How the Spaniards captured Cuzco (1530s)

In the 1530s when the Spaniards moved into Incan territory, the Incan empire was in the midst of a civil war. The Spaniard warriors were described as mythical demigods whom possessed weapons that harnessed the powers of thunder and lightning. They rode on huge animals, twice as large as a normal llama and several times over as strong. To the Incans, the Spaniard invaders were taken as gods from a distant realm.

The Spaniard contingent was led by Francisco Pizarro and his partner, Almagro. A proud man, his army composed mainly of Spanish Tercios, men of warrior lineage, yet not of royal blood to be part of the nobility and too proud of their heritage to work as farmers. Landing on the north coast, Pizarro's attacks on the native villages had earned them nothing but gold trinkets, few and far between. A daring man, Pizarro had no choice but to venture into the peaks of the Andes, in hopes of more gold to be able to be plundered.

Route taken by Pizarro

At this moment, a succession dispute was raging in the Incan Empire between the sons of the deceased monarch. The two sons, Atahuallpa and Huascar were in opposing factions, the former being based in Quito, Ecuador and the latter based in the Imperial City of Cuzco.

Unknown to the Spaniards, they had been watched every step of the way by the Incans. Atahuallpa was interested in these strangers and so he sent an ambassador to meet with Pizarro. Together they arranged a meeting between the Spanish contingent with the Inca at Cajamarca. On the 15th of November 1532, this historic meeting, which would forever change the face of the Incan Empire, took place in the Cajamarca valley. The Spanish conquistadors, numbering 200, marched into the town and were totally unexpected for the sight that lay before their eyes - forty thousand Incan warriors encamped in tents, stretching as far as their eyes could see. Two of Pizarro's most trusted deputies, Hernando De Soto and his own brother, Hernando Pizarro, met with the Incan emissaries whom arranged a meeting between Pizarro and Atahuallpa the next morning. The shrewd Spaniards had already planned something for the Inca - like a lamb to slaughter, the Inca and his followers had not suspected a thing.

Cartoons depicting the meeting of Pizarro and Atahuallpa

The next morning, the plain at Cajamarca began to fill up with Incan warriors - only when they finally numbered above 50000 did the Inca Atahuallpa finally make his appearance. Greeting his royal majesty was a Spanish priest, bearing forth a bible, informing the Inca that as long as he submitted to the King of Spain and the Vatican, he would come to no harm. However, the Inca was more interested in the book he was offered, instead of the preacher's words. Atahuallpa had never seen such print on books before and this new knowledge irritated him. He flung the Bible to the ground in ignorance.

A Sketch of Cajamarca

The priest, taken aback, accused the Inca of being the Antichrist and upon his condemnation, two cannon shots were fired and the Spanish bore down on the Incan warriors. Within minutes, the Inca Atahuallpa was captured. With their god-king in the hands of the foreign demi-gods, the Incan warriors' morale plummeted and they fled for their lives. An estimated seven thousand Incan warriors were mercilessly slaughtered on the plain at Cajamarca that day - more than ten thousand others were seriously injured. A mere 120 horse-borne Spanish warriors accomplished all this carnage.

Pizarro held the weak Incan monarch for ransom. During his period of imprisonment, the once proud ruler of the Incan Empire had been reduced to nothing - he was collared like a dog and his wife and daughter had been brutally raped by the Spaniards for pleasure. Pizarro announced that unless the Incans were able to fill a room full of gold, the Inca would not be able to live through the week. However, in the Andes, gold was a rare and precious metal. The instruments they were able to present to the Spaniards were light, thin and were unable to meet to the Spanish expectations. After Pizarro had procured his gold, Atahuallpa's life was still not spared. Beheaded, the Incans had lost their leader and provided little or no opposition to the Spaniards' advance. Marching from Cajamarca, Pizarro entered Cuzco, the ancient sacred city of the Incans.

The first step in the annihilation of the Incan civilisation was now complete.