Who was the Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire?

The Spanish conquistador who led the conquest of the Inca Empire was Francisco Pizarro. His campaigns culminated in the capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa at Cajamarca in 1532 and the Spanish occupation of Cusco in 1533.

Pizarro was born in Trujillo, in the Crown of Castile, and first pursued wealth and military opportunity in the Americas. He explored the Pacific coast of South America with Diego de Almagro and the priest Hernando de Luque. In 1529, Pizarro secured authorization from the Spanish Crown to conquer the territory the Spanish called Peru.

His success depended on more than a small Spanish army. The Inca Empire had recently been weakened by a civil war between Atahualpa and Huáscar, while European diseases had caused severe disruption. Pizarro also relied on Indigenous allies who opposed Inca rule. At Cajamarca, his forces captured Atahualpa and later executed him despite the payment of a massive ransom.

Pizarro founded Lima in 1535, but his victory did not end all resistance immediately. Inca forces continued fighting for decades, and the last independent Neo-Inca state at Vilcabamba fell in 1572. Pizarro himself was assassinated in Lima in 1541 during a feud with Almagro’s supporters.