The conquistador who conquered the Incas, Francisco Pizarro, went down in history not only as a brave explorer, but also as a man who destroyed the ancient Inca Empire. On the one hand, he made a significant contribution to the development of the modern world, and on the other – caused the death of countless people who died as a result of his conquests. Pizarro’s biography can be read as an interesting book – his life was really full of adventures.
He bore the title “adelantado”, which was assigned by the Spanish crown to the leaders of the expeditions, sent at the command of the king to explore and conquer new lands. It was Francisco Pizarro who founded such famous cities in Peru as Lima, Trujillo and Cusco. Capturing Cusco, the ancient city of the Incas, Pizarro partially preserved it, but ordered to destroy all the Incas temples, and in their place build Catholic churches. In the course of his conquests and the conquest of the Inca Empire, the conquistador attached to the possessions of Spain about 1 million square kilometers of territory.
The expeditions led by Pizarro thoroughly investigated, documented and mapped about 1,200 km of the coast previously unknown to Europeans in the north of South America. It is authentically known that Francisco Pizarro was illiterate. His father, who had both legal and illegitimate children, recognized them all, except Francisco. He did not even mention it in his will. For his service, the conquistador and explorer was awarded the title of Marquis. There is evidence that in his youth, Pizarro worked as a swineherd on a farm.
Once the conquistador for 7 months was forced to survive with his squad on a desert island off the coast of modern Colombia. During this time, more than half of the squad died from snake bites. He first went to military service when he was 17 years old. Francisco Pizarro deceived the Inca leader captive Atahualpa, inviting him along with other leaders to negotiate and drinking wine that was poisoned with arsenic. True, not in lethal dosage. Having received a ransom for Atahualpa, Pizarro made another dishonorable act – despite the huge amount of gold transferred by the Incas in exchange for the life of his leader, the conquistador still ordered his execution.
The draconian rule of Francisco Pizarro on the occupied lands led to the uprising of the Incas scattered by that time. It lasted 6 years, but as a result was crushed. He was married twice, both times to the Inca princesses. In both marriages he had two children. He lived in the conquered territories of the modern country of Peru. On June 26, 1561, the conquistador was killed by conspirators. Twelve armed Spaniards broke into his house, and only three servants remained with Pizarro, while the rest fled. Marquis defended himself with a sword and a dagger, but he and his loyal servants were killed.
