Hernándo Pizarro
Encyclopedia
Hernando Pizarro y de Vargas (born between 1478 and 1508, died 1578 or 1608) was a Spanish conquistador
and one of the Pizarro brothers
who ruled over Peru
. He ultimately died in Spain of severely extended age, contrary to his brothers who all suffered a violent fate.
Hernando was born in Trujillo
, (Extremadura
), Spain, son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar
(senior) (1446–1522) - who as colonel
of infantry
served in the Italian campaigns
under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
, and in Navarre
, with some distinction - and wife Isabel de Vargas.
, he was related to Francisco
, Juan
, and Gonzalo Pizarro
. He had two full sisters, Inés Pizarro y de Vargas, who married but did not have children with Francisco's only legitimate son, and Isabel Pizarro y de Vargas, married to Gonzalo de Tapia. Through his father, he was second cousins to Hernán Cortés
.
with his half-brother, Francisco Pizarro
, and accompanied him during his conquests in Peru
. In 1533 Hernando was sent back to advance the Pizarro interests against Francisco's uneasy partner, Diego de Almagro
, as Hernando had the best connections in the Spanish court. When he returned to Peru, he ruled with his other half-brothers (Juan
and Gonzalo Pizarro
) over the prized Inca capital of Cuzco
. Governing with an iron fist, he helped with the eventual suppression of Inca uprisings led by Manco Cápac
.
returned from Chile
on a fruitless gold-seeking expedition, he found that Hernando and his brothers were in control of Cuzco. However, as he had not obtained any credit for having been Francisco Pizarro's main partner in discovering Peru, he decided to claim Cuzco as part of his share. Almagro seized the city in 1537, capturing Hernando and Juan. Hernando was eventually released after negotiations between Almagro and Francisco, and in 1538 he and Gonzalo returned with an army to confront Almagro. In the ensuing Battle of Las Salinas
, the Pizarros won a decisive victory, capturing Almagro and the city.
The execution of Almagro later that year and the general disorder caused by the Spanish infighting caused substantial fallout in the Spanish court. Hernando was again called upon to leverage his royal contacts: in 1539 he returned to Spain to lobby in favor of the Pizarros. Their perceived treachery was too great, however, and despite Hernando's bribery, he was imprisoned for the next twenty years. He left prison in 1560 and generally dropped out of sight, reportedly dying at the age of 100 in the year 1608. Other sources suggest he died in 1578, and some that he was 72 at the time of death, which would make the year of his birth 1505 or 1506. If he in fact was 100 years old the year of his birth would be 1478 or 1508.
) in Spain. Although born out of wedlock, she was legitimized by Imperial Decree. They had five children. One of their sons, Francisco Pizarro y Pizarro, married twice and had offspring, the Marqueses de La Conquista. As a result, the Pizarro line survived Hernando's death, though currently it is extinct in male line.
His father was a son of Fernando Alonso Pizarro and wife Isabel de Vargas Rodríguez de Aguilar, paternal grandson of Fernando or Hernando Alonso de Hinojosa and wife Teresa Martínez Pizarro, and brother of Juan Pizarro, who died without issue in 1521, and Diego Fernández Pizarro, who married Marina López and had a son Fernando Pizarro López, who had a natural son named Diego Pizarro de Vargas, married to Juana Rodríguez de Bobadilla, with female issue in Portugal.
Conquistador
Conquistadors were Spanish soldiers, explorers, and adventurers who brought much of the Americas under the control of Spain in the 15th to 16th centuries, following Europe's discovery of the New World by Christopher Columbus in 1492...
and one of the Pizarro brothers
Pizarro brothers
The Pizarro brothers were Spanish conquistadors who came to Peru in 1532. They all were born in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain.The four brothers were:* Francisco Pizarro * Gonzalo Pizarro * Juan Pizarro * Hernándo Pizarro The Pizarro brothers were Spanish conquistadors who came to Peru in 1532. They...
who ruled over 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....
. He ultimately died in Spain of severely extended age, contrary to his brothers who all suffered a violent fate.
Hernando was born in Trujillo
Trujillo, Spain
Trujillo is a Spanish city of 9860 inhabitants , located in the province of Cáceres, in the Extremadura region. Famous for its monuments, it is a premier resort in Extremadura. It was the birthplace of Francisco Pizarro and his brothers, conquerors of Peru, as well as of Francisco de Orellana...
, (Extremadura
Extremadura
Extremadura is an autonomous community of western Spain whose capital city is Mérida. Its component provinces are Cáceres and Badajoz. It is bordered by Portugal to the west...
), Spain, son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar
Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez
Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar was a Spanish Captain from the region of Extremadura who participated in several campaigns in Italy and Navarre...
(senior) (1446–1522) - who as colonel
Colonel
Colonel , abbreviated Col or COL, is a military rank of a senior commissioned officer. It or a corresponding rank exists in most armies and in many air forces; the naval equivalent rank is generally "Captain". It is also used in some police forces and other paramilitary rank structures...
of infantry
Infantry
Infantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
served in the Italian campaigns
Italian Wars
The Italian Wars, often referred to as the Great Italian Wars or the Great Wars of Italy and sometimes as the Habsburg–Valois Wars, were a series of conflicts from 1494 to 1559 that involved, at various times, most of the city-states of Italy, the Papal States, most of the major states of Western...
under Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba
Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba known as The Great Captain, Duke of Terranova and Santangelo, Andria, Montalto and Sessa, also known as Gonzalo de Córdoba, Italian: Gonsalvo or Consalvo Ernandes di Cordova was a Spanish general fighting in the times of the Conquest of Granada and the Italian Wars...
, and in Navarre
Navarre
Navarre , officially the Chartered Community of Navarre is an autonomous community in northern Spain, bordering the Basque Country, La Rioja, and Aragon in Spain and Aquitaine in France...
, with some distinction - and wife Isabel de Vargas.
Pizarro Brothers
As one of the Pizarro brothersPizarro brothers
The Pizarro brothers were Spanish conquistadors who came to Peru in 1532. They all were born in Trujillo, Extremadura, Spain.The four brothers were:* Francisco Pizarro * Gonzalo Pizarro * Juan Pizarro * Hernándo Pizarro The Pizarro brothers were Spanish conquistadors who came to Peru in 1532. They...
, he was related to Francisco
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
, Juan
Juan Pizarro II
Juan Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied his brothers Francisco, Gonzalo and Hernándo Pizarro for the conquest of Peru in 1532.-Biography:...
, and Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire...
. He had two full sisters, Inés Pizarro y de Vargas, who married but did not have children with Francisco's only legitimate son, and Isabel Pizarro y de Vargas, married to Gonzalo de Tapia. Through his father, he was second cousins to Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro, 1st Marquis of the Valley of Oaxaca was a Spanish Conquistador who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of mainland Mexico under the rule of the King of Castile in the early 16th century...
.
The New World
Unlike his other brothers, he was born in wedlock, and he was educated and gained influence in the Spanish court. In 1530 Hernando departed for the New WorldNew World
The New World is one of the names used for the Western Hemisphere, specifically America and sometimes Oceania . The term originated in the late 15th century, when America had been recently discovered by European explorers, expanding the geographical horizon of the people of the European middle...
with his half-brother, Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess was a Spanish conquistador, conqueror of the Incan Empire, and founder of Lima, the modern-day capital of the Republic of Peru.-Early life:...
, and accompanied him during his conquests in 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....
. In 1533 Hernando was sent back to advance the Pizarro interests against Francisco's uneasy partner, Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro, , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro. He participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru and is credited as the first European discoverer of Chile.Almagro lost his left eye battling with coastal...
, as Hernando had the best connections in the Spanish court. When he returned to Peru, he ruled with his other half-brothers (Juan
Juan Pizarro II
Juan Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador who accompanied his brothers Francisco, Gonzalo and Hernándo Pizarro for the conquest of Peru in 1532.-Biography:...
and Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire...
) over the prized Inca capital of Cuzco
Cusco
Cusco , often spelled Cuzco , is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region as well as the Cuzco Province. In 2007, the city had a population of 358,935 which was triple the figure of 20 years ago...
. Governing with an iron fist, he helped with the eventual suppression of Inca uprisings led by Manco Cápac
Manco Capac
Manco Cápac was the legendary first Sapa Inca of the Kingdom of Cusco and a figure of Inca mythology. There are several versions of his origin story, which connect him to the foundation of Cusco.- Inti legend :In one myth, Manco Cápac was a son of the sun god Inti and Mama Quilla, and brother of...
.
Cuzco
After Diego de AlmagroDiego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro, , also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo , was a Spanish conquistador and a companion and later rival of Francisco Pizarro. He participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru and is credited as the first European discoverer of Chile.Almagro lost his left eye battling with coastal...
returned from Chile
Chile
Chile ,officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
on a fruitless gold-seeking expedition, he found that Hernando and his brothers were in control of Cuzco. However, as he had not obtained any credit for having been Francisco Pizarro's main partner in discovering Peru, he decided to claim Cuzco as part of his share. Almagro seized the city in 1537, capturing Hernando and Juan. Hernando was eventually released after negotiations between Almagro and Francisco, and in 1538 he and Gonzalo returned with an army to confront Almagro. In the ensuing Battle of Las Salinas
Battle of Las Salinas
The Battle of Las Salinas was a military conflict and decisive confrontation between the forces of Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro against those of rival conquistador Diego de Almagro, on April 26, 1538, during the Conquest of Peru...
, the Pizarros won a decisive victory, capturing Almagro and the city.
The execution of Almagro later that year and the general disorder caused by the Spanish infighting caused substantial fallout in the Spanish court. Hernando was again called upon to leverage his royal contacts: in 1539 he returned to Spain to lobby in favor of the Pizarros. Their perceived treachery was too great, however, and despite Hernando's bribery, he was imprisoned for the next twenty years. He left prison in 1560 and generally dropped out of sight, reportedly dying at the age of 100 in the year 1608. Other sources suggest he died in 1578, and some that he was 72 at the time of death, which would make the year of his birth 1505 or 1506. If he in fact was 100 years old the year of his birth would be 1478 or 1508.
Family
In 1552, Hernando married his niece, Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui (she was the daughter of Francisco Pizarro and his Inca mistress Inés YupanquiQuispe Sisa
Quispe Sisa was the daughter of the Inca ruler Huayna Capac and the curaca Contarhucho. She was baptized as Inés Huaylas Yupanqui when she was given in marriage at a young age to Francisco Pizarro by her brother Atahualpa. In 1534, she gave birth to Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui and Gonzalo Pizarro...
) in Spain. Although born out of wedlock, she was legitimized by Imperial Decree. They had five children. One of their sons, Francisco Pizarro y Pizarro, married twice and had offspring, the Marqueses de La Conquista. As a result, the Pizarro line survived Hernando's death, though currently it is extinct in male line.
His father was a son of Fernando Alonso Pizarro and wife Isabel de Vargas Rodríguez de Aguilar, paternal grandson of Fernando or Hernando Alonso de Hinojosa and wife Teresa Martínez Pizarro, and brother of Juan Pizarro, who died without issue in 1521, and Diego Fernández Pizarro, who married Marina López and had a son Fernando Pizarro López, who had a natural son named Diego Pizarro de Vargas, married to Juana Rodríguez de Bobadilla, with female issue in Portugal.
External links
- Letter from Hernando Pizarro to the Royal Audience of Santo Domingo, in Reports on the Discovery of Peru
- "Hernando Pizarro", The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia.