Francisco Pizarro Net Worth

Background and career

Francisco Pizarro, 1st Marquess of the Conquest (; Spanish: [fɾanˈθisko piˈθaro]; c. 1478 – 26 June 1541), was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire.

Born in Trujillo, Spain, to a poor family of pig farmers, Pizarro chose to pursue fortune and adventure in the New World. He went to the Gulf of Urabá and accompanied Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his crossing of the Isthmus of Panama, where they became the first Europeans to see the Pacific Ocean from the Americas. He served as mayor of the newly founded Panama City for a few years and undertook two failed expeditions to Peru. In 1529, Pizarro obtained permission from the Crown of Castile to lead a campaign to conquer Peru and went on his third, and successful, expedition.

When Peru was found in a vulnerable state of civil war, Pizarro moved inland and founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Piura. After a series of manoeuvres that heavily relied on the Spanish guns and cavalry, Pizarro captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa at the Battle of Cajamarca in November 1532. A ransom for the emperor's release was demanded and Atahualpa filled a room with gold to the highest point he could reach, but Pizarro charged him with various crimes and executed him by garrotting in July 1533. The same year, Pizarro entered the Inca capital of Cuzco and completed his conquest of Peru. In January 1535, he founded the city of Lima, and in 1537 he was created the 1st Marquess of the Conquest (Spanish: Marqués de la Conquista) by the Crown of Castile. Pizarro eventually fell victim to political power struggles and was assassinated in 1541.