Francisco Pizarro

Lore & Background

Born in Trujillo, Spain, to a poor family, Pizarro was the illegitimate son of infantry colonel Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisca González. He grew up illiterate. He went to the Gulf of Urabá and accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his crossing of 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 for a few years and undertook two failed expeditions to Peru. In 1529, Pizarro obtained permission from the Crown of Castile to lead a campaign to conquer Peru and went on his third, successful expedition. When Peru was found in a vulnerable state of civil war, Pizarro moved inland and founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura. After a series of manoeuvres, Pizarro captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca in November 1532. A ransom was demanded and Atahualpa filled a room with gold, but Pizarro charged him with various crimes and executed him by garrotting in July 1533. The same year, Pizarro 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 (Spanish: Marqués de la Conquista) by the Crown of Castile. Pizarro was assassinated in 1541.

Reader's Guide

Pizarro's early career included sailing to the New World with Alonso de Ojeda in 1509, participating in Ojeda's failed colony, and later accompanying Balboa to the Pacific in 1513. He became a close associate of governor Pedro Arias Dávila, who assigned him a repartimiento. Pizarro arrested Balboa on Dávila's orders, leading to Balboa's execution in 1519. He served as mayor and magistrate of Panama City from 1519 to 1523. In 1524, Pizarro formed a partnership with Hernando de Luque and Diego de Almagro to explore the south. Their first expedition in 1524 failed due to bad weather, lack of food, and hostile natives. A second expedition in 1526 reached the San Juan River; pilot Bartolomé Ruiz captured a balsa with gold, silver, and emeralds. After further difficulties, Pizarro and a group known as the Famous Thirteen remained on Isla de Gallo while Almagro returned for reinforcements.

Did You Know?

• Pizarro was the illegitimate son of an infantry colonel, not from a family of pig farmers.
• Pizarro was not related by blood to Hernán Cortés.
• Pizarro was part of Balboa's expedition that first saw the Pacific from the Americas, but was not among the first Europeans to see it.
• The title 'Marqués de la Conquista' was granted in 1537, but the phrasing '1st Marquess' is anachronistic.