Battle of Cajamarca
Part of the Spanish conquest of Peru
Contemporary engraving of the Battle of Cajamarca, showing Emperor Atahualpa surrounded on his palanquin.
Date November 16, 1532 Location Cajamarca, Peru Result Spanish victory
Combatants
Aragon and Castille	Inca Empire
Commanders
Francisco Pizarro	Atahualpa
Strength
106 infantry 62 cavalry 3 guns	80,000 soldiers of Atahualpa's personal army
Casualties
5 dead[1], 2 wounded	7,000

The Battle of Cajamarca was a surprise attack on the Inca royal entourage orchestrated by Francisco Pizarro. Sprung in the evening of November 16, 1532 in the great plaza of Cajamarca, the ambush, lasting no more than half an hour, achieved its singular goal of capturing Emperor Atahualpa. There lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its poverty. ... Image File history File links Inca-Spanish confrontation in Cajamarca This work is presumed to be copyrighted, but its source has not been determined. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events May 16 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ... This article is about the city of Cajamarca. ... Image File history File links Size of this preview: 504 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (1178 × 1402 pixel, file size: 247 KB, MIME type: image/png) File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... For the a general view of Inca civilisation, people and culture, see Incas. ... “Pizarro” redirects here. ... Lifetime portrait of Atahuallpa, the last sovereign Inca emperor Atahualpa or Atawallpa (c. ... The Battle of Punta Quemada, fought sometime in January 1525, was a brief but deadly encounter between a band of Spanish conquistadors and a the warlike natives of Colombia, now thought to be a northern tributary tribe to the Andean Kingdom of Quito. ... The Battle of Puná, a peripheral engagement of Francisco Pizarros conquest of Peru, was fought in April 1531 on the island of Puná (in the Gulf of Guayaquil). ... The Battle of Cuzco was fought in 1533 between the Spanish and the Incas. ... The Battle of Las Salinas was a confrontation between the forces of Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro against those of Diego de Almagro, on April 6, 1538. ... For the a general view of Inca civilisation, people and culture, see Incas. ... “Pizarro” redirects here. ... is the 320th day of the year (321st in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Events May 16 - Sir Thomas More resigns as Lord Chancellor of England. ... This article is about the city of Cajamarca. ... Lifetime portrait of Atahuallpa, the last sovereign Inca emperor Atahualpa or Atawallpa (c. ...

The confrontation at Cajamarca was the culmination of a months-long contest of espionage, subterfuge, and diplomacy conducted by Pizarro and the Inca via their respective envoys. Atahualpa had received the invaders from a position of immense strength. Encamped along the heights of Cajamarca with legions of battle-tested troops fresh from their victories in the civil war against his half-brother Huascar, the Inca had little to fear from Pizarro's minute army, however extravagant its dress and weaponry. In a calculated show of goodwill, he had lured the adventurers deep into the heart of his mountain empire where any potential threat could be met with a show of force. The Spaniards arrived on November 15. Atahualpa, according to Spanish sources, planned to recruit a few of the conquistadores into his own service and to appropriate Spanish firearms and horses for his armies.^{[citation needed]} He would then execute the others at his leisure.^{[citation needed]} A civil war is a war in which parties within the same culture, society or nationality fight against each other for the control of political power. ... Alternate meaning: Huáscar (warship) Huascar, in full Inti Cusi Huallpa Huáscar (“Sun of Joy”) (died 1532). ... is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... A Conquistador (Spanish: []) (English: Conqueror) was a Spanish soldier, explorer and adventurer who took part in the gradual invasion and conquering of much of the Americas and Asia Pacific, bringing them under Spanish colonial rule between the 15th and 19th centuries. ...

According to a book called History Of The Conquest Of Peru, written by 19th century author William H. Prescott, he recounts the Spanish invasion in the city plaza, any assault on the Inca armies overlooking the valley would have rightly seemed suicidal. Retreat was equally out of the question, because any gesture of weakness that might undermine their inflated display of potency would invite furious pursuit and the sealing of the mountain passes. Once the great stone fortresses dotting their route of escape were garrisoned, argued Pizarro, they would prove impenetrable. But to do nothing, he added, to dally in the fragile and fleeting safety of the Inca's good graces, was no better, since prolonged contact with the natives would erode the fears of Spanish supernaturality that kept them at bay. William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 - January 29, 1859) was a historian. ... For other uses, see Supernatural (disambiguation). ...

Pizarro gathered his officers on the evening of November 15 and outlined a scheme that, in its audacity, recalled memories of Hernán Cortés' exploits in Mexico: he would capture the emperor from within the midst of his own armies. Since this could not realistically be accomplished in an open field, Pizarro invited the Inca to Cajamarca. is the 319th day of the year (320th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Hernán(do) Cortés Pizarro, 1st Marqués del Valle de Oaxaca (1485–December 2, 1547) was the conquistador who became famous for leading the military expedition that initiated the Spanish Conquest of Mexico. ...

Atahualpa accepted this invitation, but, leading a procession of over eighty thousand men, advanced down the hillside only slowly the next day. Pizarro's fortunes changed dramatically in late afternoon when Atahualpa announced that the greater part of his host would set up camp outside the walls of the city. He requested that accommodations be provided only for himself and his retinue, which would forsake its weapons in a sign of amity and absolute confidence.

Having concealed themselves within the city, the Spaniards allowed the Incas to enter unopposed. An incident occurred when friar Vincente de Valverde approached the Inca and ordered him to renounce his pagan religion and to accept Catholicism as faith and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor as sovereign. Atahualpa was equally insulted and confused by the Spaniard's demands. Although Atahualpa likely had no intention of conceding to their demands, according to chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega he did attempt inquiry into the Spanish faith and their king, but Pizarro's men began to grow impatient. A friar is a member of a religious mendicant order of men. ... Vincente de Valverde was a Spanish bishop. ... Topics in Christianity Movements · Denominations · Other religions Ecumenism · Preaching · Prayer Music · Liturgy · Calendar Symbols · Art · Criticism Important figures Apostle Paul · Church Fathers Constantine · Athanasius · Augustine Anselm · Aquinas · Palamas · Luther Calvin · Wesley Arius · Marcion of Sinope Archbishop of Canterbury · Catholic Pope Coptic Pope · Ecumenical Patriarch Christianity Portal This box:      As a... For the Carlist claimant King Carlos V, see Infante Carlos, Count of Molina. ... The Holy Roman Emperor was, with some variation, the ruler of the Holy Roman Empire, the predecessor of modern Germany, during its existence from the 10th century until its collapse in 1806. ... Look up sovereign in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Garcilaso de la Vega (c. ...

At once, the Spaniards unleashed murderous gunfire at the vulnerable mass of Incas and surged forward in a concerted action. The effect was devastating: the shocked and largely unarmed Incas offered such feeble resistance that the battle has often been labeled a massacre. Contemporary accounts by members of Pizzaro's force explain how the Spanish forces used a cavalry charge against the Inca forces, who had never seen horses, in combination with gunfire from cover (the Inca forces also never having encountered guns before). Other factors in the Spaniard's favour were their steel swords, helmets and armour, against the Inca forces who had only leather armour and stone or wooden clubs and spears. In addition, the first target of the Spanish attack consisted of the Inca Emperor and all of the top commanders of the army; once these had been killed or captured the Inca forces were disorganised as the command structure of the army had been effectively decapitated. Battle of Wołodarka Polish infantry charging enemy positions during the Polish Defensive War A charge is a maneuver in battle in which soldiers advance towards their enemy at their best speed to engage in close combat. ...

At length, Pizarro captured and imprisoned the Inca at the so-called "Ransom Room", ending all attempts at resistance. Although years of fighting would continue as the Spaniards consolidated their conquests, the Inca Empire effectively fell with a single blow at Cajamarca. The Ransom room from the outside El Cuarto del Rescate (The Ransom Room) is a small room located in Cajamarca, Peru. ...

References

• William H. Prescott (2006). History Of The Conquest Of Peru. BiblioBazaar. ISBN 1-4264-0042-X. 
• Jared Diamond: Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies. W.W. Norton & Company, March 1997. ISBN 0-393-03891-2
• Felipe Gaumán Poma de Ayala: El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Det Kongelige Bibliotek[2]

William Hickling Prescott (May 4, 1796 - January 29, 1859) was a historian. ... Jared Mason Diamond (b. ...

Notes

External links

• Greed, gold and God: The Battle of Cajamarca
• Battle at Cajamarca
• Capture of an Inca King

Coordinates: 7°09′52″S, 78°30′38″W Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically), Eckert VI projection; large version (pdf, 1. ...