This text outline omits illustrations.
Conquest of Peru, 1522-1549. As told by Don Guaman Poma de Ayala, First New Chronicle and Good Government (1612) (October 14, 1997)
written 1612; discovered 1908 in Copenhagen; published 1936
“a living, angry testimony of a native Andean”
The Conquest of Peru, 1522-1549: Outline
Significance compared with Mexico
Conquistador: Francisco Pizarro
Spanish Struggle for Justice: the role of Las Casas
The death of the Inca Huana Capac (1525?) led to civil war between his sons (half-brothers): Huáscar (Cuzco) and Atahualpa (Quito)
The Inca empire in 1531
Recent conquests of other peoples in Northern Peru, Ecuador
Death of Huayna Capac, ca 1525, lead to civil war
War of succession between half-brothers Huascar (Cuzco) and Atahualpa (Quito)
Pizarro exploited the dissension, 1531-1532
Spanish exploration and conquest, 1492-1536
Ocean currents and maritime routes. Pizarro’s 1st and 2nd voyages
Three difficult voyages of reconnaissance by Pizarro and others (1522, 1524, 1526) preceded the voyage of conquest (1531)
Conquistador: Francisco Pizarro (ca. 1478-1541)
Humble origins, to governor of Peru
In Hispaniola from 1502, Panama, 1509, one of founders of Panama City, 1519
“South Sea” voyages of discovery (1524, 1526) and conquest (1530)
Victory at Cajamarca, Nov. 16, 1532
Francisco Pizarro recruited men in Castille, 1529-30--and gained the title “governor of Peru” Diego de Almagro stayed in Panama and got “governor of New Toledo”!
In Peru, tensions grew between Pizarro (backed by his brothers and kinsmen), who raced ahead, and Diego de Almagro, who was in charge of supplies.
1527: Isla de Gallo Tumbes 1532: Cajamarca 1533: Cuzco 1535: Lima 1536: Quito
In Cajamarca, Atahualpa agreed to receive the Christians, who tarried only one day before sacking the city and seizing the Inca: Nov. 16, 1532
“Capture the leader”: Atahualpa was imprisoned and agreed to fill one large room with gold and two with silver--for his freedom.
After Atahualpa handed over 6 tons of gold and 13 tons of silver, the Christians executed the new convert (July 1533)
Within a year Cuzco was taken. Native lords were locked in a building and ordered to deliver gold and silver. When they did not, the Pizarros burned them alive
Manco Inca organized a rebellion with hundreds of thousands of followers and besieged Cuzco (1536)
When the Christians were in greatest need, the Virgin Mary interceded and threw dust in the eyes of Manco Inca’s soldiers. “That is why they were defeated.”
Civil Wars, 1535-1548
Origins: personal feuds (Diego Almagro vs. Fco. Pizarro), factionalism (Almagristas vs. Pizarristas), rich vs. poor, well-established vs. newly arrived, royalists vs. rebels
1535-1541: feuds and factions
The New Laws of 1542: restrictions on encomiendas and encomenderos
Rebels vs. royalists, 1544-1548
Civil War: The Pizarros executed Diego de Almagro (1538). Then Almagristas killed Fco. (1541). Gonzalo Pizarro revolted, killing the viceroy (1546), and finally was executed himself in 1548.
Spanish society in Peru
Spanish civil society established while civil wars continued
Founding of Spanish towns: Tumbes, Piura, Cajamarca, Lima (1535), Quito
Social structure: encomenderos to merchants, artisans, etc.
Importance of seniority in conquest
By 1560, more African slaves than Spaniards in Peru
Spanish Struggle for Justice: Bartolome de Las Casas
Significance: champion of human rights
From encomendero to defender of the Indians (1502-1514)
Defeats in America (1520s) and victories in Europe (1537-1542): the New Laws
The Devastation of the Indies: a Brief Account
The Only Way, 1537 Confesionario, 1545 Apologetica historica,
The Devastation of the Indies: A Brief Account, 1552
End