Juan García Pizarro (1495-unknown) was an Afro-Spanish

conquistador 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 ...

. He participated in the conquest of the Inca Empire in the entourage 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 ...

, from whom he received his second surname, before returning to Spain as a wealthy man. Along with Miguel Ruiz, García was the most known of the numerous African conquistadors serving in Peru.

Early life

He was born as a free black man in 1495 in Jaraicejo, not far from Pizarro's own home city of Trujillo,

Extremadura Extremadura ( ; ; ; ; Fala language, Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is a landlocked autonomous communities in Spain, autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, Spain, Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central- ...

. His parents remain unknown. There is the belief that they were an

interracial couple Interracial marriage is a marriage involving spouses who belong to different "Race (classification of human beings), races" or Ethnic group#Ethnicity and race, racialized ethnicities. In the past, such marriages were outlawed in the United Sta ...

, although García's comrades fail to distinguish in their chronicles whether he was black or

mulatto ( , ) is a Race (human categorization), racial classification that refers to people of mixed Sub-Saharan African, African and Ethnic groups in Europe, European ancestry only. When speaking or writing about a singular woman in English, the ...

, in the case they knew it. He joined Pizarro when the Extremaduran conquistador gathered men for his expedition in 1529, leaving behind a wife and two daughters in order to embark.

Conquest of the Inca Empire

García and the mulatto Miguel Ruiz were the only two black members of Pizarro's crew named in the sources, although according to chronicler

Pedro Cieza de León Pedro Cieza de León ( Llerena, Spain c. 1518 or 1520 – Seville, Spain July 2, 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of Peru and Popayán. He is known primarily for his extensive work, ''Crónicas del Perú'' (The Chronicle of Peru), ...

, black conquistadors amounted to a large portion of the 168 men of the expedition. He served in multiple capacities, like soldier,

crier A town crier, also called a bellman, is an officer of a royal court or public authority who makes public pronouncements as required. Duties and functions The town crier was used to make public announcements in the streets. Criers often dre ...

, bagpiper and

accountant An accountant is a practitioner of accounting or accountancy. Accountants who have demonstrated competency through their professional associations' certification exams are certified to use titles such as Chartered Accountant, Chartered Certif ...

, the last role making him responsible for weighing and keeping count of the gold and silver gained in the conquest. In 1533, he participated in the

Battle of Cajamarca The Battle of Cajamarca, also spelled Cajamalca (though many contemporary scholars prefer to call it the Cajamarca massacre), was the ambush and seizure of the Incan ruler Atahualpa by a small Spanish force led by Francisco Pizarro, on November ...

, which granted him a part of the captured Emperor

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa ( Quechua) ( 150226 July 1533), was the last effective Inca emperor, reigning from April 1532 until his capture and execution in July of the following year, as part of the Spanish conquest of the In ...

's rich rescue. It's recorded he used part of the money to buy from another conquistador a Nicaraguan woman who had been enslaved before royal decrees before native slavery. He later was present in the taking of

Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...

, shortly before the death of his colleague Ruiz. From 1525 to 1536, he lived in Cusco, where he had an Afro-Mestiza daughter with an Inca woman, before moving with all of them to

Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...

. By this point, the Spanish army in Peru featured more black members than ever. Aside from Pizarro obtaining license in 1529 to import

African slaves Slavery has historically been widespread in Africa. Systems of servitude and slavery were once commonplace in parts of Africa, as they were in much of the rest of the ancient and medieval world. When the trans-Saharan slave trade, Red Sea sl ...

, his army had received black conquistadors like Juan Valiente and 200 soldiers brought by

Pedro de Alvarado Pedro de Alvarado (; 1485 – 4 July 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, ''conquistador'', ''adelantado,'' governor and Captaincy General of Guatemala, captain general of Guatemala.Lovell, Lutz and Swezey 1984, p. 461. He participated in the c ...

, and 200 more arrived in 1534 as reinforcements against the revolt of

Manco Inca Manco Inca Yupanqui (1544) was the founder and first Sapa Inca of the independent Neo-Inca State in Vilcabamba, Peru, Vilcabamba, although he was originally a Puppet government, puppet Inca Emperor installed by the Spaniards. He was also known ...

. Shortly after, García returned to Spain with his family and wealth, becoming one of the few conquistadors who decided and managed to return to enjoy his gains in Spain. The rest of his life remains unknown, although by 1545 he was still alive, lived in Jaraicejo and called himself Juan García Pizarro.

References

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Pizarro, Juan García 1495 births Year of death unknown Conquistadors of African descent Extremaduran conquistadors