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Portrait of Francisco Pizarro,By Amable-Paul Coutan –

Top 10 Outstanding Facts about Francisco Pizarro

In the 1530s, Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador, who famously overthrew the Inca Empire, making him and his soldiers extraordinarily wealthy and securing Spain a prosperous colony in the New World. Even though Pizarro’s fame has diminished over time, many people still recognize him as the conquistador who overthrew the Inca Empire.  However, here are some of the top 10 outstanding facts about Francisco Pizarro that you should consider knowing. They include the following;

1. He was a conquistador who led the Spanish conquest of the Inca civilization

Conquistadors were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. He was a conquistador who oversaw the 1532 Spanish invasion of the Inca Empire. With just a handful of troops, Pizarro conquered the largest empire in history by using his superior weapons, the Incas’ vulnerability due to internal conflict, and the introduction of European illnesses.

2. He was best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru

Pizarro seizing the Inca of Peru (1845), V, By John Everett Millais –

One of the most significant campaigns in the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was part of the Spanish colonization of the Americas. In the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532, 168 Spanish soldiers led by conquistador Francisco Pizarro, his brothers, and their native allies succeeded in seizing the Sapa Inca Atahualpa after years of prior exploration and military conflicts. It marked the beginning of a protracted struggle that lasted for years of battle but was ultimately won by the Spanish in 1572, leading to the colonization of the area as the Viceroyalty of Peru. 

3. He changed the world

Palace of the Conquest, Trujillo, Spain, By Johannes Correct Taylor –

Francisco Pizarro’s discovery and conquest of South America’s at-the-time-unknown Inca Empire forever altered the course of history. Spain was able to rise to become one of the most powerful nations in the world thanks to the wealth of its empire, particularly its silver mines.  

4. His purpose for exploration was to colonize areas of the New World and to find riches there

Pintura de Francisco Pizarro en su tumba, localizada en la catedral de Lima,By FUEJXJDK –

Francisco Pizarro set out on his explorations intending to colonize the New World and discover its riches. In 1502, Pizarro made his first voyage to the New World. He later established himself on a cattle ranch in Panama. But in the 1520s, he was attracted to Peru by rumors of its gold.

5. Today, people remember him for his part in the Age of Exploration and the influence he had on the expansion of Europe into the New World

Portrait of Francisco Pizarro,By Amable-Paul Coutan –

It has been argued that Pizarro’s conquest of the Incas was one of the most implausible military successes in recorded history because he had far fewer soldiers and resources than his rivals. In 1541, supporters of Diego de Almagro killed Pizarro in his palace. Today, people remember him for his part in the Age of Exploration and the influence he had on the expansion of Europe into the New World.

6. There was a monument formed

Francisco Pizarro,By Art DiNo from Lima, Perú –

Charles Cary Rumsey, an American sculptor, created the Francisco Pizarro monument in Lima (1470/71–1541) (1879 – 1922). Rumsey was permitted in 1913 to donate a huge horse statue of Pizarro to the 1915 San Francisco Panama-Pacific International Exposition. It seems that his work has been warmly welcomed. Three of the later cast copies still exist today, one each in Lima, Peru, Trujillo, Spain, where Pizarro was born, and Buffaly, New York. On January 18, 1935, to commemorate the fourth centennial of Pizarro’s establishment of Lima, his widow Mary Harriman Rumsey (1881–1934) dedicated this unique bronze statue to the city.

7. His Share of the Loot Was Outrageous

Pizarro and his conquistadors became extremely wealthy because the Inca Empire was rich in gold and silver. The most successful was Francisco Pizarro. His part of Atahualpa’s ransom included 630 pounds of gold, 1,260 pounds of silver, and miscellaneous items such as the 183-pound Atahualpa’s throne made of 15-karat gold. Even without the silver or any booty from later operations like the storming of Cuzco, which more than doubled Pizarro’s haul, the gold alone was worth almost $8 million at today’s exchange rates.

8. He Relied Greatly on His Brothers

Pizarro and his followers in Lima in 1535, Fair use-

Pizarro received royal approval before traveling to Spain in 1528–1530 with the intention of conquest. However, he brought something even more significant back to Panama: his four half-brothers. On his father’s side, Hernando, Juan, and Gonzalo were his half-brothers; on his mother’s side, Francisco Martin de Alcántara. The five of them would establish an empire as a group. Despite having capable lieutenants like Hernando de Soto and Sebastián de Benalcázar, Pizarro secretly only placed faith in his brothers. He dispatched Hernando to Spain twice in charge of the “royal fifth,” a large amount of treasure meant for the King of Spain because he had a lot of faith in him.

9. Pizarro achieved fame and fortune from nothing

Francisco Pizarro was the Marquis de la Conquista, a wealthy aristocrat with extensive estates, wealth, fame, and power until he passed away in 1541. From his humble beginnings, it is a far cry. He was the illegitimate son of a Spanish soldier and a domestic worker who was born somewhere in the 1470s (the precise day and year are unclear). Francisco was a young lad who maintained the household swine while remaining illiterate.

10. He Had Good Lieutenants

Pizarro,By Angel Lizcano Monedero (1846-1929) –

His four brothers were Pizarro’s most dependable lieutenants, but he also had the backing of several seasoned combatants who would go on to do other things.  An expedition towards the southeast of the modern United States was later led by Hernando de Soto, a devoted lieutenant. Francisco de Orellana went on an expedition with Gonzalo Pizarro and ended up finding the Amazon River. Later, Pedro de Valdivia became Chile’s first governor.