarro's early years hardly anything is known;
but he appears to have been poorly cared for, and
his education was neglected, leaving him
illiterate. Shortly after the news of the
discovery of the New World had reached Spain he
was in Seville. He sailed to the New World in
1502, landing in the West Indies and lived on the
island of Hispaniola, where he took part in
various Spanish missions of exploration and
conquest. He is heard of in 1510 as having taken
part in an expedition from Hispaniola to Urab
under Alonso de Ojeda, by whom he was entrusted
with the charge of the unfortunate settlement at
San Sebastian. In 1513, Pizarro accompanied Vasco
Núñez de Balboa (whom he later helped to bring
to the executioner's block) in his crossing of the
Isthmus of Panama to discover the Pacific and to
establish a settlement at Darién, Panama. He also
received a repartimiento under Pedro Arias de
Avila (Pedrarias), and became a cattle-farmer at
Panama.

== Expeditions to South America ==

The first attempt to explore western South America
was undertaken by Pascual de Andagoya in 1522.
Andagoya sailed along the coast of Colombia and up
the San Juan river. The first native South
Americans he encountered told him about a
gold-rich territory called Virú  or Birú (later
altered to Perú) from which they came. He
eventually established contact with several Native
American curacas (chiefs), of which he later
claimed among them were sorcerers and witches.
Having reached as far as the San Juan River (part
of the present boundary between Ecuador and
Colombia), Andagoya fell very ill and decided to
return. Back in Panama, Andagoya spread the news
and stories about "Birú" – a great land to the
south rich with gold (the legendary El Dorado
(myth)|El Dorado). This, along with the accounts
of success of Hernán Cortés in Mexico years
before, caught the immediate attention of Pizarro
and his followers and would eventually prompt them
to organize an expedition to the south in search
of the riches of the Inca Empire.


In 1524, while still in Panama, Pizarro entered
into a partnership with a priest named Hernando de
Luque, and a soldier named Diego de Almagro, for
purposes of exploration and conquest towards the
south. Pizarro, Almagro and Luque afterwards
renewed their compact in a more solemn and
explicit manner, agreeing to conquer and divide
equally among themselves the opulent empire they
hoped to reach. Pizarro would command the
expedition, Almagro would provide the military and
food supplies, and Luque would be in charge of the
finances and any further provisions needed; they
finally agreed to call their enterprise, the
"Empresa del Levante". Historians agree the whole
accord of the expeditions among the three was done
verbally, since no written document exists to
prove otherwise. 

===First expedition (1524)===
On September 13, 1524, the first of what would
become three expeditions left from Panama for the
conquest of Peru with about 80 men and four
horses. Diego de Almagro was left behind to
recruit more men and gather more supplies with the
intent of soon joining Pizarro. The governor of
Panama, Pedrarias Dávila|Pedro Arias Dávila, at
first himself approved of the intent of exploring
South America. This first expedition, however,
turned out to be utterly unsuccessful, as the
conquistadors led by Pizarro sailed down the
Pacific and reached no farther than Colombia,
where they only encountered various hardships such
as bad weather, lack of food and skirmishes with
hostile natives, causing Almagro to lose an eye by
an arrow-shot. Moreover, the names the Spanish
used for the spots they reached only suggest the
unconfortable situation they faced along the way:
Puerto deseado (desired port), Puerto del hambre
(port of hunger) and Puerto quemado (burned port),
off the coast of Colombia. Fearing subsequent
hostile encounters like the Battle of Punta
Quemada, Pizarro chose to end his first tentative
expedition and returned without any luck to
Panama.

===Second expedition (1526)===
Two years after the first unsuccessful expedition,
Pizarro, Almagro, and Luque started the
arrangements for a second expedition with
permission from Pedro Arias Dávila. The governor,
who himself was preparing an expedition north to
Nicaragua, was reluctant to approve of another
expedition to the south. The three associates,
however, eventually won his trust, and he
acquiesced. Also by this time, a new governor,
Pedro de los Ríos, was due to take office in
Panama and had initially manifested his approval
of expeditions to the south. On August 1526, after
all preparations were ready, the second long
expedition left Panama with two ships with 160 men
and several horses, reaching the San Juan river
and much further south than the first time. Soon
after arriving the party separated, with Pizarro
staying to explore the new and often perilous
territory off the swampy Colombian coasts, while
the expedition's second-in-command, Almagro, was
sent back to Panama for more reinforcements.
Pizarro's Piloto Mayor (main pilot), Bartolomé
Ruiz, continued sailing south and, after crossing
the equator, found and captured a balsa (raft) of
natives from Tumbes who were supervising the area.
To everyone's surprise, these carried a load of
textiles, ceramic objects, and some much-desired
pieces of gold, silver, and emeralds, making
Ruiz's findings the central focus of this second
expedition which only served to pique the
conquistadors' interests for more gold and land.
Some of the natives were also taken aboard Ruiz's
ship to later serve as interpreters. He then set
sail north for the San Juan river, arriving to
find Pizarro and his men exhausted from the
serious difficulties they had faced exploring the
new territory. Soon Almagro also sailed into the
port with his vessel laden with refreshments, and
a considerable reinforcement of at least eighty
recruited men who had arrived at Panama from Spain
with the same expeditionary spirit. The findings
and excellent news from Ruiz along with Almagro's
new reinforcements cheered Pizarro and his tired
followers. They then decided to sail back to the
territory already explored by Ruiz and, after a
difficult voyage due to strong winds and currents,
reached Atacames in the Ecuadorian coast. Here
they found a very large native population recently
brought under Inca rule. Unfortunately for the
conquistadors, the warlike spirit of the people
they had just encountered seemed so defiant and
dangerous in numbers that the Spanish decided not
to enter the land. 

====The thirteen of the fame====
After much wrangling between Pizarro and Almagro,
it was decided that Pizarro would stay at a safer
place, the Isla de Gallo, near the coast, while
Almagro would return yet again to Panama with
Luque for more reinforcements--this time with
prove of the gold they had just found and the news
of the discovery of an obvious wealthy land they
had just explored. Pedro de los Rios, the new
governor, after hearing the news that various men
had fallen sick and others died in unknown lands,
outright rejected Almagro's application for a
third expedition in 1527. In addition, he ordered
two ships commanded by Juan Tafur to be sent
immediately with the intention of bringing Pizarro
and everyone back to Panama. The leader of the
expedition had no intention of returning, and when
Tafur arrived at the now famous Isla de Gallo,
Pizarro drew a line in the sand, saying: "There
lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its
poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a
brave Castilian." Only thirteen men decided to
stay with Pizarro and later became known as The
thirteen of the fame ("Los trece de la fama"),
while the rest of the expeditioners left back with
Tafur aboard his ships. Ruiz also left in one of
the ships with the intention of joining Almagro
and Luque in their efforts to gather more
reinforcements and eventually return to aid
Pizarro. Soon after the ships left, the thirteen
men and Pizarro constructed a rude boat and left
nine miles north for La Isla Gorgona, where they
would remain for seven months before the arrival
of new provisions. Back in Panama, Pedro de los
Rios (after much convincing by Luque) had finally
acquiesced to the requests for another ship, but
only to bring Pizarro back within six months and
completely abandon the expedition. Both Almagro
and Luque quickly grasped the opportunity and left
Panama (this time without new recruits) for la
Isla Gorgona to once again join Pizarro. On
meeting with Pizarro, the associates decided to
continue sailing south on the recommendations of
Ruiz's indian interpreters. By April 1528, they
finally reached the coast of Tumbes on officially
Peruvian soil. Tumbes became the territory of the
first fruits of success the Spanish had so long
desired, as they were received with a warm welcome
of hospitality and provisions from the Tumpis, the
local inhabitants. On subsequent days two of
Pizarro's men reconnoitered the territory and
both, on separate accounts, reported back the
incredible riches of the land, including the
decorations of silver and gold around the chief's
residence and the hospitable attentions which they
were received with by everyone. The Spanish also
saw, for the first time, the Peruvian Llama which
Pizarro called the "little camels". The natives
also began calling the Spanish the "Children of
the Sun" due to their fair complexion and
brilliant armor. Pizarro, meanwhile, continued
receiving the same accounts of a powerful monarch
who ruled over the land they were exploring. These
events only served as evidence to convince the
expedition of the wealth and power displayed at
Tumbes as an example of the riches the Peruvian
territory had awaiting to conquer. The
conquistadors decided to return to Panama to
prepare the final expedition of conquest with more
recruits and provisions. Before leaving, however,
Pizarro and his followers sailed south not so far
along the coast to see if anything of interest
could be found. Historian William Hickling
Prescott|William H. Prescott recounts that after
passing through territories they named such as
Cape Blanco, port of Payta, Sechura, Punta de
Aguja, Santa Cruz, and Trujillo, Peru|Trujillo
(founded by Almagro years later), they finally
reached for the first time the ninth degree of the
southern latitude in South America. On their
return towards Panama, Pizarro briefly stopped at
Tumbes, where two of his men had decided to stay
to learn the customs and language of the natives.
Pizarro was also offered a native or two himself,
one of which was later baptized as Felipillo and
served as an important interpreter, the equivalent
of Cortés' La Malinche of Mexico. Their final
stop was at La Isla Gorgona, where two of his ill
men (one had died) had stayed before. After at
least eighteen months away, Pizarro and his
followers anchored off the coasts of Panama to
prepare for the last and final expedition.

===Third expedition (Capitulación de Toledo,
1529)===

When the new governor of Panama, Pedro de los
Ríos, had refused to allow for a third expedition
to the south, the associates resolved for Pizarro
to leave for Spain  and apply to the sovereign in
person. Pizarro sailed from Panama for Spain in
the spring of 1528, reaching Seville in early
summer. Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|King Charles
V, who was at Toledo, had an interview with
Pizarro and heard of his expeditions in South
America, a territory the conquistador described as
very rich in gold and silver which he and his
followers had bravely explored "to extend the
empire of Castile." The King, who was soon to
leave for Italy, was impressed at the accounts of
Pizarro and promised to give his support for the
conquest of Peru. It would be Isabella of Portugal
(1503-1539)|Queen Isabella, however, who, in the
absense of the King, would sign the famous
http://college.hmco.com/history/west/mosaic/chapte
r9/source249.html Capitulación de Toledo, a
document which authorized Francisco Pizarro to
proceed with the Spanish conquest of Peru|conquest
of Peru. Pizarro was officially named the
Governor, Captain General, and the "Adelantado" of
the New Castile for the distance of 200 leagues
along the newly discovered coast, and invested
with all the authority and prerogatives of a
viceroy, his associates being left in wholly
secondary positions (a fact wich later incensed
Almagro and would lead to eventual discords with
Pizarro). One of the conditions of the grant was
that within six months Pizarro should raise a
sufficiently equipped force of two hundred and
fifty men, of whom one hundred might be drawn from
the colonies. This gave Pizarro time to leave for
his native Trujillo and convince his brother
Hernando Pizarro and other close friends to join
him on his third expedition. Along with him also
came Francisco de Orellana, who would later
discover and explore the entire lenght of the
Amazon River. Two more of his brothers, Juan
Pizarro II and Gonzalo Pizarro, would later decide
to also join him. When the expedition was ready
and left the following year, it numbered three
ships, one hundred and eighty men, and
twenty-seven horses. Since Pizarro could not meet
the number of men the Capitulación had required,
he sailed clandestinely from the port of Sanlúcar
de Barrameda for the Canary Island of La Gomera in
January 1530. He was there to be joined by his
brother Hernando and the remaining men in two
vessels that would sail back to Panama.

== Conquest of Peru (1532)==
Main article: Spanish conquest of Peru

In 1531, Pizarro once again landed in the coasts
near Ecuador, where some gold, silver, and
emeralds where procured and then dispatched to
Almagro, who had stayed in Panama to gather more
recruits. Though Pizarro's main objective was to
then set sail and dock at Tumbes like his previous
expedition, he was forced to confront the Punian
natives in the Battle of Puná, leaving three
Spaniards dead and 400 dead or wounded natives.
Soon after, Hernando de Soto, another conquistador
that had joined the expedition, arrived to aid
Pizarro and with him sailed towards Tumbes, only
to find the place deserted and destroyed, their
two fellow conquistadors expected there had
disappeared or died under murky circumstances. The
chiefs explained the fierce tribes of Punians had
attacked them and ransack the place. As Tumbes no
longer afforded the safe accomodations Pizarro
sought, he decided to lead an excursion into the
interior of the land and established the first
Spanish settlement in Peru (and thus in South
America), calling it Piura|San Miguel de Piura on
July of 1532. The first repartimiento in Peru was
established here. After these events, Hernando de
Soto was dispatched to explore the new lands and,
after various days away, returned with an envoy
from the Inca himself and a few presents with an
invitation for a meeting with the Spaniards.
Following the defeat of his brother, Huascar,
Atahualpa had been resting in the Sierra of
northern Peru, near Cajamarca, in the nearby
thermal baths known today as the Baños del Inca.
After marching for almost two months towards
Cajamarca, Pizarro and his force of just 180
soldiers and 27 horses arrived and initiated
proceedings for a meeting with Atahualpa. Pizarro
sent Hernando de Soto, friar Vicente de Valverde
and native interpreter Felipillo to approach
Atahualpa at Cajamarca's central plaza. After
Atahualpa refused the Spanish presence in his land
by saying he would "be no man's tributary,"
Pizarro and his force attacked Atahualpa's army in
what became the Battle of Cajamarca on November
16, 1532. The Spanish were successful and Pizarro
executed Atahualpa's 12 man honor guard and took
the Inca captive at the so-called The Ransom
Room|ransom room. Despite fulfilling his promise
of filling one room with gold and two with silver,
Atahualpa was convicted of killing his brother and
plotting against Pizarro and his forces, and was
executed by garrote on August 29, 1533.

A year later, Pizarro invaded Cuzco with
indigenous troops and with it sealed the conquest
of Peru. During the exploration of Cuzco, Pizarro
was impressed and through his officers wrote back
to King Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|Charles V of
Spain, saying:


"This city is the greatest and the finest ever
seen in this country or anywhere in the Indies...
We can assure your Majesty that it is so beautiful
and has such fine buildings that it would be
remarkable even in Spain."

Despite admiring the Inca capital of Cuzco,
Pizarro observed it was too far up in the
mountains and far from the sea to serve as the
Spanish capital of Peru. He thus founded the city
of Lima in Peru's central coast on January 18,
1535.



After the final effort of the Inca to recover
Cuzco had been defeated by Diego de
Almagro|Almagro, a dispute occurred between him
and Pizarro respecting the limits of their
jurisdiction. This led to battle; Almagro was
defeated at the City of Ute (1538) and executed;
but his supporters conspired, and assassinated
Pizarro on June 26, 1541.

== Further reading ==
* The Discovery and Conquest of Peru by William H.
Prescott
* Conquest of the Incas, John Hemming, 1973.

== See also ==
* History of Peru

== External links ==
* http://www.newadvent.org/cathen/12140a.htm
Catholic Encyclopedia article on Pizarro
* http://www.americas.org/item_18804 Pizarro
Knocked From His Pedestal
*
http://www.gutenberg.org/dirs/etext98/hcpru10.txt
History of the Conquest of Peru by William H.
Prescott - Online Version from Gutenberg.org