Francisco pizarro biography expedition dates
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Francisco Pizarro
Explorer
Age of Discovery
Quick Facts:
Francisco Pizarro contributed to the Spanish empire gaining control over South America by conquering the great Inca Empire in Peru
Francisco Pizarro portrait
Copy of a portrait of Francisco Pizarro, Marques, 1470(?)-1541. The Mariners Museum PP781
Introduction
The promise of wealth and adventure in the New World led to Francisco Pizarro to becoming one of Spain’s most victorious conquistadors (Spanish for “conqueror”). Pizarro took several expeditions throughout South America, gaining land and wealth for Spain. His journeys took him across the Atlantic Ocean, through tropical jungles, over mountains, and across the coastal deserts of South America.1 He is best known for his killing of the Inca king, Atahualpa, and conquering the Inca Empire. But what he really did was establish Spanish roots for the conquest and colonization of Peru.
Biography
Early Life
Francisco Pizarro was born around 1475 in Truj
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Francisco Pizarro
(1476-1541)
Who Was Francisco Pizarro?
In 1513, Francisco Pizarro joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his march to the "South Sea," during which Balboa discovered the Pacific Ocean. In 1532, Pizarro and his brothers conquered Peru. Three years later, Pizarro founded the nation's new capital, Lima. Pizarro was assassinated on June 26, 1541, in Lima, Peru, by vengeful members of an enemy faction of conquistadors.
Early Years
Pizarro was born an illegitimate child circa 1476, in Trujillo, Spain — an area stricken by poverty. His father, Captain Gonzalo Pizarro, was a poor farmer. His mother, Francisca González, was of humble heritage. Pizarro grew up without learning how to read. Instead, he herded his father's pigs.
As a young man, Pizarro heard tales of the New World and was seized by a lust for fortune and adventure. In 1510, he accompanied Spanish explorer Alonzo de Ojeda on a voyage to Urabá, Colombia. Although the expedition was unfruitful, Pizar
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Francisco Pizarro: Early Life
Francisco Pizarro was born in 1474 in Trujillo, Spain. His father, Captain Gonzalo Pizarro, was a poor farmer. His mother, Francisca González, was also of low birth, and was not married to Pizarro’s father.
Tempted by tales of adventure in the New World, in 1510, Pizarro joined 300 settlers led bygd Alonso dem Ojeda to establish a colony on the South American coast. They named the träskig colony in today’s Colombia “San Sebastian.” With food supplies running low, Ojeda left the colony to get supplies, leaving Pizarro in charge. Only 100 of the original 300 settlers survived the tropical heat and diseases in their new home, and the remaining survivors returned to Cartagena. In Cartagena, Pizarro joined forces with Vasco Núñez de Balboa to funnen a new colony, Darién, on the western side of the Gulf of Urabá. It became the first stable Spanish settlement on the South American continent.
In 1513, Pizarro acted as captain for Vasco Núñez dem Balboa on the trip