Pizarro Executes Atahualpa: Inca Empire Destroyed
Francisco Pizarro ordered the execution of Atahualpa, the last Sapa Inca, on August 29, 1533, despite the fact that Atahualpa had paid the largest ransom in history: a room filled with gold and twice with silver. Pizarro convicted Atahualpa of treason and idol worship in a sham trial conducted through translators who barely spoke the language. The execution removed the last organized authority in the Inca Empire, allowing Pizarro to install a puppet emperor and consolidate Spanish control over a territory stretching from modern Ecuador to Chile. The gold and silver from Atahualpa's ransom was melted down and shipped to Spain, where it fueled Habsburg wars across Europe for decades.
August 29, 1533
493 years ago
Key Figures & Places
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