1-155-477 - Art Media/Heritage Images

Francisco Pizarro, 15th century Spanish conquistador, 1671. Later engraving of Pizarro (c1475-1541), conqueror of the Inca empire (1531-1533). Pizarro captured Atahualpa (1500?-1533), last Inca emperor of Peru and, after extorting a huge ransom in gold, put him to death for heresy (against Christianity). Pizarro then claimed the Incas' lands for the King of Spain. In 1535 he founded the city of Lima, capital of Peru. He was assassinated in 1541.