Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro (
1502 –
April 10,
1548) was a
Spanish conquistador and younger half-brother of
Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the
Inca Empire.
Born in
Trujillo,
Spain, Gonzalo Pizarro accompanied his brother Francisco in his third expedition for the
conquest of Peru in
1532. Gonzalo was also the brother of
Hernando Pizarro and
Juan Pizarro. A lieutenant of his brother Francisco during the conquest, Gonzalo Pizarro was one of the most corrupt, brutal and ruthless conquistadors of the
New World, being far less restrained towards the natives and the Inca than his older brothers.
After Inca emperor
Atahualpa was captured in the
Battle of Cajamarca and later executed on
August 29,
1533, the
Pizarro brothers and their followers marched towards the Inca capital of
Cuzco to complete the conquest.
Soon discords arose between Francisco Pizarro and
Diego de Almagro concerning their leadership in the newly conquered land of the
Incas. As a result, Almagro left Cuzco in 1534 and was given the honor of Spanish
King Charles I to explore the southern part of Peru (modern-day Chile) and look for more treasures there. Upon his departure, Gonzalo and Juan were appointed by Francisco as
garrisons of Cuzco without Almagro knowing it.
Gonzalo and
Juan Pizarro both looked after the
settlements in Cuzco, while their eldest brother Francisco explored the west coast of northern Peru and founded the city of
Lima in
1535. Gonzalo, Juan and his younger brother Hernándo ruled Cuzco with
dictatorship,
greed,
corruption, and brutality, torturing and executing those who refused to accept Spanish rule. Their corrupt rule also brought a rebellion by the Inca's under
Manco Capac, who began to fight for equal rights and demanded freedom from harsh Spanish rule. The Inca's fought the
Spaniards in a number of
sieges and
battles for control of the land and temporarily captured Cuzco in
May 6,
1536. The Inca's were later defeated by the heavily armed Spanish soldiers led by Gonzalo and Juan.
Smallpox was also spread among the natives and many perished.
When Almagro returned from Chile disappointed in not finding any gold, he captured and imprisoned Gonzalo and Hernándo in
1537. They eventually managed to escape and re-join Francisco Pizarro on their return to Lima. When Gonzalo and Hernándo noticed that Almagro also wanted to take control of Cuzco, they fought against him in the
Battle of Las Salinas in April of
1538. In the course of these events, Almagro left for
Lima for a negotiation with Francisco on who would control Cuzco. Gonzalo and Hernándo heard of Almagro's threatening intentions and led an army against him, defeating his forces and later condemning him for treason. Almagro was executed on
July 8,
1538, under Hernándo's orders.
In 1541, Gonzalo was declared the governor of
Quito. Not satisfied and at the urging of Francisco Pizarro, he led an expedition east of Quito with
Francisco de Orellana in search of the fabled city of
El Dorado and of
The country of cinnamon ("País de la Canela"). In Quito, Gonzalo was able to recruit 220 Spaniards and 4,000 Native Americans. The second-in-command, Orellana, was sent to
Guayaquil to recruit more troops and horses. Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers left Quito on February of 1541, a month before Orellana, who was able to bring 23 men and several horses. By March both met at the valley of
Zumaco and started their march towards crossing the
Andes. After following the courses of the
Coca and
Napo rivers, the expedition started running out of provisions. About 140 of the 220 Spaniards and 3,000 out of 4,000 natives had died. On February of 1542, they decided Orellana would continue sailing down the Napo river in search of food along with 50 men.
After a brief time, Gonzalo thought the expedition was a whole failure and decided to take a route north back to Quito with 80 of the remaining men, unknowingly relinquishing the success to Orellana, who ended discovering and exploring the entire length of the
Amazon River.
Upon his return to Quito, Gonzalo learned that the
Almagristas (as the followers of Almagro were called) had assassinated his brother Francisco Pizarro on
June 26,
1541 in retaliation for Almagro's execution. By this time the
Crown's representative,
Cristóbal Vaca de Castro, had arrived in Peru amidst the confusion after Pizarro's death. Gonzalo Pizarro offered to help capture those responsible for his brother's death, but was refused. King
Charles V then appointed
Blasco Núñez Vela as Peru's first viceroy in 1544. Núñez introduced the
New Laws, which were framed by
Bartolomé de Las Casas to protect the
Indigenous. Many of the conquistadors living in Peru were against these laws since they could no longer exploit the natives. This prompted Gonzalo Pizarro and
Francisco de Carvajal to organize an army of followers with the intent of suppressing the New Laws, defeating Núñez in 1546. Soon the support for Gonzalo diminished when the King's new representative,
Pedro de La Gasca, arrived with the intention of offering pardon and repealing the New Laws. Most of Gonzalo's army deserted just before the crucial battle that would determine the fate of the conquest. No longer supported with an army against the King's new representative, Gonzalo Pizarro surrendered and was beheaded.
* Gonzalo Pizarro was portrayed briefly in
Werner Herzog's 1972 film
Aguirre, the Wrath of God.
