You are here : Spanish Conquest of Peru

Spanish Conquest of Peru

The first Spaniard to reach the shores of Latin America was Balboa in 1512 when he founded the city of Darien on the west coast of modern day Panama. Rumor has it that there were wealthy empires to the south but the geography of the region was as yet unknown to the western world and expeditions proved too difficult to undertake at the time. Some years later, it was heard that gold had been discovered in Mexico and Francisco Pizarro, another Spanish explorer, led several expeditions to the region and landed on the coast of Peru near present day Tumbes in 1531. The trip turned out to be so fruitful for Spain that Pizarro was able to win the backing of the Spanish crown to continue his explorations and conquest of Peru.

A few months after land fall Pizarro arrived at the Inca city of Cajamarca in the northern mountains in order to meet with the leader of what the Spaniards understood to be a monumental empire. Whilst travelling up to Cajamarca, Pizarro learned of the Inca civil wars which were raging over succession to the head of the Empire between two brothers, Huascar and Atahualpa. Atahualpa eventually won the civil war but left the Inca Empire weakened, a state that was not helped by an outbreak of smallpox.

At one of the initial meetings between Atahualpa and Pizarro a disagreement over the throwing down of a bible surfaced between the two men which led to the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532. Although Atahualpa was supported by thousands of troops as opposed to Pizarro’s hundreds, Pizarro easily massacred the Incas due to their improved weaponry and war strategies. Pizarro captured Atahualpa and held him in captivity and eventually executed him. This enabled the Spaniards to subdue the Inca Empire over several decades despite several rebellions by some of Atahualpa’s generals and impose their culture on the natives. As was mentioned previously disease was also very much responsible for the ability of the Spaniards to conquer the Incas as new European ailments such as smallpox, bubonic plague and whooping cough overtook large sections of the native population and reduced their numbers from 32 million in 1520 to only 5 million by 1548.

By 1536 the region had been consolidated under Spanish rule and Pizarro built the capital port city of Lima so he could administer the region. However, the fighting was not yet over as the Spaniards then began to fight amongst themselves. The first major skirmish was between Almagro, a partner of Pizarro, and his brothers. Almagro had been exploring Chile and was also successful in taking Cusco, the Inca capital, from Pizarro’s control. Pizarro retaliated and launched an army attack against Almagro who was defeated in the battle of Las Salinas and subsequently executed for treachery. His son tried to avenge his death but was forced to flee Cusco and was later killed in battle.

In 1541 followers of Almagro assassinated Pizzaro and his son, Gonzalo, claimed rights to the governorship of Peru. He spent several years exploring the Amazon only to return to Peru to be engaged in battle in 1546 with troops of the viceroyalty which were supported by the Spanish King. He was not able to hold onto his powerbase and two years later fought another battle with the viceroyalty but was not successful this time either. With the last of the Pizarros gone and defeated, the Spanish crown was finally able to take over the complete governorship of Peru. Independence was eventually secured from Spain on the 28th of July 1821 by Jose de San Martin, and Independence Day is celebrated every day with great enthusiasm!