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Diego de Almagro (1475-1538) "A man of short stature, with ugly features, but of great courage and endurance. He was liberal, but given to boasting, letting his tongue run on, sometimes without bridling it. He was well informed and above all much in awe of the King. A great part of the discovery of these kingdoms was due to him". (Cieza de León). Diego de Almagro was one of Francisco Pizarro's original partners on his first 1524 expedition to search for the Inca Empire. The expedition was a failure, particularly for Almagro who lost an eye during a skirmish with hostile natives. Almagro fought loyally with Pizarro for many years and was one of his most trusted commanders. Eventually, Almagro turned against Pizarro. An ambiguously worded royal decree had awarded Pizarro authority over the land 270 leagues south of Puna, the original landing point for the conquistadors. Almagro was awarded the land beyond that of Pizarro. There was no indication of how the distance was to be measured over the high Andes and the ownership of Cuzco was thus constantly in dispute. Almagro led an unsuccessful expedition to search for treasure in Chile but soon returned to seize Cuzco and ruled it for over a year. But the Pizarro brothers were not about to relinquish their claim on the ancient capital and Almagro was eventually captured and executed by Hernando Pizarro in 1538. |
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