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Francisco de Carvajal
 
 
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Francisco de Carvajal (1464 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 military officer, conquistador
Conquistador

Conquistador is the name given to the Spaniards soldiers, leaders, List of explorers, and adventurers involved in the conquest of the Americas following the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492....
, and explorer remembered as "the demon
Demon

In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God....
 of the Andes
Andes

The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
" due to his brutality and martial exploits in the Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian civil wars of the 16th century.

Carvajal's career as a soldier in Europe spanned forty years and a half-dozen wars. Fighting in Spain's Imperial armies
Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations....
—the famous tercios—he served under Charles V's
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 principal commanders in the Italian Wars
Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy in historical works, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the Italian city-states, the Papal States, all the major states of western Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire....
: Pedro Navarro
Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto

Don Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto was a Spain Military engineer, later General who participated in the War of the League of Cambrai. At the Battle of Ravenna in 1512 he commanded the Spanish and Papal States infantry, but was captured by the France....
, Fabrizio Colonna
Fabrizio Colonna

Fabrizio Colonna was an Italian condottiero, a member of the powerful Colonna family. He was the son of Edoardo Colonna and Filippa Conti.Fabrizio was born sometime before 1452....
, and the illustrious Gran Capitán, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba

Gonzalo Fern?ndez de C?rdoba, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, also known simply as Gonzalo de C?rdoba , was a Spain general who made Spain the preeminent world military power for almost a century and half....
.






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Francisco de Carvajal (1464 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish
Spain

Spain or the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in Southern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though Espa?a , Estado espa?ol and Naci?n espa?ola are used interchangeably....
 military officer, conquistador
Conquistador

Conquistador is the name given to the Spaniards soldiers, leaders, List of explorers, and adventurers involved in the conquest of the Americas following the discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492....
, and explorer remembered as "the demon
Demon

In religion, folklore, and mythology a demon is a supernatural being that is generally described as a malevolent spirit. In Christian terms demons are generally understood as fallen angels, formerly of God....
 of the Andes
Andes

The Andes form the world's longest exposed mountain range. They lie as a continuous chain of highland along the western coast of South America. The range is over 7,000 km long, 200-700 km wide , and of an average height of about 4,000 m ....
" due to his brutality and martial exploits in the Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
vian civil wars of the 16th century.

Carvajal's career as a soldier in Europe spanned forty years and a half-dozen wars. Fighting in Spain's Imperial armies
Spanish Army

The Spanish Army is one of oldest active armies in the world and a branch of the Spanish Armed Forces, in charge of land operations....
—the famous tercios—he served under Charles V's
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 principal commanders in the Italian Wars
Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy in historical works, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the Italian city-states, the Papal States, all the major states of western Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire....
: Pedro Navarro
Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto

Don Pedro Navarro, Count of Oliveto was a Spain Military engineer, later General who participated in the War of the League of Cambrai. At the Battle of Ravenna in 1512 he commanded the Spanish and Papal States infantry, but was captured by the France....
, Fabrizio Colonna
Fabrizio Colonna

Fabrizio Colonna was an Italian condottiero, a member of the powerful Colonna family. He was the son of Edoardo Colonna and Filippa Conti.Fabrizio was born sometime before 1452....
, and the illustrious Gran Capitán, Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba

Gonzalo Fern?ndez de C?rdoba, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, also known simply as Gonzalo de C?rdoba , was a Spain general who made Spain the preeminent world military power for almost a century and half....
. He took part in the spectacular Spanish victory at the Battle of Pavia
Battle of Pavia

The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of February 24, 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521. A Spanish-Imperial army under the nominal command of Charles de Lannoy attacked the French army under the personal command of Francis I of France in the great hunting preserve of Mirabello outside the city walls....
 in 1525 and acquired a small fortune when the Imperial armies sacked Rome
Sack of Rome (1527)

The Sack of Rome on 6 May 1527, carried out by the mutinous troops of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor, marked a crucial imperial victory in the conflict between the Holy Roman Empire and the League of Cognac ? the alliance of France, Milan, Venice, Florence and the Papacy....
 two years later.

In the 1540s, the octogenarian Carvajal accepted a military commission with the Pizarro brothers
Pizarro brothers

The Pizarro brothers were Spain conquistadors who came to Peru in 1532.The four brothers were:* Francisco Pizarro * Gonzalo Pizarro * Juan Pizarro II ...
 in Peru, eventually backing Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro

Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spain conquistador and younger half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Illegitimate son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodr?guez de Aguilar who as colonel of infantry served in the Italian Wars under Gonzalo Fern?ndez de C?rdoba, and in Navarre, with some distinction, and Mar?a A...
's unsuccessful rebellion against the Spanish Crown. Carvajal was captured in battle by royalist forces April 9, 1548 and executed the next day.

Life

Born in Arevalo (Ávila), Carvajal entered the army of Castile
Crown of Castile

The Crown of Castile, as a historic entity, is usually considered to have begun in 1230 with the third and definitive union of the two kingdoms of Kingdom of Le?n and Kingdom of Castile, or more concretely, with the union of their parliaments a few decades later....
, serving in the Peninsula
Iberian Peninsula

The Iberian Peninsula, or Iberia, is located in the extreme southwest of Europe and includes modern-day Spain, Portugal, Andorra and Gibraltar and a very small area of France....
 and later in Charles V's
Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor

Charles V was ruler of the Holy Roman Empire from 1519 and, as Charles I of Spain, of the Spanish realms from 1516 until his abdication in 1556....
 Italian Wars
Italian Wars

The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy in historical works, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the Italian city-states, the Papal States, all the major states of western Europe as well as the Ottoman Empire....
. He was present as an alférez
Alférez

Alf?rez is a junior officer rank also used in Spain, Argentina and Chile. The variant Alferes was formerly used in both Portugal and Brazil....
 when the mutinous Imperial army stormed Rome in 1527. However, instead competing in the violent plunder for gold and valuables, Carvajal shrewdly seized legal documents belonging to a ranking Roman notary
Notary

Notary may refer to:* Notary public, a public official who notarizes legal documents and who can also administer and take oaths and affirmations, among other tasks...
 and ransomed them for a small fortune.

Carvajal later used these funds to journey to Mexico
Mexico

The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federalism constitutionalism republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico....
 as an aide to its first Spanish viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza
Antonio de Mendoza

Antonio de Mendoza, Marquis of Mond?jar, Count of Tendilla , was the first viceroy of New Spain, serving from April 17, 1535 to November 25, 1550, and the third viceroy of Peru, from September 23, 1551 to July 21, 1552.married with Maria Ana trujillo de Mendoza...
. In 1535, he was dispatched to Peru
Peru

Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
 to the relief of newly-founded Lima
Lima

Lima is the Capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chill?n River, R?mac River and Lur?n River rivers, on a coast overlooking the Pacific Ocean....
, then under siege by an Inca army. Carvajal led reinforcements to Governor Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro

Francisco Pizarro Gonz?lez, 1st Marqu?s de los Atabillos was a Spain conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of Peru....
 and thereafter played a key role in restablishing Pizarro's rule against the rival faction of conquistadors led by Almagro the Younger. He continued to lead his cavalry
Cavalry

The Cavalry is the second oldest of the Combat Arms, and as soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback in combat, it represents the mobility and offensive power of the armed forces....
 from the front ranks despite his age
Ageing

Ageing or aging is the accumulation of changes in an organism or object over time. Aging in humans refers to a multidimensional process of physical, psychological, and social change....
 and obesity
Obesity

Obesity is a condition in which excess body fat has accumulated to an extent that health may be negatively affected. It is commonly defined as a body mass index of 30 kg/m2 or higher....
 and became something of a local legend for his composure in battle. At Chupas
Battle of Chupas

After the assassination of Francisco Pizarro, in retaliation for Diego de Almagro execution in 1538, Diego de Almagro II, El Mozo, continued to press claims as the rightful ruler of Peru and as leader of his father's supporters....
, seeing the Spanish Imperial infantry
Tercio

The 'Tercio' , also known as 'Tercio Espa?ol', was a Renaissance military formation similar to and derivative of the Swiss Pike square and was a term used to describe a mixed infantry formation of about 3,000 pike , swordsmen and arquebusiers in a mutually supportive formation; it was also sometimes referred to by other nations as a Spani...
 giving way before a hail of fire from Almagro's massed cannons and harquebusiers, Carvajal is said to have ridden to the front of the line and, casting his helmet and cuirass
Cuirass

Cuirass , the plate armour, is formed of a single piece of metal or other rigid material or composed of two or more pieces, which covers the front of the wearer's person....
 to the ground, exclaimed, Inspired by their corpulent commander, Carvajal's men advanced on the enemy guns and carried Almagro's troops before them.

Campaign of 1546

When the royal authority moved against Pizarro in 1546, Carvajal, unable to quit the country due to the embargo on shipping, took command again in the field as Pizarro's lieutenant
Lieutenant

Lieutenant is a military, naval, paramilitary, fire service, emergency medical services or police commissioned officer military rank.Lieutenant may also appear as part of a title used in various other organisations with a codified command structure....
, or Maestro de Campo
Maestro de Campo

Maestro de Campo was a rank created in 1534 by the Emperor Carlos V, inferior in rank only to the Capit?n General and acted as a chief of staff....
 of Neuva Castilla's armies. In the campaign of 1546 Carvajal violently put down the royalist forces in the south of the colony, marching and countermarching from Quito
Quito

San Francisco de Quito, most often called Quito, is the Capital city of Ecuador in northwestern South America. It is located in north-central Ecuador in the Guayllabamba river basin, on the eastern slopes of Pichincha , an active stratovolcano in the Andes mountains....
 to San Miguel
San Miguel Province

The San Miguel Province is one of the thirteen Provinces of Peru in the Cajamarca Region of Peru. It was created by Law No. 15152 on September 29, 1964 by president Fernando Belaunde Terry....
, from Lima to Guamanga and back to Lima, from Lucanas
Lucanas Province

Lucanas is the largest Provinces of Peru in the Ayacucho region, Peru....
 to Cuzco, from Collao
El Collao Province

El Collao Province is a Provinces of Peru of the Puno Region in Peru. The capital of the province is the city of Llave....
 to Arequipa
Arequipa

Arequipa is the capital of the Arequipa Region in southern Peru. With a population of 1,000,291 it is the List of 20 largest cities in Peru of the country....
 and from Arequipa to Charcas
Charcas Province

Charcas is a province in the Northern parts of the Bolivian Departments of Bolivia of Potos? Department....
.

Execution

Carvajal was sentenced to death by the royalists after being wounded and captured at the Battle of Jaquijahuana
Battle of Jaquijahuana

After the successful conquest of Peru, the assassination of Francisco Pizarro in 1541, and the execution of his main antagonist, Diego de Almagro and his son, Diego de Almagro II , most of the competent commanders of the recently founded viceroyalty of New Castile had been lost in the ensuing power struggle....
. American historian William H. Prescott
William H. Prescott

William Hickling Prescott was an American historian, known for his books The History of the Reign of Ferdinand and Isabella the Catholic and The History of the Conquest of Mexico....
 collected a number of details about the execution: Carvajal was not gravely troubled by the sentence, remarking simply, basta matar": "They can only kill me." He refused confession
Confession

The confession of one's sins is a religious practice important to many faiths, e.g., Roman Catholicism and Eastern Orthodoxy....
 offered by the priests and did not accept his last rites
Last Rites

Last Rites can refer to* Anointing of the Sick Note: The term "Last Rites" is not equivalent to "Anointing of the Sick", since it refers also to two other distinct rites: Penance and Eucharist, the last of which, when administered to the dying, is known as "Viaticum", a word whose original meaning in Latin was "provision for the jour...
, asking: Carvajal did admit guests throughout his last day but treated his interlocutors to his usual cutting sarcasm. When a former enemy, once vanquished in battle by Carvajal, came to offer his services to the condemned rebel, Carvajal rebuked him caustically: Carvajal's only complaint emerged when his executioners arrived to carry him to the place of execution. Upon being bound and forced into a narrow basket, Carvajal exlaimed, "¡Niño en cuna y viego en cuna!"—"Cradles for infants and now cradles for old men as well!" Carvajal's head next appeared on a pike next to Pizarro's at the gates of Lima.

Carvajal remains a folkloric character in Peru: One legend made him the illegitimate son of the Spanish-Italian tyrant Cesare Borgia
Cesare Borgia

Cesare Borgia, born , Duke of Valentinois, and Romagna, Prince of Andria and Venafro, Count of Dyois, Lord of Piombino, Camerino and Urbino, Gonfalone of the Church and Captain General of the Church, was a Spanish-Italian Condottieri, lord and cardinal....
; Ricardo Palma
Ricardo Palma

Ricardo Palma Soriano was a Peruvian author, scholar, and librarian. His magnum opus is the Tradiciones Peruanas :es:Tradiciones Peruanas....
 pointed out in the Tradiciones peruanas
Tradiciones Peruanas

Las Tradiciones Peruanas is a compendium of some of the writings of the Peruvian writer Ricardo Palma....
 that Carvajal was in fact Borgia's senior by 10 years, their only parentage, he added, being "that of cruelty."