View source for Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire

{{Short description|Period of the Spanish conquest in South America}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=January 2025}}
{{Use American English|date = March 2019}}
{{Infobox military conflict
| conflict          = Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire
| partof            = the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]]
| date              = 1532-1572
| image             = Montaje 2 conquista del Peru.png
| image_size        = 350px
| place             = [[Andes]]
| territory         = Former [[Incan Empire]] incorporated into the [[Spanish Empire]]
| result            = Spanish victory
| combatant1        = {{flag|Spanish Empire}} (1537–1554)
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Governorate of New Castile|New Castile]] (1529–1542)
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Governorate of New Toledo|New Toledo]] (1534–1542)
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Viceroyalty of Peru]] (1542–1572)
<hr />
{{ubli|{{flag|Inca Empire}}  (from 1533)| [[Indian auxiliaries|Native allies]]}}
* [[Cañari]]
* [[Caxamarcas]] (various groups)
* [[Huanca]]s
* [[Chanka]]s
* Huaylas
* [[Chachapoya culture|Chachapoyas]]
* [[Huáscar]]an Incas
| combatant2        = {{ubli|{{flag|Inca Empire}} (1532–1536) | {{flag|Neo-Inca State}} (1537{{nbnd}}1572)}}
| commander1        = {{indented plainlist|
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Francisco Pizarro]]{{Assassinated}}
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Diego de Almagro]]{{Assassinated}}
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Gonzalo Pizarro]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Hernando Pizarro]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Juan Pizarro (conquistador)|Juan Pizarro]]{{KIA}}
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Hernando de Soto]]
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Sebastián de Benalcázar]]
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Pedro de Alvarado]]
* {{flagicon|Spanish Empire}} [[Francisco de Toledo]]
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Túpac Huallpa]]
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Manco Inca]] (1533{{nbnd}}1536)
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Paullu Inca]]
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Sayri Túpac]] (1558{{nbnd}}1560)
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Francisco Chilche|Chilche]]
* {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Diego Vilchumlay|Vilchumlay]]
}}
| commander2        = {{udl|wrap=
; 1532–1535
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Atahualpa]]{{Executed}}
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Quizquiz]]{{KIA}}
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Chalcuchimac]]{{Executed}}
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Rumiñawi (Inca warrior)|Rumiñawi]]{{KIA}}
; 1536–1572
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Manco Inca]]{{Assassinated}}
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Sayri Túpac]] (1544{{nbnd}}1558)
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Titu Cusi]]{{Natural Causes}}
: {{flagicon|Inca Empire}} [[Túpac Amaru I]]{{Executed}}}}
| strength1         = {{ubli | 168 soldiers (1532) | Unknown number of [[Indian auxiliaries|native auxiliaries]] | 3,000+ Spanish soldiers and 150,000 [[Indigenous peoples of South America|indigenous]] allies (1535)<ref name="josemariacastillejo.com">{{cite web |url=https://www.josemariacastillejo.com/los-incas-y-los-espanoles |title = Los Incas y los españoles| date=8 May 2012 }}</ref> }}
| strength2         = {{ubl| 100,000 soldiers (1532) | 50,000 warriors (1535)<ref name="josemariacastillejo.com"/>}}
| casualties1       = 
| casualties2       = 
| casualties3       = 7,700,000 deaths as a result of the conquest<ref name="remilitari">{{Cite web|url=http://remilitari.com/guias/victimario9.htm|title=De re Militari: muertos en Guerras, Dictaduras y Genocidios|website=remilitari.com}}</ref>
}}
{{Campaignbox Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire}}
{{Spanish colonial campaigns}}
{{Inca civilization}}
{{History of Peru}}
The '''Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire''', also known as the '''Conquest of Peru''', was one of the most important campaigns in the [[Spanish colonization of the Americas]]. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 [[Spaniards|Spanish]] soldiers under [[conquistador]] [[Francisco Pizarro]], along with his brothers in arms and their [[Indigenous peoples of South America|indigenous]] [[Indian auxiliaries|allies]], captured the last [[Sapa Inca]], [[Atahualpa]], at the [[Battle of Cajamarca]] in 1532. It was the first step in a long campaign that took decades of fighting but ended in Spanish victory in 1572 and colonization of the region as the [[Viceroyalty of Peru]]. The conquest of the [[Inca Empire]] (called "Tahuantinsuyu"<ref name="Brotherston1995">{{cite book|author=Gordon Brotherston|editor=[[Leslie Bethell]]|title=The Cambridge History of Latin America|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=3NiCQFfSGIkC&pg=PA287|volume=X|date=1995|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-49594-3|page=287|chapter=Indigenous Literatures and Cultures in Twentieth-Century Latin America}}</ref> or "Tawantinsuyu"<ref name="StoreyWidmer2006">{{cite book|author1=Rebecca Storey|author2=Randolph J. Widmer|editor1=Victor Bulmer-Thomas|editor-link=Victor Bulmer-Thomas|editor2=John Coatsworth|editor2-link=John Coatsworth|editor3=Roberto Cortes-Conde|title=The Cambridge Economic History of Latin America: Volume 1, The Colonial Era and the Short Nineteenth Century|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=aHarTdXG1M0C&pg=PA95|edition=I|year=2006|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-0-521-81289-4|page=95|chapter=The Pre-Columbian Economy}}</ref> in [[Quechuan languages|Quechua]], meaning "Realm of the Four Parts"),<ref name="Andrien2001">{{cite book|author=Kenneth J. Andrien|title=Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness Under Spanish Rule, 1532–1825|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=VgJKAAAAYAAJ&q=%22Tawantinsuyu%22%20%22four%20parts%22|year=2001|publisher=University of New Mexico Press|isbn=978-0-8263-2359-0|page=3|quote=The largest of these great imperial states was the Inca Empire or Tawantinsuyu—the empire of the four parts—which extended from its capital in Cusco to include this entire Andean region of 984,000 square kilometers.}}</ref> led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia, as well as expeditions to the [[Amazon basin|Amazon Basin]] and surrounding rainforest.

When the Spanish arrived at the borders of the [[Inca Empire]] in 1528, it spanned a considerable area and was by far the largest of the four grand pre-Columbian civilizations{{Definition needed|date=June 2025}}. Extending southward from the Ancomayo, which is now known as the [[Patía River]], in southern present-day Colombia to the [[Maule River]] in what would later be known as Chile, and eastward from the Pacific Ocean to the edge of the [[Amazon rainforest|Amazonian jungles]], it covered some of the most mountainous terrains on Earth. In less than a century, the Inca had expanded [[Inca Empire|their empire]] from about {{Cvt|400000|km2||abbr=}} in 1448 to {{Cvt|1800000|km2||abbr=}} in 1528, just before the arrival of the Spanish. This vast area of land varied greatly in culture and climate. Because of the diverse cultures and geography, the Inca allowed many areas of the empire to be governed under the control of local leaders, who were watched and monitored by Inca officials. Under the administrative mechanisms established by the Inca, all parts of the empire answered to, and were ultimately under the direct control of, the Inca Emperor.<ref name="Covey2000">Covey (2000).</ref> Scholars estimate that the population of the Inca Empire was between 12 and 16 million.<ref name="Means 1932">Means (1932).</ref><ref>"La catastrophe démographique" (The Demographic Catastrophe"), ''[[L'Histoire]]'' n°322, July–August 2007, p.&nbsp;17.</ref>

Some scholars, such as [[Jared Diamond]], believe that while the Spanish conquest was undoubtedly the proximate cause of the collapse of the Inca Empire, it may very well have been past its peak and already in the process of decline. In 1528, Emperor [[Huayna Capac]] ruled the Inca Empire. He could trace his lineage back to a "stranger king" named [[Manco Cápac]], the mythical founder of the Inca clan,<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|144}} who, according to tradition, emerged from a cave in a region called [[Paqariq Tampu]].

Huayna Capac was the son of the previous ruler, [[Túpac Inca]], and the grandson of [[Pachacuti]], the Emperor who, by conquest, had commenced the dramatic expansion of the Inca Empire from its cultural and traditional base in the area around [[Cusco]]. On his accession to the throne, Huayna Capac had continued the policy of expansion by conquest, taking Inca armies north into what is today [[Ecuador]].<ref name=Prescott>[[Prescott, W.H.]], 2011, ''[https://archive.org/details/conquestofperu02presiala The History of the Conquest of Peru],'' Digireads.com Publishing, {{ISBN|978-1420941142}}</ref>{{rp|98}} While he had to put down a number of rebellions during his reign, by the time of his death, his legitimacy was as unquestioned as was the primacy of Inca power.

Expansion had caused its own set of problems. Many parts of the empire retained distinct cultures, which were at best reluctant to become part of the greater imperial project. Due to its size, and the fact that all communication and travel had to take place by foot or by boat, the Inca Empire proved increasingly difficult to administer and govern, with the Inca Emperor having increasingly less influence over local areas.

Huayna Capac relied on his sons to support his reign. While he had many children, both legitimate{{snd}}born of his sister-wives, under the Inca system{{snd}}and illegitimate, two sons are historically important. Prince Túpac Cusi Hualpa, also known as [[Huáscar]], was the son of Coya Mama Rahua Occllo of the royal line. The second was [[Atahualpa]], an illegitimate son who was likely born of a daughter of the last independent King of [[Quitu]], one of the states conquered by Huayna Capac during the expansion of the Inca Empire.<ref name=" Means 1932" /> These two sons would play pivotal roles in the final years of the Inca Empire.

The Spanish [[conquistador]] Pizarro and his men were greatly aided in their enterprise by invading when the Inca Empire was in the midst of a [[Inca Civil War|war of succession]] between the princes Huáscar and Atahualpa.<ref name=" Prescott"/>{{rp|143}} Atahualpa seems to have spent more time with Huayna Capac during the years when he was in the north with the army conquering Ecuador. Atahualpa was thus closer to and had better relations with the army and its leading generals. When both Huayna Capac and his eldest son and designated heir, [[Ninan Cuyochi]]c, died suddenly in 1528 from what was probably [[smallpox]], a disease introduced by the Spanish into the Americas, the question of who would succeed as emperor was thrown open. Huayna had died before he could nominate the new heir.

At the time of Huayna Capac's death, Huáscar was in the capital Cuzco, while Atahualpa was in [[Quito]] with the main body of the Inca army. Huáscar had himself proclaimed [[Sapa Inca]] (i.e. "Only Emperor") in Cuzco, but the army declared loyalty to Atahualpa. The resulting dispute led to the [[Inca Civil War]].<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|146–149}}
[[File:Diego de Almagro.JPG|thumb|The conquistador Diego de Almagro, a native of the town of Almagro, one of the three partners in the conquest of Peru.]]

[[File:Conquest peru 1531.jpg|thumb|The route of the conquest of the Inca Empire by Pizarro and his conquistadors.]]

== Chronology of the last years of the Inca Empire ==
{{more citations needed|section|date=September 2024}}

{{div col}}
* c. 1528 – [[Francisco Pizarro]] and [[Diego de Almagro]] make first contact with the Inca Empire at [[Tumbes, Peru|Tumbes]], the northernmost Inca stronghold along the coast. The Inca Emperor Huayna Capac died from European-introduced [[smallpox]]. Death sets off a [[Inca Civil War|civil war]] between his sons: [[Atahualpa]] and [[Huáscar]]
* 1528–1529 – Pizarro returns to Spain where the [[Isabella of Portugal|Queen of Spain]] grants him the license to conquer Peru
* 1531–1532 – Pizarro's third voyage to Peru. Spaniards form a bond with the Natives ([[Huanca people|Huanca]]s, [[Chanka]]s, [[Cañari]]s and [[Chachapoya]]s) who were under the [[Mitma|oppression]] of the Inca Empire, and Pizarro includes them among his troops to face the Incas. Atahualpa is captured by Spanish.
* 1533 – Almagro arrives; Atahualpa is executed after he orders Huáscar to be killed; Pizarro submits Cuzco and installs seventeen-year-old [[Manco Inca]] as new Inca Emperor
* 1535 – Pizarro founds the city of [[Lima]]; De Almagro leaves for present-day Chile
* 1536 – [[Gonzalo Pizarro]] steals Manco Inca's wife, Cura Olcollo. Manco rebels and surrounds Cuzco. Juan Pizarro is killed, and Inca general Quizo Yupanqui attacks Lima
* 1537 – Almagro seizes Cuzco from Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro. [[Rodrigo Orgóñez]] sacks Vitcos and captures Manco Inca's son, [[Titu Cusi]]. Manco escapes and flees to [[Vilcabamba, Peru|Vilcabamba]], which became the capital of the [[Neo-Inca State]]
* 1538 – [[Hernando Pizarro]] executes Diego de Almagro
* 1539 – Gonzalo Pizarro invades and sacks Vilcabamba; Manco Inca escapes but Francisco Pizarro executes Manco's wife, Cura Olcollo
* 1541 – Francisco Pizarro is murdered by [[Diego de Almagro II]] and other supporters of De Almagro
* 1544 – [[Manco Inca]] is murdered by supporters of Diego de Almagro. The Inca do not stop their revolt
* 1572 – Viceroy of Peru, [[Francisco de Toledo, Count of Oropesa|Francisco Toledo]], declares war on the Neo-Inca State; Vilcabamba is sacked and [[Túpac Amaru]], the last Inca Emperor, is captured and executed in Cuzco. The Neo-Inca capital of Vilcabamba is abandoned; the Spanish remove inhabitants and relocate them to the newly established Christian town of [[Vilcabamba, Peru|San Francisco de la Victoria de Vilcabamba]].<ref name="MacQuarrie2007">MacQuarrie (2007)</ref>{{rp|xiii–xv}}
{{div col end|2}}
[[File:Portrait of Francisco Pizarro.jpg|thumb|The conquistador [[Francisco Pizarro]], a native of [[Trujillo, Cáceres|Trujillo]].]]

== Beginning of the conflict ==
The civil war between Atahualpa and Huascar weakened the empire immediately prior to its struggle with the Spanish. Historians are unsure if a united Inca Empire would have defeated the Spanish in the long term due to factors such as the high mortality from disease and the resulting social disruption, and the superior military technology of the conquistadors, who possessed horses, dogs, metal armor, swords, [[cannon]]s, and primitive, but effective, firearms.<ref name="Kubler1945">Kubler (1945).</ref> Atahualpa appeared to be more popular with the people than his brother, and he was certainly more valued by the army, the core of which was based in the recently conquered northern province of [[Quito]].

At the outset of the conflict, each brother controlled his respective domains, with Atahualpa secure in the north, and Huáscar controlling the capital of Cuzco and the large territory to the south, including the area around [[Lake Titicaca]]. This region had supplied large numbers of soldiers for Huáscar's forces. After a period of diplomatic posturing and jockeying for position, open warfare broke out. Huáscar seemed poised to bring the war to a rapid and decisive conclusion, as troops loyal to him took Atahualpa prisoner, while he was attending a festival in the city of [[Tumebamba]]. However, Atahualpa quickly escaped and returned to Quito. There, he was able to amass what is estimated to be at least 30,000 well-trained soldiers. While Huáscar managed to muster about the same number of soldiers, they were much less experienced.

Atahualpa sent his forces south under the command of two of his leading generals, [[Challcuchima]] and [[Quisquis]], who won an uninterrupted series of victories against Huáscar that soon brought them to the very gates of [[Cusco|Cuzco]]. On the first day of the battle for Cuzco, the forces loyal to Huáscar gained an early advantage. However, on the second day, Huáscar personally led an ill-advised "surprise" attack, of which the generals Challcuchima and Quisquis had advanced knowledge. In the ensuing battle, Huáscar was captured, and resistance completely collapsed. The victorious generals sent word north by ''[[chasqui]]'' messenger to Atahualpa, who had moved south from Quito to the royal resort springs outside [[Cajamarca]]. The messenger arrived with news of the final victory on the same day{{citation needed|date=March 2024}} that Pizarro and his small band of adventurers, together with some indigenous allies, descended from the Andes into the town of Cajamarca.

== Arrival of Pizarro ==

[[File: Los 13 de la Isla del Gallo.jpg|250px|thumb|The Famous Thirteen by Juan Lepiani]]

[[Francisco Pizarro]] and his brothers ([[Gonzalo Pizarro|Gonzalo]], [[Juan Pizarro (conquistador)|Juan]], and [[Hernando Pizarro|Hernando]]) were attracted by the rumors of a rich and fabulous kingdom. They had left the then-impoverished [[Extremadura]], like many migrants after them.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|136}}

{{Cquote|There lies Peru with its riches;<br/>Here, Panama and its poverty.<br/>Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian.|15px|15px|Francisco Pizarro<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|116}}}}

In 1529, Francisco Pizarro obtained permission from the Spanish Monarchy to conquer the land they called Peru.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|133}}

According to historian [[Raúl Porras Barrenechea]], Peru is not a [[Quechua languages|Quechuan]] nor [[Caribbean Spanish|Caribbean]] word, but Indo-European or hybrid. Unknown to Pizarro, as he was lobbying for permission to mount an expedition, his proposed enemy was being devastated by the [[Native American disease and epidemics|diseases brought to the American continents]] during earlier Spanish contacts.

When Pizarro arrived in Peru in 1532, he found it vastly different from when he had been there just five years before. Amid the ruins of the city of [[Tumbes, Peru|Tumbes]], he tried to piece together the situation before him. From two local boys, whom Pizarro had taught how to speak Spanish in order to translate for him, Pizarro learned of the civil war and of the disease that was destroying the Inca Empire.<ref name="MacQuarrie2007" />

After four long expeditions, Pizarro established the first Spanish settlement in northern Peru, calling it [[Piura|San Miguel de Piura]].<ref name="Prescott"/>{{rp|153–154}}

[[File:Atawallpa Pizarro tinkuy.jpg|thumb|180px|Francisco Pizarro meets with Atahualpa, 1532]]
When first spotted by the natives, Pizarro and his men were thought to be ''Viracocha Cuna'' or "gods". The Natives described Pizarro's men to the Inca. They said that ''capito'' was tall with a full beard and was completely wrapped in clothing. The Natives described the men's swords and how they killed sheep with them. The men did not eat human flesh, but rather sheep, lamb, duck, pigeons, and deer, and cooked the meat. Atahualpa was fearful of what the newly arrived white men were capable of. If they were ''runa quicachac'' or "destroyers of peoples", then he should flee. If they were ''Viracocha Cuna Runa allichac'' or "gods who are benefactors of the people", then he should not flee, but welcome them.{{citation needed|date=October 2017}} The messengers went back to Tangarala, and Atahualpa sent Cinquinchara, an Orejon warrior, to the Spanish to serve as an interpreter.

After traveling with the Spanish, Cinquinchara returned to Atahualpa; they discussed whether or not the Spanish men were gods. Cinquinchara decided they were men because he saw them eat, drink, dress, and have relations with women. He saw them produce no miracles. Cinquinchara informed Atahualpa that they were small in number, about 170–180 men, and had bound the Native captives with "iron ropes". When Atahualpa asked what to do about the strangers, Cinquinchara advised that they be killed because they were evil thieves who would take whatever they wanted, and were "''supai cuna"'' or "devils". He recommended trapping the men inside of their sleeping quarters and burning them to death.<ref name="Betanzos1996">Betanzos ''et al.'' (1996).</ref>

== Role of Indigenous Allies ==
The role of indigenous people was crucial to the Spanish overtaking the Inca Empire. First the Huanca tribe had been under control for hundreds of years. They helped the Spanish as they thought this would be a chance to gain revenge. The Cañari led by [[Diego Vilchumlay|Vilchumlay]] helped the Spanish because Atahualpa and his men devastated all of the lands and killed many Cañari people during the Inca Civil War. The last tribe, Chachapoyas sided with the Spanish because they desired independence and felt that this was a great opportunity. In battle, many natives battled with the Spanish. For example, when Pizarro's forces were going to capture Cuzco, the Huanca and Cañari reinforced Pizarro's army. If not for the indigenous people, Spanish success in battles would plummet. The indigenous soldiers provided pivotal manpower for battles, providing the Spanish with far more soldiers than they came with.<ref>{{Citation |title=The Spanish Conquest |date=2023-11-15 |work=A Cultural History of Spanish America |pages=27–41 |url=https://doi.org/10.2307/jj.8306250.7 |access-date=2025-04-25 |publisher=University of California Press |doi=10.2307/jj.8306250.7 |isbn=978-0-520-33954-5|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Capture of Atahualpa ==
After his victory and the capture of his brother [[Huáscar]], Atahualpa was fasting in the [[Los Baños del Inca District|Inca baths]] outside [[Cajamarca]]. Pizarro and his men reached the city on 15 November 1532.

Pizarro sent [[Hernando de Soto]] to the Atahualpa's camp. De Soto rode to meet Atahualpa on his horse, an animal that Atahualpa had never seen before.<ref group=note>European horses were not native to the Americas, with the last ancestor, [[Eohippus]], dying out about 50,000 years ago, long before the arrival of humans roughly 16,000 years ago.</ref> With one of his young interpreters, Soto read a prepared speech to Atahualpa telling him that they had come as servants of God to teach them the truth about God's word.<ref name="Seed1991">Seed (1991).</ref> He said he was speaking to them so that they might:
<blockquote>"lay the foundation of concord, brotherhood, and perpetual peace that should exist between us, so that you may receive us under your protection and hear the divine law from us and all your people may learn and receive it, for it will be the greatest honor, advantage, and salvation to them all."</blockquote> Additionally, they invited the Inca leader to visit Pizarro at his quarters along the Cajamarca plaza. When De Soto noticed Atahualpa's interest in his horse, he put on a display of "excellent horsemanship" in close proximity. Atahualpa displayed hospitality by serving refreshments.<ref name="Prescott"/>{{rp|166–170}}<ref name="Innes1969">Innes (1969).</ref>

Atahualpa responded only after Francisco Pizarro's brother, [[Hernando Pizarro]], arrived. He replied with what he had heard from his scouts, that the Spanish had been killing and enslaving countless numbers of people and civilians on the coast. Pizarro denied the report and Atahualpa, with limited information, reluctantly let the matter go. At the end of their meeting, the men agreed to meet the next day at Cajamarca.<ref name="MacQuarrie2007" />

[[Image:Inca-Spanish confrontation.JPG|thumb|left|The Inca–Spanish confrontation in the [[Battle of Cajamarca]] left thousands of natives dead]]
The next morning, on 16 November 1532, Pizarro had arranged an ambuscade around the Cajamarca plaza, where they were to meet. At this point, Pizarro had in total 168 men under his command: 106 on foot and 62 on horseback. When Atahualpa arrived with about 6,000 unarmed followers, Friar [[Vincente de Valverde]] and the interpreter [[Felipillo]] met them and proceeded to "expound the doctrines of the true faith" ''([[Spanish Requirement of 1513|requerimiento]])'' and seek his tribute as a vassal of King Charles. The unskilled translator likely contributed to problems in communication. The friar offered Atahualpa the [[Bible]] as the authority of what he had just stated. Atahualpa stated, "I will be no man's tributary."<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|173–177}}

Pizarro urged attack, starting the [[Battle of Cajamarca]]. The battle began with a shot from a cannon and the battle cry ''"[[Santiago!]]"''<ref name="Innes1969" /> The Spaniards unleashed volleys of gunfire at the vulnerable mass of Incas and surged forward in a concerted action. Pizarro also used devastating cavalry charges against the Inca forces, which stunned them in combination with the supporting gunfire.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|177–179}} However, many of the guns used by the Spaniards were hard to use in close-quarters combat. The effect was devastating, and the shocked Incas offered such feeble resistance that the battle has often been labeled a [[massacre]], with the 2,000 Incas slain and the Spanish with only one soldier wounded.

Though the historical accounts relating to the circumstances vary, the true Spanish motives for the attack seemed to be a desire for loot and flat-out impatience. The Inca likely did not adequately understand the [[conquistador]]s' demands.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Royal Commentaries of the Inca Garcilaso de la Vega |last=Jolas |first=Maria |year=1961 |publisher=Orion Press}}</ref> Pizarro knew that his forces were badly outnumbered but that capturing the Emperor and holding him hostage would give him a key edge.

The majority of Atahualpa's troops were in the Cuzco region along with Quisquis and Challcuchima, the two generals he trusted the most. This was a major disadvantage for the Inca. Their undoing also resulted from a lack of self-confidence, and a desire to make public demonstration of fearlessness and godlike command of situation.<ref name="Innes1969" /> The main view is that the Inca were eventually defeated due to inferior weapons, 'open battle' [[military tactics|tactics]], disease, internal unrest, the bold tactics of the Spanish, and the capture of the Inca's Emperor.  Spanish armor was very effective against most of the [[Andes|Andean]] weapons, though it was not entirely impenetrable to maces, clubs, or [[Sling (weapon)|sling]]s.<ref>{{cite web | title=The Great Inca Rebellion | author=Jay O. Sanders | publisher=[[PBS]] | url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/video/the-great-inca-rebellion/ | access-date=30 June 2010}}</ref><ref>{{cite book | title=Slings in the Iron Age | author=Jane Penrose | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=99haLasvV3gC&q=iron+helmet+sling&pg=PA139 | access-date=30 June 2010 | isbn=978-1-84176-932-5 | year=2005| publisher=Bloomsbury USA }}</ref> Later, most natives adapted in 'guerrilla fashion' by only shooting at the legs of the conquistadors if they happened to be unarmored.<ref>{{cite book |chapter=Introduction |title=We People Here: Náhuatl accounts of the Conquest of Mexico |last=Lockhart |first=James |year=1993 |publisher=University of California Press |location=Berkeley |pages=7–8 }}</ref> However, ensuing hostilities such as the [[Mixtón Rebellion]], [[Chichimeca War]], and [[Arauco War]] would require that the conquistadors ally with friendly tribes in these later expeditions.

By February 1533, Almagro had joined Pizarro in Cajamarca with an additional 150 men with 50 horses.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|186–194}}

After the Spanish captured Atahualpa at the massacre at Cajamarca, they allowed his wives to join him, and the Spanish soldiers taught him the game of [[chess]].<ref name=Leon>Leon, P., 1998, ''The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter,'' edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, {{ISBN|9780822321460}}</ref>{{rp|215,234}} During Atahualpa's captivity, the Spanish, although greatly outnumbered, forced him to order his generals to back down by threatening to kill him if he did not. According to the Spanish envoy's demands, Atahualpa offered to fill a large [[Ransom Room|room with gold]] and promised twice that amount in silver. While Pizarro ostensibly accepted this offer and allowed the gold to pile up, he had no intention of releasing the Inca. He needed Atahualpa's influence over his generals and the people in order to maintain the peace. The treasure began to be delivered from Cuzco on 20 December 1532 and flowed steadily from then on. By 3 May 1533 Pizarro received all the treasure he had requested; it was melted, refined, and made into bars.<ref name="Innes1969" /> Hernando Pizarro went to gather gold and silver from the temples in [[Pachacamac]] in January 1533, and on his return in March,<ref name=Leon/>{{rp|237}} captured [[Chalcuchimac]] in the [[Jauja]] Valley.  Francisco Pizzaro sent a similar expedition to Cuzco, bringing back many gold plates from the Temple of the Sun.

[[Image:Luis Montero - The Funerals of Inca Atahualpa - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|left|300px|One of the main events in the conquest of Peru was the death of [[Atahualpa]], the last [[Sapa Inca]] on 29 August 1533]]
The question eventually came up of what to do with Atahualpa; both Pizarro and Soto reportedly spoke against killing him, but the other Spaniards were loud in their demands for death. False interpretations from the interpreter Felipillo made the Spaniards paranoid. They were told that Atahualpa had ordered secret attacks and his warriors were hidden in the surrounding area. Soto went with a small force to scout for the hidden army, and the show trial of Atahualpa was held in his absence. Among the charges were polygamy, incestuous marriage, and idolatry, all frowned upon in Catholicism but common in Inca culture and religion.

The men who were against Atahualpa's conviction and murder argued that he should be judged by King Charles since he was the sovereign prince. Atahualpa was forced to submit to baptism to avoid being burned at the stake and in the hopes of one day rejoining his army and killing the Spanish; they referred to him as Francisco for the purposes of the ritual. On 29 August 1533 the Spanish captors murdered Atahualpa by [[Garrote|garrotting]]. He was buried with Christian rites in the church of San Francisco at Cajamarca, but was soon disinterred. His body was recovered, probably at his prior request, and borne to its final resting place in Quito. Upon de Soto's return, he was furious; he had found no evidence of any secret gathering of Atahualpa's warriors.<ref name="Innes1969" />

Pizarro advanced with his army of 500 Spaniards toward [[Cuzco]], accompanied by Chalcuchimac. The latter was burned alive in the Jauja Valley, accused of secret communication with [[Quizquiz]], and organizing resistance. [[Manco Inca Yupanqui]] joined Pizarro after the death of [[Túpac Huallpa]].  Pizarro's force entered the heart of the [[Inca Empire|Tawantinsuyu]] on 15 November 1533.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|191, 210, 216}}

Benalcázar, Pizarro's lieutenant and fellow Extremaduran, had already departed from San Miguel with 140 foot soldiers and a few horses on his conquering mission to Ecuador. At the foot of Mount [[Chimborazo]], near the modern city of [[Riobamba]] (Ecuador) he met and defeated the forces of the great Inca warrior [[Rumiñawi (Inca warrior)|Rumiñawi]] with the aid of Cañari tribesmen, led by [[Francisco Chilche|Chilche]], who served as guides and allies to the conquering Spaniards. Rumiñahui fell back to Quito, and, while in pursuit of the Inca army, Benalcázar was joined by five hundred men led by Guatemalan Governor [[Pedro de Alvarado]]. Greedy for gold, Alvarado had set sail for the south without the crown's authorization, landed on the Ecuadorian coast, and marched inland to the Sierra. Finding Quito empty of its people's treasure, Alvarado soon joined the combined Spanish force.  Alvarado agreed to sell his fleet of twelve ships, his forces, plus arms and ammunition, and returned to Guatemala.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|224–227}}<ref name="Leon"/>{{rp|268–284}}

==Rebellion and reconquest==
After Atahualpa's murder, Pizarro installed Atahualpa's brother, [[Túpac Huallpa]], as a puppet Inca ruler, but he soon died unexpectedly, leaving [[Manco Inca Yupanqui]] in power. He began his rule as an ally of the Spanish and was respected in the southern regions of the empire, but there was still much unrest in the north near Quito where Atahualpa's generals were amassing troops. Atahualpa's murder meant that there was no hostage left to deter these northern armies from attacking the invaders. Led by Atahualpa's generals Rumiñahui, Zope-Zupahua and [[Quisquis]], the native armies were finally defeated, effectively ending any organized rebellion in the north of the empire.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|221–223, 226}}

Manco Inca initially had good relations with Francisco Pizarro and several other Spanish conquistadors. However, in 1535 he was left in Cuzco under the control of Pizarro's brothers, Juan and Gonzalo, who so mistreated Manco Inca that he ultimately rebelled. Under the pretense of recovering a statue of pure gold in the nearby [[Yucay]] valley, Manco was able to escape Cuzco.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|235–237}}
[[Image:Tupaq amarup umanta kuchunku.gif|thumb|left|Spaniards executing Tupac Amaru I.]]

Manco Inca hoped to use the disagreement between Almagro and Pizarro to his advantage and attempted the recapture of Cuzco starting in April 1536. The [[second battle of Cuzco|siege of Cuzco]] was waged until the following spring, and during that time Manco's armies managed to wipe out four relief columns sent from Lima, but was ultimately unsuccessful in its goal of routing the Spaniards from the city. The Inca leadership did not have the full support of all its subject peoples and furthermore, the degrading state of Inca morale coupled with the superior Spanish siege weapons soon made Manco Inca realize his hope of recapturing Cuzco was failing. Manco Inca eventually withdrew to Tambo.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|239–247}}

Archaeological evidence of the rebellion incident exists, showing that the Spanish conquistadors were aided by native Indian allies. The remains of about 70 men, women, and adolescents were found in the path of a planned expressway near Lima in 2007. Forensic evidence suggests that European weapons killed some of the natives, probably during the uprising in 1536,<ref>{{cite journal|last=Carroll|first=Chris|title=Archaeology: Shot by a Conquistador|journal=National Geographic|date=July 2007|volume=212|issue=1|pages=18}}</ref> but that the vast majority had been killed by local, indigenous weapons.<ref>[[National Geographic]], {{YouTube|QyJG3aPpq_o|Skeletons of the Inca Rebellion (Full Episode) {{!}} Special }}, 8 Oct 2023, minutes: 26:25–33:53</ref>

After the Spanish re-occupied Cuzco, Manco Inca and his armies retreated to the fortress at [[Ollantaytambo]] where he, for a time, successfully launched attacks against Pizarro based at Cuzco and even managed to defeat the Spanish occupiers in an open battle.<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|247–249}}

When it became clear that defeat was imminent, Manco Inca retreated further to the mountainous region<ref name=Prescott/>{{rp|259}} of [[Vilcabamba, Peru|Vilcabamba]] and established the small [[Neo-Inca State]], where Manco Inca and his successors continued to hold some power for several more decades. His son, [[Túpac Amaru]], was the last Inca, being killed by the Spanish in 1572.

In total, the conquest took about forty years to complete. Many Inca attempts to regain their empire had occurred, but none had been successful. Thus the Spanish conquest was achieved, aided by factors like smallpox and a great communication and cultural divide. The Spaniards destroyed much of the Inca culture and imposed Spanish culture onto the native population.
[[File:Francisco Pizarro ante Carlos V.jpg|thumb|Engraving depicting the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro exposing before [[Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor|King Carlos I]] of Spain the evidence of the discovery of the fabulous [[Inca Empire|Empire of the Incas.]]]]

==Spanish Civil War: Pizarro v. Almagro==
Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro were allies while taking over the Inca Empire. The relationship became shaky when they had disputes over the land and wealth of the Empire. Almagro was mostly angry over his share of fortune, particularly in the southern territories. Later in 1536, Almagro went on an expedition to Chile to find new regions. The expedition was a complete failure. Almagro fought harsh conditions, little to no resources, and even faced resistance from other indigenous tribes. When Almagro returned with almost nothing, his anger grew towards Pizarro.<ref>{{Citation |title=INTRODUCTION Juan de Betanzos and Inca Traditions |date=1996-12-31 |work=Narrative of the Incas |pages=ix–xiv |url=https://doi.org/10.7560/755604-001 |access-date=2025-04-25 |publisher=University of Texas Press|doi=10.7560/755604-001 |isbn=978-0-292-75636-6 |doi-access=free }}</ref>

After Almagro's failed expedition, he demanded Pizarro give him more power. Pizarro declined which led to an open conflict between him and Almagro. In 1537, Almagro started to fight over Cuzco and other territories with Pizarro. Both men fought for total control over the land and resources. In 1538 was the Battle of Las Salinas, a fight between Pizarro and Almagro's men. Pizarro's troops won but the battle was costly and severely weakened his position for power.<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Prescott |first1=William |url=https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003369219 |title=History of the Conquest of Peru |last2=Kirk |first2=John Foster |date=2023-03-06 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-1-003-36921-9 |location=London|doi=10.4324/9781003369219 }}</ref>

After Almagro's defeat in battle, he was captured. Almagro was executed in 1538. His death gave most of the power of the Empire to Pizarro. Still Almagro's supporters and his son, Diego de Almagro the Younger, sought revenge. In 1541, Pizarro was assassinated by Almagro's supporters. This led to an unstable ruling. While the Spanish did regain control, it delayed their attempt to have a stable government.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Hanke |first=Lewis |date=1972-06-01 |title=C. Harvey Gardiner. ''William Hickling Prescott: A Biography''. Introduction by Allan Nevins. Austin: University of Texas Press. 1969. Pp. xxi, 366. $7.50 and John Hemming. ''The Conquest of the Incas''. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich. 1970. Pp. 641. $12.50 |url=https://doi.org/10.1086/ahr/77.3.827 |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=77 |issue=3 |pages=827–828 |doi=10.1086/ahr/77.3.827 |issn=1937-5239|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

==Aftermath==
[[Image:Pizarro in Lima.JPG|thumb|upright|Pizarro and his followers founding Lima]]
A struggle for power resulted in a long civil war between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro in which Almagro was killed. Almagro's loyal followers and his descendants later avenged his death by killing Pizarro in 1541.  This was done inside the palace of Francisco Pizarro in a fight to the death by these assassins, most of which were former soldiers of Diego de Almagro who were stripped of title and belongings after his death.<ref name="Koch">Koch, Peter O. ''The Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire'', McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers, Jefferson, NC, and London, 2008 {{ISBN?}}.{{page needed|date=November 2024}}</ref>

Despite the war, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Spanish royal authority on these territories was consolidated by the creation of an [[Audiencia Real]], a type of [[appellate court]]. In January 1535, [[Lima]] was founded,<ref>{{Cite web |title=Lima – History {{!}} Britannica |url=https://www.britannica.com/place/Lima/History |access-date=2022-11-13 |website=Encyclopædia Britannica |language=en}}</ref> from which the political and administrative institutions were to be organized. In 1542, the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castile, that shortly after would be called [[Viceroyalty of Peru]]. Nevertheless, the Viceroyalty of Peru was not organized until the arrival of a later Viceroy, [[Francisco de Toledo]], in 1569. [[Francisco de Toledo|Toledo]] ended the indigenous [[Neo-Inca State]] in Vilcabamba, executing the Inca [[Túpac Amaru]]. He resettled the indigenous people in Spanish-style settlements in a process called [[Indian reductions in the Andes|reductions]], promoted economic development using commercial monopoly and increased the production of the silver mines of [[Potosí]], using an Inca institution of forced labor for mandatory public service called ''[[Mita (Inca)|mita]]''.

The integration of Spanish culture into Peru was carried out not only by Pizarro and his other captains, but also by the many Spanish who also came to Peru to exploit its riches and inhabit its land.  These included many different kinds of immigrants such as Spanish merchants, peasants, artisans, and Spanish women. Another element that the Spanish brought with them were African [[Slavery|slaves]] to work alongside captive Incas for use in labor with things such as agriculture and mining for silver.<ref name="Lockhart">Lockhart, James. ''Spanish Peru'', University of Wisconsin Press.</ref> These people all brought with them their own pieces of Spanish culture to integrate into Peruvian society.

===Effects of the conquest on the people of Peru===
The long-term effects of the arrival of the Spanish on the population of South America were catastrophic. While this was the case for every group of Native-Americans invaded by Europeans during this time period, the Inca population suffered an exceptionally dramatic and rapid decline following contact. The population decline for the Inca Empire from 1520 to 1571 is roughly estimated at from 10 to 15 million in 1520 to less than 3 million in 1570 with the population still declining after 1570.<ref name="Newson1985">Newson (1985), pp. 42–43.</ref>

The single greatest cause of the decimation of native populations was Old World infectious diseases, carried by colonists and conquistadors. As these were new to the natives, they had no acquired immunity and suffered very high rates of death. More died of disease than any army or armed conflict.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/smallpox.html|title=Guns Germs & Steel: Variables. Smallpox |publisher=PBS}}</ref> As the Inca did not have as strong a writing tradition as the Aztec or Maya, it is difficult for historians to estimate population decline or any events after conquest. But, it is sometimes argued, and equally disputed among scholars that the Inca began to contract these diseases several years before the Spanish appeared in the region, as it was possibly carried to their empire by traders and travelers. The outbreak, argued to be hemorrhagic [[smallpox]], reached the Andes in 1524. While numbers are unavailable, Spanish records indicate that the population was so devastated by disease that they could hardly resist the foreign forces.

Historians differ as to whether the illness of the 1520s was smallpox; a minority of scholars claim that the epidemic was due to an indigenous illness called Carrion's disease. In any case, a 1981 study by N. D. Cook shows that the Andes suffered from three separate population declines during colonization. The first was of 30–50 percent during the first outbreak of [[smallpox]]. When a [[measles]] outbreak occurred, there was another decline of 25–30 percent. Finally, when smallpox and measles epidemics occurred together, which occurred from 1585 to 1591, a decline of 30–60 percent occurred. Collectively these declines amounted to a decline of 93 percent from the pre-contact population in the Andes region.<ref name="Lovell1992">Lovell (1992).</ref> Mortality was particularly high among children, ensuring that the impact of the epidemics would extend to the next generation.<ref name="Andrien2001" />

Beyond the devastation of the local populations by disease, they suffered considerable enslavement, pillaging and destruction from warfare. The Spanish took thousands of women from the local natives to use as servants and concubines. As Pizarro and his men took over portions of South America, they plundered and enslaved countless people. Some local populations entered into vassalage willingly, to defeat the Inca. Native groups such as the [[Huanca people|Huanca]], [[Cañari]], [[Chanka]], and [[Chachapoya culture|Chachapoya]] fought alongside the Spanish as they opposed Inca rule. The basic policy of the Spanish towards local populations was that voluntary vassalage would yield safety and coexistence, while continued resistance would result in more deaths and destruction.<ref name="Gibson1978">Gibson (1978).</ref>

Another significant effect on the people in South America was the spread of Christianity. As Pizarro and the Spanish subdued the continent and brought it under their control, they forcefully converted many to Christianity, claiming to have educated them in the ways of the "one true religion."<ref name="Andagoya">{{cite book|chapter-url=https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Narrative_of_the_Proceedings_of_Pedrarias_Davila/Narrative_of_Pascual_de_Andagoya|title=Narrative of the Proceedings of Pedrarias Davila|first=Pascual de|last=Andagoya|chapter=Narrative of Pascual de Andagoya |publisher=The Hakluyt Society|access-date=21 June 2019|via=Wikisource}}</ref><ref name="Navarette">{{cite book|last=de Navarette|first=Martin Fernadez|title=Viages menores, y los de Vespucio; Poblaciones en el Darien, suplemento al tomo II|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mWuiNQy_PDQC&pg=PA426|year=1829|language=es}}</ref> With the depopulation of the local populations along with the capitulation of the Inca Empire, the Spanish missionary work after colonization began was able to continue unimpeded. It took just a generation for the entire continent to be under Christian influence.<ref name="Means 1932" />

===Environmental impact===
The arrival of the Spanish also had an unexpected impact on the land itself. Recent research points out that the Spanish conquest altered Peru's shoreline.<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/22/spanish-conquest-peru-shoreline_n_5373521.html|title=Spanish Conquest Altered Peru's Shoreline, New Research Shows|last=Freeman|first=David|date=2014-05-22|work=Huffington Post|access-date=2019-01-18|language=en-US}}</ref> Before the Spaniards arrived, inhabitants of the arid northern Peruvian coast clad massive sandy ridges with an accidental form of "armor", millions of discarded mollusk shells, which protected the ridges from erosion for nearly 4700 years prior to the Spanish arrival, and produced a vast corrugated landscape that is visible from space. This incidental landscape protection came to a swift end, however, after diseases brought by Spanish colonists decimated the local population and after colonial officials resettled the survivors inland, without humans to create the protective covering, newly formed beach ridges simply eroded and vanished.<ref name="Belknap">Belknap, Daniel F. and Sandweiss, Daniel H. [https://www.researchgate.net/publication/262536547_Effect_of_the_Spanish_Conquest_on_coastal_change_in_Northwestern_Peru "Effects of the Spanish Conquest on coastal change in Northwestern Peru" ], Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, 111: 7986–7989.</ref> According to archaeologist Torben Rick, parts of the northern coast of Peru may look completely natural and pristine, "but if you rewind the clock a couple of millennia, you see that people were actively shaping this land by creating beach ridge systems".<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/spanish-conquest-may-have-altered-perus-shoreline|title=Spanish Conquest May Have Altered Peru's Shoreline|last1=Pringle|first1=Heather|date=2014-05-19|website=AAAS|language=en|access-date=2019-01-18}}</ref>

==In fiction==
{{globalize|section|Anglophone media|date=September 2019}}
[[File:Henry Perronet Briggs (1791-1793-1844) - The First Interview between the Spaniards and the Peruvians - N00375 - National Gallery.jpg|thumb|''[[The First Interview Between the Spaniards and the Peruvians]]'' by [[Henry Perronet Briggs]], 1827]]
[[File:Millais, John Everett (Sir) - Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru - Google Art Project.jpg|thumb|''[[Pizarro Seizing the Inca of Peru]]'' by [[John Everett Millais]], 1846]]
[[Jean-François Marmontel|Marmontel]]'s novel ''Les Incas, ou la destruction de l'empire du Perou'' (1777), inspired by [[Bartolomé de Las Casas]]'s ''Account'', tells a fictitious version of the conquest of Peru to portray the author's views on the religious fanaticism of the [[Conquistadors]] and their cruelty to the natives.

An opera of Verdi, ''[[Alzira (opera)|Alzira]]'' (1845), is set during the Conquest. In the play, an Inca called Zamoro wants to find the princess Alzira, who has been engaged to the Conquistador Gusmano.

The second act of Rameau's ''[[Les Indes galantes]]'' (1735) is called ''Les incas du Pérou'' and tells the love story of a Spanish Conquistador and an Inca princess.

The Spanish Comedy ''La aurora en Copacabana'', written by [[Pedro Calderón de la Barca]], dramatizes the Conquest under a religious perspective, adding allegorical characters that represents the Idolatry and the Christian conversion of the Native Peruvians.

The first part of [[Madame de Graffigny]]'s [[epistolary novel]] ''[[Letters from a Peruvian Woman|Lettres d'une Péruvienne]]'' narrates the abduction of Zilia, an Inca princess, by the Spaniards during the Conquest.

[[Peter Shaffer]]'s play ''[[The Royal Hunt of the Sun]]'' (1964) dramatizes the conquest of the Incas. In the play, Pizarro, Atahualpa, Valverde and other historical figures appear as characters.

This event is also narrated as a Science Fiction novelette in [[Randall Garrett]]'s ''[[Despoilers of the Golden Empire]]'' (1959).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.gutenberg.org/files/24091/24091-h/24091-h.htmwww.snpp.com/episodeguide/season20.html|title=Despoilers of the Golden Empire, The Project Gutenberg}}</ref>

The [[Ransom Room]] is the setting of the romance ''Das Gold von Caxamalca'' (1928) by German novelist [[Jakob Wasserman]].

The conquest is also used as a starting point for the [[Matthew Reilly]] novel ''[[Temple (novel)|Temple]]'', where the siege of [[Cusco]] is used. Many historical figures are mentioned, especially Pizarro who is mentioned as the pursuer of the protagonist.

The Inca are featured in the third Campaign in ''[[Age of Empires 3]]'', having a Lost City hidden in the Andes. They are also in the Multiplayer, found primarily in the areas making up Chile and Argentina. In the Definitive Edition of the game they are a playable faction.

The conquest is parodied in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' TV series, in the episode "[[Lost Verizon]]", written by John Frink.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.snpp.com/episodeguide/season20.html |title=The Simpsons Archive, Season 20 |access-date=20 November 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091124054638/http://www.snpp.com/episodeguide/season20.html |archive-date=24 November 2009 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

Pizarro and his fellow conquistadors feature as antagonists in the 1982 animated serial ''[[The Mysterious Cities of Gold]]''.

==Quotes==
{{Blockquote|I wish Your Majesty to understand the motive that moves me to make this statement is the peace of my conscience and because of the guilt I share. For we have destroyed by our evil behaviour such a government as was enjoyed by these natives. They were so free of crime and greed, both men and women, that they could leave gold or silver worth a hundred thousand pesos in their open house. So that when they discovered that we were thieves and men who sought to force their wives and daughters to commit sin with them, they despised us. But now things have come to such a pass in offence of God, owing to the bad example we have set them in all things, that these natives from doing no evil have turned into people who can do no good.. I beg God to pardon me, for I am moved to say this, seeing that I am the last to die of the Conquistadors."
|Mansio Serra Leguizamon<ref>{{cite book |title=Conquistadors |last=Woods |first=Michael |year=2001 |publisher=BBC Worldwide |location=London |isbn=978-0-563-55116-4 |page=272 }}</ref>}}

{{Blockquote|When has it ever happened, either in ancient or modern times, that such amazing exploits have been achieved? Over so many climes, across so many seas, over such distances by land, to subdue the unseen and unknown? Whose deeds can be compared with those of Spain? Not even the ancient Greeks and Romans.|[[Francisco Xeres]]|''Report on the Discovery of Peru''}}

{{Blockquote|When I set out to write for the people of today and of the future, about the conquest and discovery that our Spaniards made here in Peru, I could not but reflect that I was dealing with the greatest matters one could possibly write about in all of creation as far as secular history goes. Where have men ever seen the things they have seen here? And to think that God should have permitted something so great to remain hidden from the world for so long in history, unknown to men, and then let it be found, discovered and won all in our own time!|[[Pedro Cieza de León]]|''Chronicles of Peru''}}

{{Blockquote|The houses are more than two hundred paces in length, and very well built, being surrounded by strong walls, three times the height of a man. The roofs are covered with straw and wood, resting on the walls. The interiors are divided into eight rooms, much better built than any we had seen before. Their walls are of very well cut stones and each lodging is surrounded by its masonry wall with doorways, and has its fountain of water in an open court, conveyed from a distance by pipes, for the supply of the house. In front of the ''plaza'', towards the open country, a stone fortress is connected with it by a staircase leading from the square to the fort. Towards the open country there is another small door, with a narrow staircase, all within the outer wall of the ''plaza''. Above the town, on the mountain side, where the houses commence, there is another fort on a hill, the greater part of which is hewn out of the rock. This is larger than the other, and surrounded by three walls, rising spirally.|[[Francisco Xeres]]|''Massacre, Gold and Civil War''}}

== See also ==
{{Portal|Peru|Spain|South America}}
{{div col}}
* [[Ancient Peru]]
* [[Encomiendas in Peru]]
* [[Habsburg Spain]]
* [[History of Peru]]
* [[Inca society]]
* [[Indian reductions in the Andes]]
* [[Paititi]]
* [[Pambokancha]], an Inca religious site
* [[Reductions]]
* [[List of wars by death toll]]
* [[Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire]]
* [[Spanish conquest of the Maya]]
* [[Spanish conquest of the Muisca]]
* [[Spanish conquest of Yucatán]]
* [[European colonization of the Americas]]
* [[Spanish conquest of Guatemala]]
* [[Conquest of Chile]]{{div col end}}

== Footnotes ==
{{reflist|group=note}}

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

== Bibliography ==
{{div col}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Bauer |first=Brian S. |year=1991 |title=Pacariqtambo and the Mythical Origins of the Inca |journal=[[Latin American Antiquity]] |volume=2 |issue=1 |pages=7–26 |doi=10.2307/971893|jstor= 971893 |s2cid=163333842 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Betanzos |first=Juan de |author-link=Juan de Betanzos |title=Narrative of the Incas |publisher=[[University of Texas Press]] |year=1996 |isbn=978-0-292-75560-4 |editor-last=Hamilton |editor-first=Roland |location=Austin |editor-last2=Buchanan |editor-first2=Dana}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Covey |first=R. Alan |year=2000 |title=Inka Administration of the Far South Coast of Peru |journal=Latin American Antiquity |volume=11 |issue=2 |pages=119–38 |doi=10.2307/971851|jstor= 971851 |s2cid=164195422 }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Gibson |first=Charles |author-link= Charles Gibson (historian) |year=1978 |title=Conquest, Capitulation, and Indian Treaties |journal=The American Historical Review |volume=83 |issue=1 |pages=1–15 |doi=10.2307/1865900|jstor= 1865900 }}
* {{Cite book |title=Conquest of the Incas |last=Hemming |first=John|author-link= John Hemming (explorer) |year=1970 |publisher=Harcourt |location=New York |isbn=978-0-15-122560-6 }}
* {{Cite book |last=Innes |first=Hammond |author-link=Hammond Innes |title=Conquistadors |publisher=[[Alfred A. Knopf]] |year=1969 |location=New York |oclc=23083}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kubler |first=George |author-link=George Kubler |year=1945 |title=The Behavior of Atahualpa, 1531–1533 |journal=[[The Hispanic American Historical Review]] |volume=25 |issue=4 |pages=413–27 |doi=10.2307/2508231 |jstor=2508231}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Kubler |first=George |author-link=George Kubler |year=1947 |title=The Neo-Inca State (1537–1572) |journal=[[The Hispanic American Historical Review]] |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=189–203 |doi=10.2307/2508415 |jstor=2508415}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lockhart |first=James |author-link=James Lockhart (historian) |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CtTGO_EX9JcC |title=Spanish Peru, 1532-1560: a social history |date=1994 |publisher=[[University of Wisconsin Press]] |isbn=978-0-299-14163-9 |edition=2nd |location=Madison}}
* {{Cite book |last=Lockhart |first=James |author-link=James Lockhart (historian) |title=The men of Cajamarca: a social and biographical study of the first conquerors of Peru |date=1972 |publisher=Inst. of Latin American Studies by the [[University of Texas Press]] |isbn=978-0-292-75001-2 |series=Latin American monographs |location=Austin; London}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Lovell |first=W. George |year=1992 |title='Heavy Shadows and Black Night': Disease and Depopulation in Colonial Spanish America |journal=[[Annals of the Association of American Geographers]] |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=426–43 |doi= 10.1111/j.1467-8306.1992.tb01968.x}}
* {{Cite book |title=The Last Days of the Incas |last=Macquarrie |first=Kim |author-link=Kim MacQuarrie |year=2007 |publisher=Simon and Schuster |location=New York |isbn=978-0-7432-6049-7 |url=https://archive.org/details/lastdaysofincas00macq |url-access=registration }}
* {{Cite book |last=Means |first=Philip A. |author-link=Philip Ainsworth Means |title=Fall of the Inca Empire and the Spanish Rule in Peru, 1530–1780 |publisher=[[Charles Scribner's Sons]] |year=1932 |location=New York |oclc=716374563}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Newson |first=Linda A. |year=1985 |title=Indian Population Patterns in Colonial Spanish America |journal=Latin American Research Review |volume=20 |issue=3 |pages=41–74|doi=10.1017/S0023879100021695 |jstor= 2503469 |s2cid=202896817 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite journal |last=Seed |first=Patricia|author-link= Patricia Seed|year=1991 |title='Failing to Marvel': Atahualpa's Encounter with the Word |journal=[[Latin American Research Review]] |volume=26 |issue=1 |pages=7–32 |doi=10.1017/S0023879100034907 |s2cid=252949347 |doi-access=free }}
* {{Cite book |last=Wachtel |first=Nathan |title=The vision of the vanquished: the Spanish conquest of Peru through Indian eyes, 1530–1570 |date=1977 |publisher=The Harvester Press |isbn=978-0-85527-119-0 |location=Hassocks |translator-last=Reynolds |translator-first=Ben |translator-last2=Reynolds |translator-first2=Sian}}
* {{Cite book |last=Ward |first=Thomas |title=Formation of Latin American Nations. From Late Antiquity to Early Modernity |publisher=[[University of Oklahoma Press]] |year=2008 |location=Norman |isbn=9780806161501}}
{{div col end}}

== External links ==
* [http://www.allempires.com/article/index.php?q=inca All Empires Online History Community]
* Inca Rebellion at Lima, [[National Geographic]], {{YouTube|QyJG3aPpq_o|Skeletons of the Inca Rebellion (Full Episode) {{!}} Special }}, 8 Oct 2023

{{Inca Empire topics}}
{{Pre-Columbian}}
{{Peru topics}}
{{Spanish Empire}}
{{Portal bar|Spain|Peru|History}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire| ]]
[[Category:16th-century conflicts]]
[[Category:Viceroyalty of Peru]]
[[Category:16th century in the Inca civilization]]
[[Category:16th century in the Spanish Empire]]
[[Category:Invasions by Spain]]