Francisco Pizarro Biography

Have you ever been stuck at work or school and wondered if you
could go on an adventure? Well, that was the case for Francisco Pizarro
who was a pig herder that set off to the New World when he heard of the
riches. He was born an illegitimate child to Captain Gonzalo Pizarro and
Francisca González. “Pizarro grew up without learning how to read.
Instead, he herded his father's pigs” (​Francisco Pizarro —
Explorer-Biography​). His jobs were being a soldier and then he became a
conquistador. He was most famous for his conquest of the Inca Empire.
In 1502, he became a soldier and went to Hispaniola, which is now
the Dominican Republic and Haiti, with the new Spanish governor of the
New World colony. Then he went with Spanish conquistador Alonso de
Ojeda during his expedition to Colombia in 1510. After that, he went with
Vasco Nunez de Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513.
Then when he heard of the riches of a civilization in South America, he
went with Diego de Almagro in 1524 and sailed down the west coast of
South America from Panama. When he got to South America he went on
two explorations. The first expedition went only to present day Ecuador. On
his second exploration he went farther, to present day Peru. Then he went
back to Panama to pitch the governor
to help him conquer the Inca Empire.
After the governor refused he sailed to
Spain to ask King Charles V to help
him conquer the Inca Empire. The King
agreed and promised him most of the
profits.
Then, he sailed to Peru in 1530.
In 1532, he led his army to the Inca
town of Cajamarca, where Atahualpa,
emperor of the Inca Empire, was
staying. Francisco Pizarro invited
Atahualpa to a feast, and he accepted
the offer. When Atahualpa arrived, Francisco Pizarro sent out a priest with
a bible. Atahualpa took the bible and threw it on the ground. Francisco
Pizarro was furious and ordered an attack, which killed thousands of Incas
and during the attack, Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa. “Atahualpa
offered to fill a room with treasure as ransom for his release, and Pizarro
accepted. Eventually, some 24 tons of gold and silver were brought to the
Spanish from throughout the Inca empire.” (​Pizarro Executes Last Inca
Emperor​).
Then Francisco Pizarro put Atahualpa on trial for killing his half
brother and later a Spanish tribunal sentenced Atahualpa to death. After
that in 1533, Atahualpa was tied to a stake, and he was killed by an iron
collar that was tightened around his neck. After Atahualpa died, Francisco
Pizarro, with Spanish reinforcements, marched to Cuzco which was the
capital of the Inca Empire and conquered them without a problem.
Francisco Pizarro set himself as the governor of the Inca territory and offered
Diego Almagro the conquest of Chile because Francisco Pizarro didn’t share
any of the Inca riches with him.
In 1535 Francisco Pizarro founded the city of Lima. In 1536, an Inca
governor, Manco Capac, tried to start an uprising to take over the Spanish but
failed. Diego Almagro came back from Chile disappointed because there were
no riches and demanded the share of the Inca riches again. They kept fighting
and it soon broke out into a civil war. Almagro took over Cuzco in 1538, and
then Francisco Pizarro sent his other half brother to try to reclaim the city, but
he failed, and died. In 1541 Almagro’s son stormed into Francisco Pizarro’s
home and assassinated him.
In conclusion, Francisco Pizarro started by helping other conquistadors
like Alonso de Ojeda during his expedition to Colombia in 1510, and with
Vasco Nunez de Balboa when he discovered the Pacific Ocean in 1513. This
experience led him to also become a conquistador that conquered the Inca
Empire.