Spanish conquistador.
Natural son of the captain Gonzalo Pizarro, Francisco was used with his father during the wars as Italy before passing to America with Nicolas de Ovando in 1502. Initially lieutenant de Alonso de Ojeda with San Sebastian de Uraba (1510), it was at the sides of Balboa at the time of the discovery of the Pacific Ocean (1513).
The news which Andagoya of its forwarding reported towards the South (1522) in connection with Biru or Piru woke up at Pizarro the desire to explore this area. It joined to this end, in Panama (1524) with Diego de Almagro and a priest named Hernando de Luque which appeared in the company like figure-head of Gaspar de Espinosa.
In return for the authorization to arm with the ships, Pedrarias was allowed to join them (1524) but it separated from them in 1526. Pizarro took the command of forwarding then; Almagro was its second and took care of the administration. The profits would equitably be distributed between the associates.
Pizarro left Panama at the end of the year 1524 with a ship, two boats and eighty men. The voyage was disastrous, it stopped in Chicama. Almagro joined there and they went back to Panama (1526). There they prepared their second voyage (1526-1528) during which the difficulties still increased because the Indians expressed hostility to them. Pizarro, in spite of, all, continued towards the South. Its resources becoming exhausted, it again sent Almagro to Panama to seek reinforcements (June 1527) there. Itself would remain in the island of El Gallo with a small group which, after some desertions, was reduced to those that one names “the thirteen of the Legend”. On arrival of Bartolomé Ruiz with reinforcements (1528), exploration towards the South began again and thus they discovered Peru. They returned to Panama at the end of 1528 but, in spite of the success of their company, the governor Pedro de Los Rios refused his support to them.
In agreement with his associates, Pizarro made the voyage from Spain to be received by Charles Quint there. The interview led to the signed agreements with Tolède on on June 26th, 1529. But the disparity was so large between the privileges granted Pizarro and those which were conceded in Almagro that this last tested a bitter disappointment of it. Pizarro went back to Panama (1530) with a more forwarding, to which his/her brothers Hernando (elder and single child legitimates) united Gonzalo and Juan, and his/her half-brother Francisco Martin de Alcantara. Confidence and the support that Pizarro granted to his Hernando brother, schemer and ambitious, created dissensions between the associates.
At the end of January 1531, Pizarro undertook its third voyage with a hundred and eighty men and three ships. He arrived in Tumbez where it was informed that a civil war divided the INCA empire. He carried on his road until Tangarara where he founded the first Spanish city, that he named San Miguel de Pura (1532), and continued until Cajamarca with an aim of meeting Atahualpa. Pizarro sent emissary to the INCA to propose an interview to him. This one accepted. But, as a follower of the Cortes, Pizarro took it by surprised and did it captive in the middle of a great massacre of Indians terrorized by the grapeshot and the horses (November 16th, 1532). To repurchase its freedom, Atahulpa promised in Pizarro a considerable treasure. It held its promise but did not recover its freedom in exchange. The fear was spread of an Indian rising against the Spanishs, that the INCA, of its prison, had fomented; consequently, under the pressure of the royal officers and of Almagro which had joined it in Cajamarca, Pizarro subjected the prisoner to an expeditious lawsuit and made it carry out.
With people of the army, Pizarro took the road of Cuzco. Previously, to confer a certain legitimacy on its policy towards the Indians, he proclaimed Tupac Hualpa (son of Huayna Capac) new INCA. But this one died before the arrival with Cuzco. His/her brother Manco INCA succeeded to him; it is with him that Pizarro made his entry in Cuzco (1533). On these entrefaites, the aldelantado of Guatemala, Pedro de Alvarado, invades the territory of Pizarro, in order to conquering Quito. To stop it, Pizarro sent Belalcazar and Almagro. During this forwarding, Belalcazar seized Quito and joined then Almagro which, on its side, had obtained from Alvarado that it gave up its project. To equip all these territories conquered with a capital, Pizarro founded Lima which it named Ciudad of los Reyes (January 6th, 1535). On his order, his/her Hernando brother returned to Spain to return account to the emperor of the conquest of Peru, to give the fabulous piled up treasure to him and to expose to him the requests of Pizarro and Almagro. Hernando obtained for his/her brother the title of marquis and the right to extend the territory which it controlled: it would pass from 200 to 270 miles.
For Almagro it obtained the title of governor of the Tolède News, territory which was to be created, and which would extend on 200 miles, in the south of the precedent. The opulent town of Cuzco was prone of discord between Pizarro and Almagro; each one of them considered indeed that it belonged to the territory which had fallen to him. It was there the reason for the first skirmishes between pizarrists and almagrists. Pizarro however managed an agreement with Almagro and, at the same time, persuaded it to undertake a forwarding for the conquest of Chile (1535-1536). The made abuses with Cuzco by the brothers of Pizarro against the Indians lit a revolt, carried out by Manco INCA (1536); it extended soon through all the country. Lima and Cuzco were even besieged. But the Indian army, for lack of preparation, had to be folded up.
Almagro, returning disappointed from its forwarding in Chile (1537), entered in triumph in Cuzco and made captive Hernando. Pizarro, pushed back to him the attack of the Indians in Lima and, thanks to the intervention of Fray Francisco de Bobadilla, obtained from Almagro the handing-over in freedom of his brother; then he claimed sovereignty on Cuzco, demanding that Almagro gave up the city immediately; that resulted in to precipitate the armed struggle. Hernando overcame Almagro with the battle of Mow Salinas (April 1538), did it captive and carried out it without awaiting the arrival of Francisco which returned in Cuzco with, for hostage, the son of Almagro.
Master finally of Cuzco, Pizarro made of his field the center of the colonizing expansion. At the same time, it proceeded to the distribution of the encomiendas in charge of the farm and mining of the country, and it founded new cities. However, the resistance of the natives vis-a-vis the Spanishs continued, animated by Manco INCA. In addition, the almagrists grouped around Almagro the Young person, the son of Diego, poked dissatisfaction against Pizarro.
The Crown sent Vaca of Castro to put an end to this argument between the two parties, but the almagrists, persuaded that Castro had been gained by the opposed party, precipitated the conspiracy against Pizarro: on June 26th, 1541, they gave the attack to the palate, reflect Pizarro with dead and proclaimed Almagro governor the Young person.