FRANCISCO PIZARRO. — Spanish conquistador of Peru, b. c. 1475 at Trujillo (Cáceres, Extremadura), d. 26 June 1541 at Lima. An illegitimate son of Gonzalo P., he received no education, never learned to read or write, and was employed by his father as a swineherd.
The wondrous tales of the New World struck his imagination deeply, and Pizarro seized the first favorable opportunity to go there. Having embarked at Seville (though the year is unknown), he is recorded as residing in Hispaniola (Santo Domingo) in 1509, when he left that island with Alonso de Ojeda to head for the mainland, where he took part in the founding of the colony of San Sebastián in the Gulf of Urabá, remaining there as captain and lieutenant of Ojeda until disease and Indian hostility forced him to abandon the settlement. He later accompanied Balboa on the expedition that led to the discovery of the Pacific Ocean and Pedro Arias Dávila to Veragua, settling in Panama. Having heard from Pascual de Andagoya, who had traveled along the coasts of South America, of a very rich empire in those regions, Pizarro joined with Captain and colleague Diego de Almagro and the priest Fernando de Luque to outfit an expedition to those distant lands. Financed by Fernando de Luque, Pizarro set out in November 1524 from Panama, but after many hardships and fierce fighting with the Indians, he had to abandon the enterprise; however, the gold and silver obtained as gifts or taken from the natives made a second expedition in 1526–27 possible, which brought Pizarro as far as Tumbes, on the borders of the Inca Empire, whose emperor Huayna-Cápac he heard praised for his deeds and power. Once he had definitive certainty of the existence of the rich empire, Pizarro went in 1528 to Spain to obtain the support of Charles V for the conquest of the country. The Emperor, by the Capitulation of Toledo on 26 July 1529, granted him the lifelong governorship and the captaincy-general of New Castile (the name then given to Peru); Almagro was granted the alcaldía of the fortress of Tumbes and the right to succeed Pizarro in case of the latter’s death, Fernando de Luque the bishopric of Tumbes and the office of general protector of the Indians of the region. Returning to America, he sailed in January 1531 from Panama with three ships for the definitive conquest of the empire, which was facilitated by a civil war raging in the country. Having tricked Atahualpa, who was usurping the throne of the Indians, into captivity at Cajamarca, Pizarro occupied Cuzco, the capital of the empire, on 15 November 1533, making a vast booty there. On 18 January 1535, Pizarro moved to Lima, where he established the capital of New Castile. Later, differences arose between Pizarro and Almagro, who claimed direct rule over part of the conquered lands according to the agreements made before Pizarro’s departure for Spain; Pizarro’s brother, Fernando, brutally crushed Almagro’s claims by having him condemned to death and hanged. This summary act of justice earned Pizarro the hatred of Almagro’s many followers, who decided to bide their time to take revenge. On 26 June 1541, the conspirators, led by Juan de Rada, managed to enter Pizarro’s palace and killed him despite his fierce resistance.