Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro was a conquistador born in Trujillo, Spain in about 1471. His father, Gonzalo Pizarro, was an infantry captain and he taught Francisco how to fight at an early age. Francisco Pizarro never learned to read and write but he was full of adventure.

Pizarro sailed to the new world on November 10, 1509. He was part of many expeditions in the new world including one with Balboa. Pizarro fought against many hostile tribes in Panama and when news of Hernando Cortez' success in Mexico reached Pizarro, he set off to South America in hope of gold.

He led many expeditions into South America. Most were unsuccessful because they met many hostile tribes and he didn't have enough men. He went back to Panama many times to ask for reinforcements. The governor of Panama gave him men and supplies in exchange for some gold. Pizarro's partner , Diego de Almagro, went with him on many expeditions and always went back to Panama for men and supplies. The governor was becoming restless because he was not getting much gold. Almagro went to convince the governor that all was not lost and they received more reinforcements. With these men, he set sail for Peru and founded the city of Trujillo.

Pizarro found much gold and sent it to the governor. The governor decided that he would not fund the expedition anymore. So Pizarro went to Spain to beg the king for funding for the expedition. King Charles V allowed Pizarro to be governor of all territories he conquered but he would have to send some gold back to Spain.

When Pizarro got back, he and his brothers discovered a group of people called the Incas. They saw that the Incas had a lot of gold and greed took them over. They tricked the Incan leader and captured him. The ransom to release the Incan emperor, Atahualpa, was to fill a room measuring 22 by 17 feet with gold. The Incas did fill the room but Pizarro killed the emperor anyway and conquered the Incas. When news of Pizarro's conquest reached King Charles' ears, he was overjoyed. He expanded the territory which Pizarro governed. A lot of South America was under Spanish rule. After all of the gold was divided between all of the leaders of the expedition and the king, each man got about $52,000 in Spanish pesos. That was a lot of money back then.

Almagro was jealous of Pizarro's fame and tried to take over Cuzco from Pizarro.