and the succession crisis caused by the deaths of the old emperor
and his heir, the Inca Empire was thrown into confusion.x In the civil war between the two remaining sons, Huascar and
Atahualpa, Atahualpa prevailed. Apparently an able leader,
Atahualpa had been able to call on the allegiance of the army
and marched in triumph to
the capital.x It was precisely at this
dramatic moment that
Francisco Pizarro and his
army of 167 Spaniards
appeared, marching inland
from the coast near where
Atahualpa was encamped.The Spaniards
x Pizarro was the illegitimate
son of a Spanish military
RI¿FHUInspired by the tales
of Cortés’s success, he went
to the New World and made
several attempts to mount an
expedition into unexplored
southern areas. He entered
into a partnership with
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encountered the raft of the Inca merchants in 1527.
x With the goods seized in this encounter as evidence, Pizarro returned
to Spain, seeking royal backing for a major expedition. He got
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authorizing him to conquer Peru and naming him governor.x Pizarro sailed from Panama on December 27, 1530. He proceeded
slowly along the coast, eventually reaching Inca territory butFrancisco Pizarro managed to bring
down the mighty Inca Empire with
even fewer men than Cortés had
commanded.© Manuel González Olaechea/Wikimedia Commons/ CC BY-SA 3.0.