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KF5JRV > TODAY    16.11.19 13:03z 54 Lines 2994 Bytes #999 (0) @ WW
BID : 17872_KF5JRV
Read: GUEST
Subj: Today in History - Nov 16
Path: HB9ON<IK7NXU<HB9CSR<IR2UBX<OK0NBR<OK0PBR<OK2PEN<N3HYM<NS2B<KF5JRV
Sent: 191116/1232Z 17872@KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA BPQK6.0.18

On November 16, 1532, Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and
conquistador, springs a trap on the Incan emperor, Atahualpa. With fewer
than 200 men against several thousand, Pizarro lures Atahualpa to a
feast in the emperor’s honor and then opens fire on the unarmed Incans.
Pizarro’s men massacre the Incans and capture Atahualpa, forcing him to
convert to Christianity before eventually killing him.

Pizarro’s timing for conquest was perfect. By 1532, the Inca Empire was
embroiled in a civil war that had decimated the population and divided
the people’s loyalties. Atahualpa, the younger son of former Incan ruler
Huayna Capac, had just deposed his half-brother Huascar and was in the
midst of reuniting his kingdom when Pizarro arrived in 1531, with the
endorsement of Spain’s King Charles V. On his way to the Incan capital,
Pizarro learned of the war and began recruiting soldiers still loyal to
Huascar.

Pizarro met Atahualpa just outside Cajamarca, a small Incan town tucked
into a valley of the Andes. Sending his brother Hernan as an envoy,
Pizarro invited Atahualpa back to Cajamarca for a feast in honor of
Atahualpa’s ascendance to the throne. Though he had nearly 80,000
soldiers with him in the mountains, Atahualpa consented to attend the
feast with only 5,000 unarmed men. He was met by Vicente de Valverde, a
friar traveling with Pizarro. While Pizarro’s men lay in wait, Valverde
urged Atahualpa to convert and accept Charles V as sovereign. Atahualpa
angrily refused, prompting Valverde to give the signal for Pizarro to
open fire. Trapped in tight quarters, the panicking Incan soldiers made
easy prey for the Spanish. Pizarro’s men slaughtered the 5,000 Incans in
just an hour. Pizarro himself suffered the only Spanish injury: a cut on
his hand sustained as he saved Atahualpa from death.


Realizing Atahualpa was initially more valuable alive than dead, Pizarro
kept the emperor in captivity while he made plans to take over his
empire.In response,Atahualpa appealed to his captors’ greed, offering
them a room full of gold and silver in exchange for his liberation.
Pizarro consented, but after receiving the ransom, Pizarro brought
Atahualpa up on charges of stirring up rebellion. By that time,
Atahualpa had played his part in pacifying the Incans while Pizarro
secured his power, and Pizarro considered him disposable. Atahualpa was
to be burned at the stake—the Spanish believed this to be a fitting
death for a heathen—but at the last moment, Valverde offered the emperor
clemency if he would convert. Atahualpa submitted, only to be executed
by strangulation. The day was August 29, 1533.

Fighting between the Spanish and the Incas would continue well after
Atahualpa’s death as Spain consolidated its conquests. Pizarro’s bold
victory at Cajamarca, however, effectively marked the end of the Inca
Empire and the beginning of the European colonization of South America.

73, Scott KF5JRV
Pmail: KF5JRV @ KF5JRV.#NWAR.AR.USA.NA
Email: KF5JRV@GMAIL.com



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