Francisco Pizarro

Lore & Background

Francisco Pizarro was the illegitimate son of infantry colonel Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisca González, a woman of poor means. He grew up illiterate and little attention was paid to his education. Through his father, he was a second cousin, once removed, of Hernán Cortés. In 1509, he sailed to the New World with Alonso de Ojeda, later accompanying Vasco Núñez de Balboa in crossing the Isthmus of Panama, where they became the first Europeans to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. He served as mayor of Panama City from 1519 to 1523.

Pizarro undertook two failed expeditions to Peru before obtaining permission from the Crown of Castile in 1529 to lead a campaign to conquer Peru. On his third expedition, finding Peru in a vulnerable state of civil war, he founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura. In November 1532, he captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite a ransom of gold filling a room, Pizarro charged Atahualpa with various crimes and executed him by garrotting in July 1533. That same year, he entered the Inca capital of Cuzco and completed his conquest of Peru. In January 1535, he founded the city of Lima, and in 1537 he was created the 1st Marquess of the Conquest by the Crown of Castile. Pizarro was assassinated in 1541 due to political power struggles.

Reader's Guide

Francisco Pizarro's significance lies in his role as the leader of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, one of the most transformative and devastating events in the history of the Americas. His expeditions, marked by initial failures and eventual success, opened the way for Spanish colonization of western South America. Pizarro's capture and execution of Atahualpa, despite the payment of a vast ransom, exemplified the ruthless pragmatism of conquistadors. The founding of Lima as a Spanish stronghold established a lasting colonial capital. His legacy is complex: he is remembered as a daring explorer and founder, but also as a figure whose actions led to the destruction of the Inca civilization and the subjugation of its people. His assassination in 1541 reflects the volatile political rivalries among the Spanish conquerors themselves. Pizarro's life and career illustrate the ambitions, brutality, and consequences of European expansion in the New World.

Did You Know?

• Pizarro was illiterate and grew up in a poor family of pig farmers in Trujillo, Spain.
• He accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in crossing the Isthmus of Panama, becoming one of the first Europeans to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas.
• Pizarro executed the Inca emperor Atahualpa by garrotting in July 1533, after a ransom of gold was paid.
• He was created the 1st Marquess of the Conquest by the Crown of Castile in 1537.