DIEGO DE ALMAGRO

Born in 1475, Diego de Almagro was a Spanish conquistador, a true leader in the conquest for Peru.  Although Diego de Almagro died in 1538, during the years he collaborated with the famous Francisco Pizarro, taking a huge role in the first and second expeditions of 1524 and then again from 1526 to 1528.  Then in 1532, Almagro with Pizarro got involved in a bloody battle of the Incas.

Just two years later, Almagro assisted Banalcazar in upsetting Pedro de Alvarado during the conquest for Ecuador.  Unfortunately, the two of them were not as powerful as the Pizarro brothers, which resulted in Almagro losing his share of the division of spoils.  However, Almagro was given the lands located south of Cuzco.

Then in 1535, he decided to march, although difficult during this hard time.  Even so, he forged ahead through the cold and frozen cordillera of the Andes, some believe heading as far as Coquimbo, which is in today’s Chile.  However, Almagro arrived only to find there was no gold.  Therefore, he turned back to the north, heading to the Atacama Desert wasteland.

Believing Cuzco was within his jurisdiction, he seized it in 1537, taking the city from Hernando Pizarro whom he had actually set free.  The result was a Civil War erupting.  However, Almagro and his forces were soon defeated.  Begging for his life, Almagro was granted it although by the orders of Hernando Pizarro, he ended up being strangled anyway.

In 1542, Diego de Almagro’s half-Native American son inherited all of his rights.  With that, his son led the revolt, which started out with Francisco Pizarro’s assassination.  However, just a few months later, he was captured and executed by Vaca de Castro, the new governor.