The Battle of Puná, a peripheral engagement of

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish ''conquistador'', best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Born in Trujillo, Cáceres, Trujillo, Spain, to a poor fam ...

conquest of Peru The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spaniards, ...

, was fought in April 1531 on the island of Puná (in the Gulf of

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) in

Ecuador Ecuador, officially the Republic of Ecuador, is a country in northwestern South America, bordered by Colombia on the north, Peru on the east and south, and the Pacific Ocean on the west. It also includes the Galápagos Province which contain ...

. Pizarro's

conquistadors Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...

, boasting superior weaponry and tactical skill, decisively defeated the island's indigenous inhabitants. The battle marked the beginning of Pizarro's third and final expedition before the fall of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

Background

The

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army, following a long and difficult journey from

Panama Panama, officially the Republic of Panama, is a country in Latin America at the southern end of Central America, bordering South America. It is bordered by Costa Rica to the west, Colombia to the southeast, the Caribbean Sea to the north, and ...

throughout which many had fallen to virulence, predation, and other hazards, had docked at the

Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...

city of Tumbes in April.Snowden, Richard (2008)
''The History of North and South America: From Its Discovery to the Death of General Washington''
Nabu Press, p. 154, Received with quiet hostility by Incas who had perhaps been alerted to the acts of pillage and plunder committed on the fringes of the Empire by the invaders, the Spaniards, deeming it unsafe to remain in Tumbes, relocated their camp to the nearby island of Puna in preparation for an assault on the Inca city.Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, Initially, the Spanish occupation of the island proceeded without bloodshed. The natives of Puna were a warrior people who, reluctantly bowing before the might of the

, had intermittently accepted the status of

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state, though periods of friction and even open warfare had frequently erupted with the Incas out on the mainland. The path to war was first triggered by Pizarro's native interpreters, who warned him, perhaps falsely, that several Punian chiefs had gathered to plan an insurrection. Pizarro had the chiefs captured, interrogated, and, apparently satisfied with their guilt, delivered to their traditional enemies at Tumbes where they were duly massacred by the Incas.

Battle

According to Spanish sources, the warrior class of Puná, maddened with rage, immediately rushed to arms and stormed the Spanish camp, charging in the thousands. It seemed that the diminutive Spanish force would surely be overwhelmed and scattered. But what the Spaniards lacked in numbers they eclipsed in armaments and discipline. As the natives approached, many were met head on with deadly rows of lowered pikes, the use of which the Spanish had long mastered in the great wars of

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and

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. Other Punians, charging in confused masses, were cut down and slaughtered in vast numbers by the concerted volleys of orderly musketeers. At length,

Hernando Pizarro Hernando Pizarro y de Vargas (; c. 1504 – c. 1578) was a Spanish conquistador and one of the Pizarro brothers who ruled over Peru. He was the only one of the Pizarro brothers who was not killed in Peru, and eventually returned to Spain. Piza ...

, sensing the enemy falter, mustered his

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to his standard and spurred his horse into a charge. The Spanish cavalry sliced through native ranks with devastating effect. Within minutes, the Punians were in full rout. The natives regrouped in the island's forests and thenceforth waged a

guerrilla war Guerrilla warfare is a form of unconventional warfare in which small groups of irregular military, such as rebels, partisans, paramilitary personnel or armed civilians, which may include recruited children, use ambushes, sabotage, terrorism ...

to some success, destroying Spanish provisions and waylaying several scouts. Two Spanish ships with reinforcements, however, under

Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...

, soon arrived by sea (with at least a hundred volunteers), and on these ships the Spaniards, bound for more fruitful conquests on the

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

vian mainland, embarked without incident and sailed back towards Tumbez, arriving there on May 16, 1532.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Battle Of Puna Puna Puna Conflicts in 1531 1531 in South America 16th century in Ecuador 1531 in the Spanish Empire

Background

Battle

See also

References