The Battle of Cajamarca & The Fall of the Incan Empire

The Spanish conquest marked the end of South America's greatest civilization

Painting by Juan Lepiani depicting the capture of Atahualpa in Cajamarca.

On November 16, 1532, a small force of Spanish conquistadors kidnapped the Incan ruler, Atahualpa, in the city of Cajamarca. This event was the culmination of months of espionage, subterfuge, and diplomacy between the Spanish and Incas. The capture of Atahualpa began the conquest of pre-Columbian Peru.

In the forty years since Columbus landed in the Americas, Spain had set up a sizable presence in the region. The conquests of Hernan Cortez put Mexico under Spanish control. The Spanish had established ports in the Caribbean and were establishing footholds in Central America.

Meanwhile, what is today Peru was somewhat isolated. If the Spaniards wanted to reach their land, they had to either go over rough terrain or approach by sea via the Pacific Ocean. In this mountainous region, the Incas built an empire high in the Andes.

The Inca were not an ancient society, only having established thier empire in the 13th century under Emperor Manco Cápac, who made his capital the city of Cusco. At its peak, the Incan Empire stretched from southern Colombia to central Chile and included the modern countries of Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, and northern Argentina. The empire was united under a vast road and trade network. The Inca had a strong central government and thrived with advanced agricultural techniques.

However, by the time the Spanish arrived, the Incan Empire was a shadow of its former glory. In 1527, Emperor Huayan Capac died of a mysterious disease (likely smallpox, which had spread with the arrival of Europeans). His eldest son had also died, leading to a power struggle between his two surviving sons, Huáscar and Atahualpa.

Atahualpa eventaully came out the victor of a bloody civil war in 1532. The war weakened both the Incan administration and the military. Estimates put the death toll at around 100,000 people. It was about this time that the Spaniards showed up.

Francisco Pizarro led the Spaniards. Born in 1474 in Trujillo, Spain, Pizarro joined the expedition of Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his search for the Pacific Ocean. The greedy and power-hungry Pizarro betrayed Balboa, leading to Balboa's arrest and execution. As a reward, Pizarro was made mayor of Panama City.

Tales of wealth in Peru motivated Pizarro to lead expeditions to the land in search of his fortune. He led two expeditions in 1524 and 1526 in explore the Peruvian coast. He then petitioned the Spanish crown for funds for a final expedition to conquer the territory. On December 27, 1530, with three ships, 180 men, and 27 horses, Pizzaro launched his invasion from Panama.

Pizzaro established a base of operations on the coast and monitored developments with the Incas. He watched the developments of the civil war. Fellow conquistador Hernando de Soto reinforced his forces, and they began their move into the interior on September 24, 1532.

While the Spaniards had a technological advantage, they were vastly outnumbered by the Incas. There were millions of people living in the empire. Pizarro's force included 110 infantry, 67 cavalry, three muskets, and two small cannons. There were also logistical issues with supplies and ammunition that would make an open war almost impossible.

Meanwhile, Atahualpa was resting in the mountains of Peru, recovering from the recent war. His men were camped near Cajamarca as he consolidated his power. Although weakened, his army was estimated at around 10,000 men. What they lacked in technology, they made up for in sheer numbers.

However, the ambitious Pizzaro had a plan. He sent his brother, Hernando, along with de Soto and a small contingent to meet with Atahaulpa at his camp. The men invited the ruler to meet with Pizzaro the next day at Cajamarca, to which Atahaulpa agreed.

The next day, Atahualpa arrived with a group of 6,000 to 8,000 people. It is unknown whether this group consisted of military personnel. The rest of Atahualpa's army remained at his camp. This proved to be a fatal mistake.

When they arrived in Cajamarca, Atahualpa was taken to the town square, where a Catholic priest and an interpreter approached him. The priest made two demands. First, Atalhaulpa was to convert to Christianity. Second, he was to swear fealty and pay tribute to Emperor Charles V (King of Spain and the Holy Roman Emperor).

The proud emperor, for obvious reasons, refused the demand. He reportedly stated, "I will be no man's tributary."

At this statement, Pizzaro sprung his trap. His men had hidden in buildings around the central plaza and, at his signal, began firing into the square. Atahualpa's group was ill-prepared for a fight, as they had come for diplomatic reasons, not to fight.

When the fighting began, the Incas were not only caught by surprise but also simultaneously confronted firearms and horses for the first time in their lives. They were in a state of shock, not just from the surprise attack but from the loud guns and the strange creatures these men were riding.

Over the course of the next hour, several thousand Incas were killed, with estimates being placed between 2,000 and 5,000, and thousands more were captured. What has gone down in history as the Battle of Cajamarca was really a massacre.

On the Spanish side, they had zero casualties. The only injury was to Pizzaro himself, who cut his hand when capturing Atahaulpa. The wound did not come from an Inca, but a fellow Spaniard who attempted to kill the Incan ruler. Pizzaro wanted Atahualpa taken alive, and stopped the attempted killing.

The Spaniards had not only captured the Incan emperor, but they had killed the top military leaders who were in his entourage—the remaining Incas, now leaderless, scattered.

Pizzaro put his plan into action to gain the riches he and his men had risked coming to the New World for. He demanded an incredible ransom for Atahualpa's release. The Inca were to provide one room full of gold and two rooms full of silver.

While the Inca were able to put together the ransom, Pizzaro and his men did not hold up thier end of the bargain. Instead, Atahaulpa was put on trial by a Spanish court. He was charged with 12 criminal counts, including killing his brother in the civil war and plotting against the Spanish crown.

Pizzaro had hoped to send Atahaulpa to Spain to face the charges by the crown. However, he was pressured by his men to have the trial in the newly conquered territory. Atahaulpa was found guilty and sentenced to death.

Originally, Atahaulpa was to be burned at the stake; a punishment reserved for heretics. A type of mercy was granted Atahualpa, as he converted to Christianity at the last moment, and was strangled instead.

From all accounts, when word reached Charles back in Spain, he was furious. He wrote to Pizzaro, "We have been displeased by the death of Atahualpa since he was a monarch and particularly as it was done in the name of justice."

With Atahualpa dead, Pizzaro was able to conquer Peru fairly quickly. He did so first with a series of puppet rulers and then directly. The Incan army was a shadow of its former self, with the best leaders and fighters having died in the civil war. While there were minor skirmishes, there were never any major battles.

Peru became one of the major sources of wealth for the Spanish Empire. The silver found there opened up the Spanish galleon trade with China, making Spain one of the wealthiest and most powerful empires in the world for a time.

The Battle, or Massacre, of Carjamarca effectively ended the most powerful empire in the New World. The Spanish did so with a smaller force that used technology, cunning, and timing (including a civil war and widespread disease) to open up the rest of South America to Spain. The Spanish controlled Peru and most of South America for the next 300 years, until independence movements in the 19th-century independence movements.

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