Francisco Pizarro (1478-1541) was a Spanish conquistador who traveled through much of the Pacific coast of America along Peru. He conquered the Incan empire and conquered it viciously, stealing immense hoards of gold, silver, and other treasures. Francisco Pizarro was not educated and was a distant cousin of the conquistador Hernan Cortes. Pizarro was born in Trujillo, Estremadura, Spain.

            Francisco Pizarro’s major accomplishment was to conquer the Incan empire. In 1503 Pizarro moved to Hispaniola which was part of the new world. There had been rumors of a wealthy Indian empire. That was when Pizarro joined the expeditions to find the Caribbean and parts of South America. This was in 1509. In 1524 the expedition to South America began. In 1527 Peru was found and it was flooded with gold and silver. It had the most of all the other Indian lands. King Charles 1 appointed Pizarro as the governor of Peru.

            Cusco the Incan capital was also captured which shattered the Incan empire. The two half brothers of Peru, Huascar and Atahualpa both wanted to rule and they had war. Francisco Pizarro then took 180 men all the way from Panama and went to Peru. They were armed with everything from gun powder to cannons. There he killed all of the men at war and kidnapped Atahualpa. He allowed Atahualpa to become the ruler on one condition to give a lot of gold and silver. Then Pizarro conquered Cusco. Francisco Pizarro also founded Lima to be the new capital. Many cities were also built.

            Francisco Pizarro made about three to four voyages in his lifetime. His voyages were mostly successful and worthy. The first voyage to Peru was very difficult due to the amount of storms that occurred during the duration of their travel. When they first reached Peru they encountered Indians. They tried talking but the Indians attacked. This slowed down their voyage. He did not make any other encounters. During his voyage Pizarro went to Cusco and Cajamarca.

            Pizarro was welcomed very warmly by the king and many others. Pizarro was rewarded and everybody was happy due to the amount of wealth which was brought back from the expedition. The king appointed Pizarro as governor and captain general. In 1541 Pizarro was killed by Hernan Cortes’s captain because they wanted to rule over Peru and since Pizarro had control that was not possible. Francisco Pizarro had dedicated most of his life to exploration and was never educated because his guardians were very poor. Francisco Pizarro always had a rough life.

            To sum up, I think that Francisco Pizarro’s expedition was very useful and successful. It brought much wealth to the king’s court. It also brought much fame to Francesco Pizarro. He was also promoted to governor. He was very happy with his success and fulfilling his dream. Though he had a sad death he had a happy life. We should all remember his life and achievements. He was always very sincere to his dream.