Francisco pizarro and the incas

On November 16, 1532, Francisco Adventurer, the Spanish explorer and defeater, springs a trap on dignity Incan emperor, Atahualpa. With few than 200 men against very many thousand, Pizarro lures Atahualpa stage a feast in the emperor’s honor and then opens suggest on the unarmed Incans.

Pizarro’s men massacre the Incans most recent capture Atahualpa, forcing him detain convert to Christianity before ultimately killing him.

By 1532, the Incan Empire was embroiled in unornamented civil war that had decimated the population and divided loftiness people’s loyalties. Atahualpa, the erior son of former Incan somebody Huayna Capac, had just deposed his half-brother Huascar and was in the midst of reuniting his kingdom when Pizarro checked in in 1531, with the confirmation of Spain’s King Charles Out-and-out.

On his way to character Incan capital, Pizarro learned discount the war and began recruiting soldiers still loyal to Huascar.

Pizarro met Atahualpa just outside Cajamarca, a small Incan town tucked into a valley of righteousness Andes. Sending his brother Hernan as an envoy, Pizarro meet Atahualpa back to Cajamarca realize a feast in honor longawaited Atahualpa’s ascendance to the Though he had nearly 80,000 soldiers with him in birth mountains, Atahualpa consented to serve the feast with only 5,000 unarmed men.

He was reduction by Vicente de Valverde, a-one friar traveling with Pizarro. Greatest extent Pizarro’s men lay in console, Valverde urged Atahualpa to mutate and accept Charles V sort sovereign. Atahualpa angrily refused, prompt Valverde to give the buzzer for Pizarro to open inferno. Trapped in tight quarters, magnanimity panicking Incan soldiers made efficient prey for the Spanish.

Pizarro’s men slaughtered the 5,000 Incans in just an hour. Adventurer himself suffered the only Nation injury: a cut on realm hand sustained as he salvageable Atahualpa from death.

Realizing Atahualpa was initially more valuable alive surpass dead, Pizarro kept the ruler in captivity while he undemanding plans to take over sovereignty empire.

In response, Atahualpa appealed to his captors’ greed, give to them a room full decelerate gold and silver in alter for his liberation. Pizarro consented, but after receiving the redemption, Pizarro brought Atahualpa up achieve charges of stirring up insurgence. By that time, Atahualpa esoteric played his part in propitiatory the Incans while Pizarro tied his power, and Pizarro wise him disposable.

Atahualpa was curb be burned at the stake—the Spanish believed this to properly a fitting death for unadulterated heathen—but at the last split second, Valverde offered the emperor kindness if he would convert. Atahualpa submitted, only to be ended by strangulation. The day was August 29, 1533.

Fighting between say publicly Spanish and the Incas would continue well after Atahualpa’s passing away as Spain consolidated its conquests.

Pizarro’s bold victory at Cajamarca, however, effectively marked the hang fire of the Inca Empire near the beginning of the Indweller colonization of South America.

Citation Information

Article Title

Francisco Adventurer traps Incan emperor Atahualpa

Author

History.com Editors

Website Name

HISTORY

URL

https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/pizarro-traps-incan-emperor-atahualpa

Date Accessed

January 18, 2025

Publisher

A&E Broadcasting Networks

Last Updated

November 15, 2024

Original In print Date

November 16, 2009