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1540 to 1542 - Death of Francisco Pizarro Rebellion of Diego de Almagro the younger Many of Almagro's supporters had survived the wrath of the victorious Pizarro brothers in 1538 and had become increasingly frustrated with their circumstances. They had failed to receive any of Atahualpa's original ransom, they had endured great hardships on the Chilean expedition with no reward and they were still treated with contempt by Pizarro's forces.  Almagro's
son, Diego de Almagro, served as the rallying point for these
disillusioned men. On 26 June 1541, twenty of Almagro's supported
forced their way into Francisco Pizarro's palace in Lima. The
63 year old Governor equipped himself with a sword and dagger
and "placed himself in a doorway with a halberd and defended
himself very well - so well that they could not enter, as it
was a narrow door". One of the attackers was killed
but eventually they overpowered Pizarro and "gave the Marquis so many lance thrusts, stab wounds and sword slashes that he died".The younger Almagro's forces controlled Lima and the whole of Peru for almost a year. Alonso de Alvarado, Pizarro's lieutenant governor, rallied a force of loyal Pizarrists and royalists and finally defeated the younger Almagro in the battle of Chupas, outside the city of Huamanga, on 16 September 1542. Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, two of the original founders of the Inca conquest, both met violent deaths within a few years of each other. This was due mainly to the ambiguously worded royal decree that gave Francisco Pizarro control over the land for 270 leagues south of Puna, the original landing point for the conquistadors. No guidance was ever given as to how this distance was to be measured over the high Andes and the ownership of Cuzco was thus constantly in dispute. |
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