Spain Rapes the Inca Empire

Histroy records not only great and daring deeds, but misdeeds as well. Francisco Pizarro, of all the Spanish Conquistadors, was the most ruthless. That fact is demonstrated in this story of his first dramatic encounter with the Incas, one of the more advanced civilizations in the New World.

Pizarro had arranged a meeting with the Inca emperor, Atahuallpa. He was not only the monarch of the Incas, he was considered their divine Sun god.

The meeting was held in a Peruvian town called Cajamarca on November 16, 1532. The meeting was held in a plaza of the town. Pizarro had only 168 men with him. The emperor appeared, carried on a litter, with 80,000 men, all unarmed. Pizarro had set a trap for the emperor in the plaza.

On a signal Pizarro's men, on horses, which the Incas had never seen before, attacked. Despite the overwhelming odds in their favor the Incas tried to flee like a panicked mob. Pizarro's men further panicked them by blowing trumpets and attacking them from four directions in the plaza.

The king was kidnapped and held for ransom. The ransom took months to pay and was paid in gold and said to fill a room over 8 feet high, 22 feet long, and 17 feet wide. Once it was paid, Pizarro reneged on his promise and executed the king.

Pizarro brought in massive Spanish reinforcements from Panama during the months it took the Incas to pay the ransom. By the time the Incas decided to fight the Spanish with their cavalry and advance weaponry were easily able to conquer them. It was the beginning of the end of the Inca empire.

Source: Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond