Diego de Almagro II (1520 – September 16, 1542), called ''El Mozo'' (the lad), was the son of Spanish conquistador
Diego de Almagro
Diego de Almagro (; – July 8, 1538), also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits in western South America. He participated with Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of Peru. While subd ...
and Ana Martínez, a native
Panamanian Indian woman.
Peru
In 1531 El Mozo accompanied his father on the expedition to
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
, which encompassed the north of the
Inca Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
. Together with his father, they led about 100 Spanish soldiers while
Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru.
Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...
, the leader of the expedition, went south, capturing the
Sapa Inca Atahualpa in a surprise attack, the so-called
Battle of Cajamarca
The Battle of Cajamarca also spelled Cajamalca (though many contemporary scholars prefer to call it Massacre of Cajamarca) was the ambush and seizure of the Inca ruler Atahualpa by a small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, on November 16, ...
.
El Mozo and his father, Diego, went to
Cajamarca
Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
in 1533, but they received no gold for the capture and pressed to get the Incas
executed
Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...
, which finally happened on July 26. Almagro then accompanied Pizarro to
Cuzco
Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...
and conquered the Inca
capital. In 1535, he then went south while Pizarro founded
Ciudad de los Reyes (City of the Kings, today
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
). In 1536,
Manco Inca
Manco Inca Yupanqui ( 1515 – c. 1544) (''Manqu Inka Yupanki'' in Quechua) was the founder and monarch (Sapa Inca) of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, although he was originally a puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. ...
besieged Cuzco with 100,000 Inca warriors. Almagro returned from the south, drove them away, and seized power in Cuzco in 1537. Almagro imprisoned Hernando Pizarro and his younger brother, Gonzalo, but aware that Francisco Pizarro was organizing an army to march on Cuzco, he released Hernando in an effort to resolve the conflict. Gonzalo, meanwhile, managed to escape. Together, the brothers returned with an army and defeated the Almagrists. Diego Almagro (the elder) was summarily executed by Hernando, an act that would later have significant repercussions for Hernando when he returned to Spain, being thrown into a Spanish prison for 20 years for executing a noble without royal consent.
Revenge
El Mozo swore to avenge his father and on June 26, 1541, his followers managed to get into Pizarro's palace in Lima and established a ''
coup d'état
A coup d'état (; French for 'stroke of state'), also known as a coup or overthrow, is a seizure and removal of a government and its powers. Typically, it is an illegal seizure of power by a political faction, politician, cult, rebel group, m ...
'' in which Francisco Pizarro
died in battle. Francisco woke up, killed two of the assassins, but while struggling to get his breastplate on, was stabbed in the throat. Francisco fell to the floor, made a cross with his own blood, and cried out for help from Jesus Christ. After Pizarro's death, El Mozo was named governor by the conspirators but this failed to be accepted and he fled to Cuzco with his supporters. He was eventually defeated and captured on September 16, 1542 in the
Battle of Chupas, and executed at the city square after a brief trial.
References
1520 births
1542 deaths
Executed Panamanian people
People executed by New Spain
Colonial Peru
Executed Spanish people
16th-century executions by Spain
Panamanian people of indigenous peoples descent
16th-century Peruvian people
Leaders who took power by coup
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