Fransisco Pizarro And His Merry Men Essay

, Research Paper

Francisco Pizarro and his merry men

Pizarro was born in 1476 and was assassinated in 1541. He was a Spanish explorer and conqueror of Peru noted for his courage, cruelty, and for his abilities as a military leader.

Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Spain. He came to America in 1510 and took part in a number of exploratory expeditions, including that of Vasco de Balboa, which resulted in 1513 in Balboa claiming the Pacific Ocean and all the land it touched for Spain. Probably the biggest real-estate deal ever. In 1519 Pizarro settled in what is now Panama, and five years later he became a partner of the Spanish soldier and explorer Diego de Almagro in a project to explore and conquer territory to the south of Panama. In two expeditions in 1524 to 1525 and 1526 to 1528, he explored the west coast of South America and learned of the existence of the Inca Empire of Peru. In 1526 the partners contracted to cooperate in the conquest of Peru, and in 1528 Pizarro went to Spain to enlist royal aid for the venture. The following year Charles I, king of Spain, better known as Charles V who was also the Holy Roman emperor, granted Pizarro the authority to conquer and rule Peru. From the indian s point of view this was not a good move. Pizarro raised a military force in

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Spain and in 1530 sailed back to Panama, where he enlisted more men for his army. In 1531, with only about 180

men, Pizarro sailed for Peru and landed there in 1532. This was amazing, but not as amazing as it first seems. The Inca Empire was weak and corrupt, they were very rich but their country just suffered a civil war. By way of the above mentioned cruelty and treachery he conquered the Inca Empire, executed Emperor Atahualpa, and in 1535 founded the city of Lima as the capital of Peru in place of the native capital Cuzco.

After his conquest of Peru conflicts over territorial jurisdiction developed, and in 1537 civil war broke out between Pizarro and Almagro. Pizarro’s followers defeated those of Almagro in 1538, and Almagro was put to death. In 1541 a group still loyal to Almagro assassinated Pizarro. Before Pizarro s conflict with Almagro the two were friends and had been for a long time. Pizarro was assassinated by a group from the Spanish army, Almagro had always had much better relations with them than Pizarro.

To this day the cruelty of Pizarro and the men with him have not been forgiven by the people who live in Central America and Mexico. I Spain there are statues everywhere of these men. There aren t any on this continent. It is also important to note that the easy wealth that the Spanish conquests brought Spain in the long run did more harm than good. Spain was the last

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Western European country to industrialize and because of this wound up being one of the poorest for a long, long time.