Francisco Pizarro
Age of Exploration
Francisco's Explorations
Francisco Pizarro was born in 1476. In 1510, he accompanied Spanish explorer Alonzo de Ojeda on a voyage to Urabá, Colombia. Although the expedition was unsuccessful, Pizarro proved he could be relied on in a bind. In 1513, he joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his march to the South Sea, during which Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. Pizarro traveled to Peru in 1526 and then returned to get permission to claim the land for Spain. In 1531, their expedition which included Pizarro’s three half-brothers, sailed from Panama. The next fall Pizarro entered the city of Cajamarca and took the Inca leader Atahuapla hostage.
Pizarro's Conquerings
After Pizarro capture Atahuapla, he had a ransom paid to spare his life but he still died in 1533. Pizarro then conquered Cuzco, another important Inca city, and founded the city of Lima, now the capital of Peru. Another explorer named Almagro took away Cuzco and Pizarro did not like that. He was too old to fight so he sent his brothers who had come with him from Spain to go kill Almagro. They were successful and killed him; however, in 1541 an assassin came and killed Pizzaro and the assassin was one of Almagro's followers.