Spanish and European colonization in the Americas is a big part of our history, and it started with a certain explorer. Francisco Pizarro was an explorer, soldier, and conquistador who explored South America, conquered the Inca Empire, and brought culture and language to the Americas.
Francisco Pizarro most notable explorations are those from South America, mostly Peru. His first voyage was in 1513, when he was a soldier. He joined Vasco Núñez de Balboa in his expedition, where he discovered the Pacific Ocean. Later in his life, Francisco wanted to make his own discoveries. So, joined by Diego Almagro, they voyaged to Peru. They then travelled back to Spain to get permission to claim the land of Peru for Spain. Their 1531 expedition, to the Inca Empire, was to find gold, which Pizarro took, much to the Incans dismay. …show more content…
Pizarro and his small group of soldiers captured the king of the Inca Empire, Atahualpa. The ransom they set would make him and his men rich. When the ransom was paid, Francisco knew that if he were to let Atahualpa free the Incan army would surely go after the Spaniard [2], so Francisco killed him and took over the Inca Empire. There he founded Lima, Peru’s capital. Historians look back on the overtaking of the empire and are astonished by the fact that Pizarro’s small group of soldiers could march into a heart of a large powerful empire and take it for their