The Battle of Punta Quemada, fought sometime in January 1525, was a brief encounter between a band of

Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries **Spanish cuisine Other places * Spanish, Ontario, Can ...

conquistadors and the "warlike

natives Indigenous peoples are culturally distinct ethnic groups whose members are directly descended from the earliest known inhabitants of a particular geographic region and, to some extent, maintain the language and culture of those original people ...

" of Colombia, thought to be a northern tributary tribe to the

Andean The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S l ...

Kingdom of Quito, subordinate to and as well northern capital 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 ...

. Though it marked the end of

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 ...

's first tentative expedition along the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

coast, the battle also represented a crucial step to Spain's discovery and conquest of the

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 ...

For weeks before their landfall at Punta Quemada, Pizarro and his company had, both on

sea The sea, connected as the world ocean or simply the ocean, is the body of salty water that covers approximately 71% of the Earth's surface. The word sea is also used to denote second-order sections of the sea, such as the Mediterranean Sea, ...

and on land, steadily crawled southward along the coast of Colombia, enduring both the inhospitality of the terrain and the dangers of

tropical The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the Equator. They are defined in latitude by the Tropic of Cancer in the Northern Hemisphere at N and the Tropic of Capricorn in the Southern Hemisphere at S. The tropics are also referred to ...

tempests. Famine and fatigue alike had ravaged the group, leaving several dead and many on the brink of incapacitation, and only Pizarro's personal charisma and the iron constitution of the

Castilians Castilians (Spanish: ''castellanos'') are those people who live in certain former areas of the historical Kingdom of Castile, but the region's exact limits are disputed. A broader definition is to consider as Castilians the population belonging ...

had kept the crew from collapsing into mutiny and despair. Upon reaching Punta Quemada, Pizarro, leading his men inland along unusually agreeable terrain, had discovered and occupied a large native village, the residents of which, to all appearances, had fled in terror at the sight of the Europeans. Delighted at the luck of having established quarters in such a defensible position, and mindful that his battered vessel out on the shore would not carry him much farther, Pizarro elected to send a contingent of men under Lieutenant Montenegro back to

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

for repairs and supplies while his own troops manned the village ramparts and awaited the arrival of

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 ...

, whose own expeditionary force, following the path of Pizarro's, was bound to arrive shortly. But the Quitians were warriors and, contrary to Spanish assessment, had abandoned their settlement only to see their women and children to safety. Armed with bows, slings, and

spear A spear is a pole weapon consisting of a shaft, usually of wood, with a pointed head. The head may be simply the sharpened end of the shaft itself, as is the case with fire hardened spears, or it may be made of a more durable material fasten ...

s, they had closely monitored the invaders and gathered unseen in the jungle in preparation for an attack. Montenegro's column, the more vulnerable of the two Castilian parties, fell into a Quitian

ambush An ambush is a long-established military tactic in which a combatant uses an advantage of concealment or the element of surprise to attack unsuspecting enemy combatants from concealed positions, such as among dense underbrush or behind mo ...

just as it emerged from the heavy jungle foliage onto Andean foothills where arrows and other projectiles could fly unobstructed. A volley of arrows and stones struck the Spaniards. The Castilians began to fall back in panic and disarray as the natives bore down upon them. Montenegro, rallying his men, ordered a return volley at the onrushing Quitians. The Spaniards shredded the native charge with a flurry of

crossbow A crossbow is a ranged weapon using an elastic launching device consisting of a bow-like assembly called a ''prod'', mounted horizontally on a main frame called a ''tiller'', which is hand-held in a similar fashion to the stock of a long fire ...

bolts, then countercharged, driving the unarmoured Quitians back. The Quitians orchestrated a similar assault on Pizarro's camp and stormed the village, unleashing a shower of missiles at the defenders. Prescott recounts that Pizarro, too bold and fiery of temper to be held inside a set of walls by enemy fire, sallied out to meet the threat, rousing his men into a charge that drove the natives back. However, the natives counterattacked, and the Spanish troops faltered. Montenegro, fearing for his leader, had ordered an immediate march back to camp. He now appeared at the edge of the ridge and drove into the rear of the Quitian formations, shattering their resolve. Unable to resist this new threat, the natives fled into the jungle, leaving Pizarro wounded in no less than seven places. The conquistadors realized that the village was far less defensible than they had previously assumed, and fearing subsequent hostile encounters and unable to continue south by sea, Pizarro chose to end his expedition at Punta Quemada. Almagro, following in Pizarro's footsteps, later attacked and burned the village, losing an eye in the process.

References

* {{coord missing, Colombia Punta Quemada Punta Quemada Punta Quemada Punta Quemada 1525 in South America History of Colombia