Francisco Pizarro

One of the greatest conquerors and explorers of the 1500s, Francisco Pizarro, is well known for conquering the wealthy  land in the South America and finding the city Cuidad de los Reyes (City of Kings), which is now also known as Lima,  Peru. However, though, he never learned how to read or write, but nothing could stop him. Not learning those was not  a big deal to him for example; it never stopped him from becoming one of the greatest conquerors.

First of all, Pizarro was born in a small town in Spain called Trujillo. He was born on 1475, no one actually knows the  exact date, but the year 1475 is the most accurate guess. It was probably because he wasn’t famous until he was about  50 years old. Being a son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro made him also wanted to become like his father. Next, Pizarro  grew up under bad conditions such as he had no luxuries, servants, and good food, but as said, nothing could stop him.  He was very ambitious to become rich and live his life with opulence.

Francisco Pizarro served as a minor official of Spain in Panama until about when he was 50. He took several expeditions to Colombia and Panama but it never satisfied his dreams. Then, in 1523, he heard about this wealthy and wonderful Indian empire in the south so with the help of his two friends, Diego de Almagro and Hernando de Lupue, he was able to form an expedition to take over and explore the land. Almagro was a soldier and Lupue was a vicar of Panama. This was basically his only chance to fulfill his dreams of being rich and powerful. The first expedition was a total failure with tribulation and difficulties. However, the second was better than the first expedition. Though, it failed again so he sent Almagro to back to Panama for back ups. Nevertheless, instead the governor of Panama sent vessels to stop the expedition, but Pizarro, of course, rejected. So he eventually convinced the governor to send one vessel which he used for investigating the Coast of Peru. Then, he returned back to Spain for permission, and was granted three vessels. In the end, he had about 200 men and 40 horses.

After seven years of hard works, his troop and he finally began the conquest. First, he spent a few years conquering coastal cities. Then a year later, he went to Cajamarca and met Atahuallpa, the Inca emperor. His strategies to capture the city and him were to invite Atahuallpa to his place. Fortunately, he accepted the invitation. When he arrived, Pizarro threatened him to convert to Christianity. However, Atahuallpa rejected which made Pizarro very anxious so he seized the emperor and killed more than 2000 Indians. Later, Pizarro executed the emperor, and went to Cuzco to meet Manco, Atahuallpa’s brother. Again, Manco declined and ran away, but Pizarro captured him and put him to death. Pizarro’s strategies both worked and didn’t work. He couldn’t convert Atahuallpa to Christianity, but he conquered the wealthy land. A few years later, Ciudad de los Reyes became the new government of Pizarro’s. Then 2 years later, Pizarro and Almagro fought about the territories each had to manipulate. Civil War commenced due to his problem. Pizarro supporters killed Almagro. After that, Almagro supporters became fierce and assassinated Pizarro in Lima on June 26, 1541.

Some factors that made Pizarro easy to conquer were his ambitious dreams. He really wanted to accomplish that dream so he didn’t let anything that came to block his way. Also, Spain had better weapons, but weren’t explained above, and he was very powerful. He was so strong that he could easily overpower the Inca. In the end, Pizarro’s dreams had come true which he lived with luxury for the last few years. His name will be never forgotten and will be one of world’s greatest conqueror, explorer, and adventurer forever.

Citations:

"Pizarro, Francisco." Encyclopaedia Britannica Online School Edition. Encyclopedia Britannica, n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2010. 

     http://school.ebonline.com/all/comptons/article-9276443

"Francisco Pizarro." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, Inc., 18 Jan. 2010. Web. 23 Jan. 2010. 
     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Francisco_Pizarro   

  Francisco Pizarro. N.d. Portal Fuenterrebollo. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Jan. 2010. 
     http://www.fuenterrebollo.com/Historia/pizarro.html 

"Pizarro, Francisco." Fact Monster. Pearson Education, 2007. Web. 23 Jan. 2010. http://www.factmonster.com/ce6/people/A0839247.html