Battle of Cajamarca Peruvian history [1532] Actions Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Cajamarca-1532 Give Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　External Websites Weapons and Warfare - Cajamarca Print Cite verifiedCite While every effort has been made to follow citation style rules, there may be some discrepancies. Please refer to the appropriate style manual or other sources if you have any questions. Select Citation Style MLA APA Chicago Manual of Style Copy Citation Share Share Share to social media Facebook X URL https://www.britannica.com/event/Battle-of-Cajamarca-1532 Feedback External Websites Feedback Corrections? Updates? Omissions? Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). Feedback Type Select a type (Required) Factual Correction Spelling/Grammar Correction Link Correction Additional Information Other Your Feedback Submit Feedback Thank you for your feedback Our editors will review what you’ve submitted and determine whether to revise the article.

　　External Websites Weapons and Warfare - Cajamarca Written by Michael Kerrigan Michael Kerrigan has written many books, including volumes on Greece and the Mediterranean and Rome for the BBC Ancient Civilizations series and Ancients in their Own Words (2009). Coauthor of... Michael Kerrigan Fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Encyclopaedia Britannica's editors oversee subject areas in which they have extensive knowledge, whether from years of experience gained by working on that content or via study for an advanced degree. They write new content and verify and edit content received from contributors. The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica Last Updated: Oct 3, 2024 • Article History Table of Contents Also called: Massacre of Cajamarca (Show more) Date: November 15, 1532 (Show more) Location: Cajamarca Peru (Show more) Participants: Inca Spain (Show more) Key People: Atahuallpa Francisco Pizarro (Show more) See all related content → Ask the Chatbot a Question Ask the Chatbot a Question

　　Francisco Pizarro's ruthless quest for El DoradoFrancisco Pizarro, who arrived in Peru to find the legendary lost city of gold, El Dorado, overthrew the wealthy Incan Empire and inaugurated Spanish rule there.(more)See all videos for this articleOn November 14, 1532, a small force of 168 Spanish soldiers and auxiliaries, led by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro, arrived in the valley of Cajamarca, in the Andean highlands of what is now Peru. Arrayed against them on the surrounding hillsides were an estimated 80,000 Inca soldiers. When battle was joined the next morning, the noise and smoke of fire-flashing European weapons, as much as their deadly destructiveness, quickly carried the day for the Spanish.

　　Atahuallpa, the Inca king, had allowed Pizarro’s expedition to pass unhindered into his realms. The Incas were observing a religious fast and decided that so negligible a group of interlopers could wait. The Incas finally confronted the Spaniards in the main square of Cajamarca, but Atahuallpa left the bulk of his army outside the provincial city.

　　Britannica Quiz A History of War Pizarro, impatiently questing for riches and battle-tested, relied on the advantages of surprise and shock that the sight of horses, firearms, and iron weaponry and armor had given his compatriots wherever they went in the Americas. With those advantages, he intended to borrow a page from Hernán Cortés, kidnapping Atahuallpa as Cortés had kidnapped the Aztec emperor Montezuma and forced him to relinquish his rule.

　　Pizarro’s troops stayed calm as Atahuallpa and his bodyguard came out to negotiate. Handed a prayer book and ordered to renounce his gods, the Inca king threw it down. Soon after, Pizarro ordered an attack. His men opened fire on the astonished Incas, killing 7,000. Not a single Spanish soldier was badly hurt.

　　For all the power of their firearms, the conquistadors prevailed so quickly because the Incas were effectively shocked into submission. The king was a god to his subjects, and the fact that the Spanish had laid hands on him and taken him prisoner shook their worldview to the core. The Incas paid an enormous ransom in gold for the release of Atahuallpa, but Pizarro still had Atahuallpa murdered and replaced the Inca throne with Spanish rule.