The 'Battle' of Cajamarca was the unexpected
ambush and seizure of the Inca ruler Atahualpa
by a small Spanish force led by Francisco
Pizarro, on November 16, 1532.
The Spanish killed thousands of Atahualpa's
counselors, commanders, and unarmed attendants
in the great plaza of Cajamarca, and caused
his armed host outside the town to flee.
The capture of Atahualpa marked the opening
stage of the conquest of the pre-Columbian
Inca civilization of Peru.
== Background ==
The confrontation at Cajamarca was the culmination
of a months-long struggle involving espionage,
subterfuge, and diplomacy between 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
a large force of nearly 80,000 battle-tested
troops fresh from their victories in the civil
war against his half-brother Huáscar, the
Inca felt they had little to fear from Pizarro's
tiny army, however exotic its dress and weaponry.
In a calculated show of goodwill, Atahualpa
had lured the adventurers deep into the heart
of his mountain empire where any potential
threat could be isolated and responded to
with massive force.
Pizarro and his men arrived on Friday November
15, 1532.
The town itself had been largely emptied of
its two thousand inhabitants, upon the approach
of the Spanish force of 180 men, guided by
an Inca noble sent by Atahualpa as an envoy.
Atahualpa himself was encamped outside Cajamarca,
preparing for his march on Cuzco, where his
commanders had just captured Huáscar and
defeated his army.
The book History Of The Conquest Of Peru,
written by 19th century author William H.
Prescott, recounts the dilemma in which the
Spanish force found itself.
Any assault on the Inca armies overlooking
the valley would have been suicidal.
Retreat was equally out of the question, because
any show of weakness might have undermined
their air of invincibility, and would invite
pursuit and closure of the mountain passes.
Once the great stone fortresses dotting their
route of escape were garrisoned, argued Pizarro,
they would prove impregnable.
But to do nothing, he added, was no better
since prolonged contact with the natives would
erode the fears of Spanish supernatural ways
that kept them at bay.
== Prelude ==
Pizarro gathered his officers on the evening
of November 15 and outlined a scheme that
recalled memories of Cortés' exploits in
Mexico in its audacity: 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 had invited the
Inca to Cajamarca.The next afternoon, Atahualpa
led a procession of "a greater part of the
Inca's forces", but Pizarro's fortunes changed
dramatically when Atahualpa announced that
most 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.Shortly before sunset
Atahualpa left the armed warriors who had
accompanied him, on an open meadow about half
a mile outside Cajamarca.
His immediate party still numbered over seven
thousand but were unarmed except for small
battle axes intended for show.
Atahualpa's attendants were richly dressed
in what were apparently ceremonial garments.
Many wore gold or silver discs on their heads
and the main party was preceded by a group
wearing livery of chequered colors, who sang
while sweeping the roadway in front of Atahualpa.
The Inca himself was carried in a litter lined
with parrot feathers and partly covered in
silver, carried by eighty Inca courtiers of
high rank in vivid blue clothing.
Atahualpa's intention appears to have been
to impress the small Spanish force with this
display of splendor and he had no anticipation
of an ambush.The Spaniards had concealed themselves
within the buildings surrounding the empty
plaza at the centre of the town.
Infantry and horsemen were concealed in the
alleyways which opened onto this open square.
Spanish infantry were deployed to guard the
entrances to a stone building in the centre
of the square while men armed with arquebuses
and four small cannon took up places within
it.
Pizarro ordered his men to remain silent and
hidden until the guns were fired.
During the hours of waiting tension rose amongst
the greatly outnumbered Spanish and Pedro
Pizarro recalls that many of his fellows urinated
"out of pure terror".Upon entering the square
the leading Incans in attendance on Atahualpa
divided their ranks to enable his litter to
be carried to the centre, where all stopped.
An Incan courtier carrying a banner approached
the building where the artillery was concealed,
while Atahualpa, surprised at seeing no Spanish
called out an enquiry.After a brief pause
Friar Vincente de Valverde, accompanied by
an interpreter, emerged from the building
where Pizarro was lodged.
Carrying a cross and a missal the friar passed
through the rows of attendants who had spread
out to allow the Inca's litter to reach the
centre of the square.
Valverde approached the Inca, announced himself
as the emissary of God and the Spanish throne,
and demanded that he accept Catholicism as
his faith and Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor
as his sovereign ruler.
Atahualpa was equally insulted and confused
by Valverde's words.
Although Atahualpa had already determined
that he had no intention of conceding to the
dictates of the Spanish, according to chronicler
Garcilaso de la Vega he did attempt a brusque,
bemused inquiry into the details of the Spaniards'
faith and their king, which quickly bogged
down in poorly-translated semantics and increased
the tension of all the participants.
Spanish sources differ as to the specific
event which initiated combat, but all agree
it was a spontaneous decision following the
breakdown of negotiations (such as they were)
with Atahualpa.
=== Incan account of events ===
Titu Cusi Yupanqui (1529–1571), son of Manco
II and a nephew of Atahualpa, dictated the
only Inca account of the events leading up
to the battle.
According to Titu Cusi, Atahualpa had received
"two Viracochas", Pizarro and de Soto, at
a date not specified "many days" before the
battle, offering them a golden cup containing
ceremonial chicha.
"The Spaniard poured it out."
The Spaniards then gave Atahualpa a letter
(or book) which they said was quillca (writing)
of God and of the Spanish king.
Offended by the wasting of the chicha, Atahualpa
threw the "letter or whatever it was" on the
ground, telling them to leave.On November
16, Atahualpa arrived at Cajamarca with "no
weapons for battle or harnesses for defense,"
although they did carry tomes (knives) and
lassos for hunting llamas.
The Spanish approached and told Atahualpa
that Virococha had ordered them to tell the
Inca who they were.
Atahualpa listened then gave one a gold cup
of chicha which was not drunk and given no
attention at all.
Furious, Atahualpa stood and yelled "If you
disrespect me, I will also disrespect you",
and said he would kill them, at which the
Spanish attacked.Titu Cusi's only mention
of a Bible being presented and then tossed
to the ground is restricted to the encounter
which took place before the battle, an omission
that has been explained as due either to its
relative insignificance to the Inca or to
confusion between the events of the two days.
== Battle and Atahualpa's capture ==
At the signal to attack, the Spaniards unleashed
gunfire at the vulnerable mass of Incans and
surged forward in a concerted action.
The effect was devastating and the shocked
and unarmed Incans offered little resistance.
The Spanish forces used a cavalry charge against
the Incan forces, in combination with gunfire
from cover (the Incan forces also had never
encountered firearms before) combined with
the ringing bells on the horses to frighten
the Inca.The first target of the Spanish attack
was Atahualpa and his top commanders.
Pizarro rushed at Atahualpa on horseback,
but the Inca remained motionless.
The Spanish severed the hands or arms of the
attendants carrying Atahualpa's litter to
force them to drop it so they could reach
him.
The Spanish were astounded that the attendants
ignored their wounds and used their stumps
or remaining hands to hold it up until several
were killed and the litter slumped.
Atahualpa remained sitting on the litter while
a large number of his attendants rushed to
place themselves between the litter and the
Spanish, deliberately allowing themselves
to be killed.
While his men were cutting down Atahualpa's
attendants, Pizarro rode through them to where
a Spanish soldier had pulled the Inca from
his litter.
While he was doing so, other soldiers also
reached the litter and one attempted to kill
Atahualpa.
Recognizing the value of the Emperor as a
hostage, Pizarro blocked the attack and received
a sword wound to his hand in consequence.The
main Inca force, which had retained their
weapons but remained "about quarter of a league"
outside Cajamarca, scattered in confusion
as the survivors of those who had accompanied
Atahualpa fled from the square, breaking down
a fifteen-foot length of wall in the process.
Atahualpa's warriors were veterans of his
recent northern campaigns and constituted
the professional core of the Inca army, seasoned
warriors who outnumbered the Spaniards more
than 45 to 1 (8,000 to 168).
However, the shock of the Spanish attack—coupled
with the spiritual significance of losing
the Sapa Inca and most of his commanders in
one fell swoop—apparently shattered the
army's morale, throwing their ranks into terror
and initiating a massive rout.
There is no evidence that any of the main
Inca force attempted to engage the Spaniards
in Cajamarca after the success of the initial
ambush.
== Aftermath ==
Atahualpa's wife, 10-year-old Cuxirimay Ocllo,
was with the army and stayed with him while
he was imprisoned.
Following his execution she was taken to Cuzco
and took the name Dona Angelina.
By 1538 she was Pizarro's mistress, bearing
him two sons, Juan and Francisco.
Following his assassination in 1541 she married
the interpreter Juan de Betanzos who later
wrote Narratives of the Incas, part one covering
Inca history up to the arrival of the Spanish
and part two covering the conquest to 1557,
mainly from the Inca viewpoint and including
mentions of interviews with Inca guards who
were near Atahualpa's litter when he was captured.
Only the first 18 unpublished chapters of
part one were known until the complete manuscript
was found and published in 1987.Francisco
Xerez wrote an account of the Battle of Cajamarca.
== References ==
== Further reading ==
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 Guamán Poma de Ayala: El primer nueva
corónica y buen gobierno.
Det Kongelige Bibliotek [1]
Kim MacQuarrie: The Last Days of the Incas.
Simon & Schuster, 2007.
ISBN 978-0-7432-6049-7.
Michael Wood: The Conquistadors.
2002 PBS
