Brothers Pizarro
The Pizarro family was a Spanish conquistador family from Extremadura . It was particularly active in the 16th century and has a special role in the history of South America .
origin
The four brothers come from a small family from Trujillo . Her father Gonzalo Pizarro was married to Isabel de Vargas and had three children with her (one of them Hernando). Francisco was an illegitimate child, as was Juan and Gonzalo, but they had a different mother named María Alonso. In total, Gonzalo had four sons and five daughters with four wives.
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco probably came to the New World in 1502 . He took part in the expedition of the Balboa , on which the South Sea (Pacific) was discovered. From Panama he explored the coast and in 1532 conquered the gigantic empire of the Inca with an army of 159 men by capturing the ruler Atahualpa in a stroke of a hand . He was appointed governor of New Castile (Peru) and founded the capital Ciudad de los Reyes, today's Lima . Francisco was killed in Lima in 1541 by supporters of his original partner and later competitor Diego de Almagro . With him, his maternal half-brother, Francisco Martín de Alcántara, died.
Hernando Pizarro
Hernando followed Francisco to the New World in 1530 and took part in the conquest of Peru. He got into conflict with Almagro and had him executed. When he returned to Spain in 1539, he was sentenced to life imprisonment. He had five children with Doña Francisca Pizarro y Yupanqui , the illegitimate daughter of Francisco Pizarro.
Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo also followed Francisco in 1530 and took part in the conquest of Peru. On the two-year " Zimtland Expedition " 1540–1542, he penetrated the Amazon region. After the death of his brother Francisco and the enactment of the New Laws to Protect the Indians, he led a rebellion against the king. After a military defeat , he was executed.
Juan Pizarro
Juan also took part in the conquest of Peru. As the youngest, he was less important and therefore less well known. When the new Inca Manco Cápac II besieged the city of Cuzco in an uprising , Juan was fatally wounded in the battle.
progeny
The four Pizarros had a total of twelve children. The children were born (almost exclusively out of wedlock) in Peru. Only Hernando Pizarro, who married a daughter of Francisco Pizarro, propagated the name Pizarro in Spain; one of their grandsons, who was also called Hernando, was appointed Marqués de la Conquista by Philip IV .