Francisco Pizarro might be one of the most infamous names from the European Colonial Era. He is known for his conquests of the Inca Empire at the time that were filled with casualties. Pizarro may have been able to provide Spain with a lot of gold and establish a new colony for his home nation, but it came at a great cost. Here are some interesting facts about this man who once had one of the most famous names in the world.
1. He Was Born With Nothing
Many of the explorers during the Colonial Era came from families with prestige. Some of them even had royal connections. That is most definitely not the case when it comes to Pizzaro. We don’t really know when he was born because he was a love child. His father was a soldier in the Spanish army and his mother was one of the servants in his home. Because of this, he was never formally schooled and his job was to feed the family pigs.
2. A Panama Man
Pizarro’s bloody efforts with the Inca Empire are actually one of his last acts as an explorer. He had already been exploring the New World for over two decades. He was even with Balboa when they discovered the Pacific Ocean on the other side of the continent. Pizarro owned plenty of land in Panama and was as respected as he was wealthy.
3. A Family Man
There are other explorers associated with Pizarro, but the reality is that he was more of a family man than anything else. He had four half-brothers with him on his explorations that would wind up conquering the Inca Empire and it was these brothers that he trusted the most. It is this core group of brothers that would wind up bringing great wealth to Spain. One of his brothers he trusted so much that Pizarro gave him the honor of going back home twice with the gold payments that were destined for the royal purse.
4. Ridiculously Rich
Why did Pizarro pursue the Inca Empire so violently? It was because it was laden in silver and gold. In just one action, his share of a purse was over 600 pounds of gold and a half-ton of silver. It was a fortune that would be worth millions today. He was also involved in the conquering of Cuzco, so the amount of wealth that his exploration brought him would have made him one of the wealthiest people in the world at that time.
5. Not a Popular Guy
To say that the nation of Peru doesn’t think highly of Pizarro would be an understatement. Statues of him have had to be removed from prominent locations because of his reputation. His reputation, in fact, would also lead to his death. After double-crossing a fellow explorer, he was assassinated by that explorer’s son.
6 Creating the New Peru
With the help of his brothers, Pizarro assisted in the overthrowing of Peru. Three years later he founded the new capital, Lima. With rising tensions among the groups of conquistadors, Pizarro engaged with his brothers at the Battle of Las Salinas. After capturing and executing a former associate of his, members of opposing party avenged his death and assassinated Pizarro in 1541.
Pizarro helped to establish the identity of the New World, but it wasn’t in a peaceful manner. History remembers him as an explorer, but many think of him as a conqueror instead.
