| Atahualpa | |
|---|---|
| Sapa Inca | |
A portrait drawn by employees of Pizarro, 1533. |
|
| Reign | 1532 – July 26, 1533 |
| Quechua | Atawallpa |
| Born | March 20, 1497 |
| Birthplace | Quito, Ecuador |
| Died | July 26, 1533 (aged 36) |
| Place of death | Cajamarca, Peru |
| Buried | Cajamarca, August 29, 1533 |
| Predecessor | Huayna Capac |
| Successor | Túpac Huallpa |
| Consort | Asarpay |
| Dynasty | Hanan Cuzco |
| Father | Huayna Cápac |
| Mother | Ñusta Pacha |
Atahualpa, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa, or Atawallpa (March 20, 1497 – July 26, 1533), was the last Sapa Inca or sovereign emperor of the Tahuantinsuyu, or the Inca Empire, prior to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Atahualpa became emperor upon defeating his older half-brother Huáscar in a civil war sparked by the death of their father, Inca Huayna Capac, from an infectious disease which may have been smallpox.[1]
During the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, the Spaniard Francisco Pizarro captured Atahualpa and used him to control the Inca empire. Eventually, the Spanish executed Atahualpa, ending the Inca Empire (although several successors claimed the title of Sapa Inca ("unique Inca") and led a resistance against the invading Spaniards). After Atahualpa died, the Incan Empire began to fall apart.
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Atahualpa was-hi-the offspring of Inca Huayna Capacfrom Cuzco and Pacha a princess from Quito. The union was a politically expedient one, as the southern Ecuadorian Andes had been conquered by Inca Huayna Capac's father, Inca Túpac Inca Yupanqui some years earlier. There were still elements of revolt among the people.
The final battle between the warring brothers took place at the Battle of Quipaipan, where Huáscar was captured and his army disbanded. Atahualpa had stopped in the city of Cajamarca in the Andes with his army of about 80,000 troops on his way south to Cuzco to claim his throne when he encountered the Spanish led by Pizarro.
In January 1531, a Spanish expedition landed on what is now the northern coast of Ecuador; led by Francisco Pizarro. Its 180 men and 37 horses were on a quest to conquer the Inca Empire.[2] The Spaniards advanced to the south and occupied Tumbes, where they found out about the civil war between Huáscar and Atahualpa.[3] After receiving reinforcements, Pizarro founded the city of San Miguel de Piura in September 1532 and then marched towards the heart of the Inca Empire with a force of 106 foot-soldiers and 62 horsemen.[4] At that time, Atahualpa and his army were in Cajamarca; on hearing about the party of strangers advancing through the empire, he sent an Inca noble to investigate them.[5] This envoy stayed for two days in the Spanish camp, studied the weapons and horses, and delivered an invitation to the Spanish to visit Cajamarca to meet Atahualpa.[6] Atahualpa did not consider the small Spanish force a threat so he let them march to meet him, expecting to capture them personally; thus, Pizarro and his men advanced unopposed through some very difficult terrain, arriving to Cajamarca on November 15, 1532.[7]
The town of Cajamarca was mostly empty except for a few hundred acllas; the Spaniards occupied long buildings on the main plaza. Atahualpa and his army had camped on a hill close to Cajamarca; he occupied a building close to the Konoj hot springs while his soldiers had erected numerous tents around him.[8] Pizarro sent an embassy to the Inca, led by Hernando de Soto with 15 horsemen and an interpreter; shortly thereafter he sent 20 more horsemen led by his brother Hernando Pizarro as reinforcements in case of an Inca attack.[9] During the interview, the Spaniards invited Atahualpa to visit Cajamarca to meet Francisco Pizarro; the Inca promised to go the following day.[10] In the town, Pizarro prepared an ambush to trap the Inca: the Spanish cavalry and infantry occupied three long buildings around the plaza, while some musketeers and four pieces of artillery were located in a stone structure in the middle of the square.[11] The plan was to persuade Atahualpa to submit to the authority of the Spaniards and, if this failed, there were two options: a surprise attack if success seemed possible or to keep a friendly stand if the Inca forces appeared too powerful.[12]
The following day, Atahualpa left his camp at midday preceded by a large number of men in ceremonial attire; as the procession advanced slowly, Pizarro sent his brother Hernando to invite the Inca to enter Cajamarca before nightfall.[13] Atahualpa entered the town late in the afternoon in a litter carried by eighty lords; with him were four other lords in litters and hammocks and 5-6,000 men carrying small battle axes, slings and pouches of stones underneath their clothes.[14] The Inca found no Spaniards in the plaza, as they were all inside the buildings; the only one to come out was the Dominican friar Vicente de Valverde with an interpreter.[15] Although there are different accounts as to what Valverde said, most agree that he invited the Inca to come inside to talk and dine with Pizarro. Atahualpa instead demanded the return of every single thing the Spaniards had taken since they landed.[16] According to eyewitness accounts, Valverde then spoke about the Catholic religion but did not deliver the requerimiento, a speech requiring the listener to submit to the authority of the Spanish Crown and accept the Christian faith.[17] At Atahualpa's request, Valverde gave him his breviary but after a brief examination, the Inca threw it to the ground; Valverde hurried back toward Pizzarro, calling on the Spaniards to attack.[18] At that moment, Pizarro gave the signal; the Spanish infantry and cavalry came out of their hiding places and charged the unsuspecting Inca retinue, killing a great number while the rest fled in panic.[19] Pizarro led the charge on Atahualpa but managed to capture him only after killing all those carrying him and turning over his litter.[20] Not a single Spanish soldier was killed.
On November 17 the Spaniards sacked the Inca army camp in which they found great on ice, silver and emeralds. Noticing their lust for precious metals, Atahualpa offered to fill a large room about 22 feet (6.7 m) long and 17 feet (5.2 m) wide up to a height of 8 feet (2.4 m) once with gold and twice with silver within two months.[21] It is commonly believed that the Inca offered this ransom to regain his freedom; however, it seems likelier that he did so to avoid being killed, as none of the early chroniclers mention any commitment by the Spaniards to free Atahualpa once the metals were delivered.[22]
Outnumbered and fearing an imminent attack from the ice general Rumiñahui, after several months the Spanish saw Atahualpa as too much of a liability and decided to execute him. Pizarro staged a mock trial and found Atahualpa guilty of revolting against the Spanish, practicing idolatry and murdering Huáscar, his brother. Atahualpa was sentenced to execution by burning. He was horrified, since the Inca believed that the soul would not be able to go on to the afterlife if the body were burned. Friar Vicente de Valverde, who had earlier offered his breviary to Atahualpa, intervened, telling Atahualpa that if he agreed to convert to Catholicism, he would convince Pizarro to commute the sentence. Atahualpa agreed to be baptized into the Catholic faith. He was given the name Juan Santos Atahualpa. In accordance with his request, he was strangled with a garrote instead of being burned on July 26, 1533. Following his execution, his clothes and some of his skin were burned, and his remains were given a Christian burial.[23] Atahualpa was succeeded by his brother, the puppet Inca Túpac Huallpa, and later by another brother Manco Inca.
After Pizarro's death, Inés Yupanqui, the favorite sister of Atahualpa, who had been given to Pizarro in marriage by her brother, married a Spanish cavalier named Ampuero and left for Spain. They took her daughter with them, and she was later legitimized by imperial decree. Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui married her uncle Hernándo Pizarro in Spain, on October 10, 1537— they had a son, Francisco Pizarro y Pizarro. This son, in turn, married twice and had offspring, the Marqueses de La Conquista. The Pizarro line survived Hernando's death, although it is currently extinct in the male line. Pizarro's third son, by a relative of Atahualpa renamed Angelina, who was never legitimized, died shortly after reaching Spain.[24] Another relative, Catalina Capa-Yupanqui, who died in 1580, married a Portuguese nobleman named António Ramos, son of António Colaço and wife Violante Fernandes Veloso. Their daughter was Francisca de Lima, who married Álvaro de Abreu de Lima, another Portuguese nobleman, and had issue in Portugal.
| Preceded by Huáscar |
Sapa Inca 1532–1533 |
Succeeded by Túpac Huallpa (de facto) |