Which Spanish conquistador conquered the Inca Empire in the 1530s?

Francisco Pizarro was the Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire in the 1530s. His campaign began during a period of severe political vulnerability in the Andes, following a civil war between the Inca rulers Atahualpa and Huáscar.

Pizarro reached the Inca realm in 1532 with a relatively small Spanish force, supported by horses, firearms, and Indigenous allies who opposed Inca rule. At the Battle of Cajamarca in November 1532, his troops captured Atahualpa, the victorious claimant to the Inca throne. Although a vast ransom of gold and silver was assembled, Pizarro had Atahualpa executed in 1533.

Pizarro’s forces entered Cuzco later that year, marking a decisive stage in the Spanish takeover. He founded Lima in 1535, but resistance continued for decades, including the Neo-Inca state centered at Vilcabamba. The conquest was not simply the work of a handful of Spaniards: disease, Inca civil conflict, and alliances with Indigenous peoples all played major roles. Hernán Cortés, one of the wrong options, conquered the Aztec Empire in Mexico instead.