Francisco Pizarro, a Spanish conquistador born in 1467 in Castile, present-day Spain, is known for leading the 16th century expedition that brought the mighty Inca Empire to its end. The conquest of the Incas is one of the most important and devastating episodes of European colonization of the Americas.
Pizarro’s campaign not only consolidated the power of the Hispanic monarchy in the continent, but also brought radical consequences for Andean civilization, transforming its political, social, cultural and economic organization.
The cultural and human damage caused by the imposition of external laws and customs, along with the diseases that Europeans brought from abroad – namely smallpox – led to the division and subsequent collapse of the Inca empire.
Francisco Pizarro and his road to the Inca Empire
Pizarro already had experience in the Americas when he arrived in the New World in 1502. Having participated in the exploration of the coast of Panama, he soon became interested in rumors of a wealthy kingdom to the south, known as the Inca Empire.
Motivated by the desire for riches and fame, Pizarro organized several expeditions with financial support from the governor of Panama and, later, from the Spanish Crown.
He launched the first of these expeditions in 1524. This exploration ended in failure due to difficult climatic conditions and poor preparation. Two years later, in 1526, Pizarro led a second exploration. Upon finally reaching the coast of present-day Ecuador he and his fellow explorers came into contact with the Incas for the first time.
The abundance of gold and news of further Inca riches encouraged Pizarro to seek the Spanish Crown’s backing to conquer the territory. In 1529, King Charles I of Spain granted him permission to do so and appointed him governor of the lands he conquered.
Pizarro meets with the governor of the Inca Empire
Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire took place as it was experiencing a period of instability. When the Spaniards arrived in 1532, the Incas were engaged in civil war. Atahualpa, the governor of the Empire, and his brother Huascar, were disputing who would ascend to the throne after the death of their father, Huayna Capac. This dispute weakened the empire, making it easier for Pizarro and his men to seize control.
With an army of just 180 soldiers and 30 horses, Pizarro advanced towards the heart of the empire, crossing the Andes until he reached Cajamarca, where Atahualpa lived. Given that he had a larger army, at first the emperor did not see the Spaniards as a threat. However, Pizarro, astute and aware of the power of surprise, planned an ambush.
On November 16, 1532, Pizarro invited Atahualpa to a meeting in the main square of Cajamarca. During the meeting, the Spaniards deployed their usual strategy to justify the violence they inflicted on the conquered peoples of the Americas: religion. A priest, Vicente de Valverde, presented the emperor with a bible and tried to make him submit to the King of Spain and to Christianity. Atahualpa rejected the proposal and threw the book to the ground, which served as a pretext for the Spaniards to begin their attack.
In a few hours, Pizarro’s troops massacred thousands of Inca soldiers and captured Atahualpa, marking a point of no return in the conquest.
The execution of Atahualpa and the fall of Cuzco
Having been taken prisoner by the Spaniards, Atahualpa tried to negotiate his freedom by offering a huge ransom. He proposed to fill an entire room with gold and two more with silver and hand it over to the Spaniards in exchange for his liberty. The Spaniards accepted the deal, but once the riches were gathered, Pizarro decided that keeping the emperor alive would be a risk. He therefore had Atahualpa executed in July 1533, on the absurd accusation of conspiracy and heresy.
After the death of the Inca leader, the Spaniards advanced towards Cuzco, the sacred capital of the Inca Empire. In November 1533, Pizarro took the city, sealing his formal conquest of the empire. However, indigenous resistance continued for several years. Manco Inca, one of the puppet rulers installed by the Spaniards, led several revolts, but the Incas were never able to regain their former power.
Consequences of the conquest of the Inca Empire
The conquest of the Inca Empire had profound and lethal consequences. The empire’s economy and social structure were dismantled, and collective labor systems were transformed to benefit the colonizers. This included the mita, which was effectively a form of tribute performed by Inca people for the benefit of the Inca government, delivered in the form of labor. In addition, Catholicism was imposed over Andean beliefs and many temples were destroyed or converted into churches.
The plundering of Inca riches enriched the Spanish Crown and fueled the expansion of its empire in Europe and America. Meanwhile, the indigenous population was decimated owing to wars and forced labor. Diseases brought to the Americas by the Europeans, such as smallpox, killed a huge proportion of the Incas, who had no immunity to these new illnesses.
Culturally, the conquest marked the beginning of a process of racial intermixing that would give rise to new forms of identity in the Americas. However, it also meant the loss of indigenous knowledge, traditions and languages, as the colonial authorities imposed their Spanish and European culture.
Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca Empire utterly transformed the Americas. With few military resources but full of cunning and willingness to take advantage of the internal divisions in the Empire, he managed to bring down one of the most advanced civilizations on the continent. The consequences of this conquest are still evident today and reflected in the social, economic and cultural structures of the Andean countries.
Today, these former Spanish colonies continue to define their complex national identities, which are shaped by and reflect the various historical events through which they were formed.