Atahualpa
Atahualpa (Quechua Atawallpa or Ataw Wallpa, literally "happiness fowl", a totemic bird) (c. 1502 – 1533) was the 13th and last emperor of the Tahuantinsuyo, or Inca empire, who defeated his older half-brother Huascar in a civil war sparked by his father Inca Huayna Capac succumbing to smallpox. Backed by strong generals and a large army, Atahualpa was able to defeat Huascar after many years of brutal battles.
On his way back to Cusco to claim his recently won throne, Atahualpa stopped in the Andean city of Cajamarca with his army of over 80,000 troops. By this time the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro had established the city of Piura, the first Spanish settlement in Peru on July of 1532. After two months on the march, Pizarro had arrived at Cajamarca with just 168 men under his command and sent Hernando de Soto, friar Vicente de Valverde and native interpreter Felipillo to speak with Atahualpa about the Spanish presense.
Through the interpreter, Valverde delivered the "Requirement," indicating that Atahualpa and his people must convert to Christianity, and if he refused he would be considered an enemy of the Church and of Spain. Atahualpa refused the Spanish presense in his land by saying he would "be no man's tributary" and threw the bible on the floor. The Spanish envoys returned to Pizarro, who prepared a surprise attack against Atahualpa's army in what became the Battle of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532.
According to Spanish law, Atahualpa’s refusal of the requirement allowed the Spanish to officially declare war on the Inca people. Accounts by the Spanish conquistadors indicate that Atahualpa was offered a bible which he threw to the ground. Over six thousand Inca soldiers were killed over the course of two hours, and the Spanish imprisoned Atahualpa in the Temple of the Sun. In exchange for his release, Atahualpa agreed to fill a large room with gold and promised the Spanish twice that amount in silver. Stunned by the offer, Pizarro nonetheless had no intention of releasing the Inca because he needed the ruler's influence over the native people to maintain order in the surrounding country or, more to the point, he meant to depose Atahualpa, placing the entire empire under the rule of Spain's King Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V).
Still outnumbered and fearing an imminent attack from the Inca general Rumi Ñawi, the Spanish saw Atahualpa as too much of a liability and chose to have him executed. Pizarro staged a mock trial and found Atahualpa guilty of revolting against the Spanish, practicing idolatry and murdering Huascar, his own brother. Atahualpa was sentenced to execution by burning. He was horrified, since the Inca believed that the soul would not be able to go on to the afterlife if the body were burned. Soon after, Atahualpa realized the Spaniards' greed and offered Pizarro to buy his liberty by filling the room where he was kept prisoner with gold and the two following rooms with silver, up to the level of the reach of his arm.
Friar Vicente de Valverde, whom before had offered the bible to Atahualpa, intervened again, telling Atahualpa that if he agreed to convert to Christianity he would convince the rest to commute the sentence. Atahualpa agreed to be baptized under Christian faith. He was given the name Juan de Atahualpa and, in accordance with his request, was strangled instead of being burned. Atahualpa died on August 29, 1533. Atahualpa was succeeded by his brother, the puppet Inca Tupac Huallpa, and later by another brother Manco Inca Yupanqui.
Further reading
- The Discovery and Conquest of Peru by William H. Prescott
- Conquest of the Incas, John Hemming, 1973.
- The Royal Hunt of the Sun, by Peter Shaffer, 1964.
See also
- History of Peru
- The Ransom Room
- Spanish conquest of Peru
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