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593-600 CH16 S3-824133 3/24/04 4:36 AM Page 599

160 adventurers up the mountains to the Pizarro Conquers the Inca Incan homeland. The riches of the led The Inca tried to ignore him, but other Spanish conquerors to seek their fortunes in Pizarro, now in his 50s, would not leave. He South America. raided Incan storehouses and fired guns at Reading Focus Have you ever done anything because villagers. The Incan , Atahualpa (AH • you have seen other people do it and succeed? Read to tuh•WAHL •puh), thought Pizarro was crazy learn how another followed the example or a fool. How could this man stand up to of Cortés and conquered the Inca. an army of 80,000 Incan warriors? Atahualpa misjudged Pizarro. The In 1513 Vasco Núñez de Balboa (VAHS• Spaniard had an advantage. The Inca knew koh NOON•yays day bal•BOH•uh) led a little about the Europeans, but Pizarro band of soldiers across the jungle-covered knew a lot about Native Americans. He had mountains of present-day Panama. Native spent more than 30 years fighting Native Americans said that if Balboa traveled south along a western sea, he would find a great empire filled with . Balboa found the sea, known today as the Pacific Ocean. However, he never Incan Record found the golden empire. A jealous Keeping Spanish official in Panama falsely ASpanish conquistador wrote charged him with treason (TREE•zuhn), about aspects of Incan culture. or disloyalty to the government, and “At the beginning of the new year ordered him beheaded. the rulers of each village came to (fran • SIHS • koh Cuzco, bringing their quipus, which puh • ZAHR • oh), who marched with told how many births there had Balboa, took up the search. Pizarro been during the year, and how could not write his name, but he many deaths. In this way knew how to fight. Like Balboa and the Inca and the governors knew which of the Indians were poor, Cortés, Pizarro came from the harsh the women who had been wid- Extremadura. Unlike his neighbors, owed, whether they were able however, he was not of noble birth. to pay their taxes, and how many At age 16, Pizarro fled a job herding men they could count on in the pigs to fight in Italy. In 1502 he arrived in event of war, and many other the Americas. Helping explore Panama, things they considered highly important.” he became a wealthy landowner. But —Pedro de Cieza de Léon, The Pizarro longed to find the golden empire. Quipu Second Part of the Chronicle of Peru

Pizarro and the Inca By the , the Inca thought they ruled most of the world. Two Quipus were used to calculate records and threats from the north soon proved they did building plans. How else do you think the not. The Inca could do nothing to stop the Inca might have used quipus? southward spread of smallpox. They also failed to scare away Pizarro, who led

CHAPTER 16 The Americas 599 Werner Forman/Art Resource, NY 593-600 CH16 S3-824133 3/24/04 4:37 AM Page 600

Americans. Also, his good friend Hernán Atahualpa tried to buy his freedom. He Cortés gave Pizarro an inside look at the offered to fill his jail cell with gold and a conquest of the Aztec. In late 1532, Pizarro nearby room with silver. Pizarro jumped at decided on a plan so bold that even Cortés the deal. Atahualpa kept his part of the bar- might not have risked it. gain. Pizarro did not. He charged the emperor with many crimes: plotting a Pizarro Defeats the Inca Spanish messen- rebellion, worshiping false gods, having too gers invited Atahualpa to a meeting. many wives, and more. In 1533 a military Atahualpa agreed but made the mistake of court found the emperor guilty and sen- leaving most of his huge army behind. He tenced him to death. believed that his 5,000 bodyguards were To reward Pizarro, the Spanish king enough protection. He also decided, based made him governor of Peru. Pizarro then on Pizarro’s small force, that the Inca chose a new emperor for the Inca, but the needed no weapons. emperor had to follow Pizarro’s orders. When they met, Pizarro wasted no time Pizarro’s conquest of Peru opened most of in asking the emperor to give up his gods. South America to Spanish rule. con- When Atahualpa laughed at his request, trolled a vast territory covering 375,000 Pizarro ordered an attack. Cannons roared, square miles (975,000 sq km) with almost trumpets blared, and sword-swinging sol- 7 million inhabitants. It was on its way to diers shrieked battle cries. Pizarro then building the world’s first global empire. seized Atahualpa and dragged him off the Explain How did Pizarro fail battlefield. to keep his promise to Atahualpa?

Homework Helper Need help with the material in this section? Visit jat.glencoe.com What Did You Learn? Reading Summary 1. How did Christopher Columbus 4. Predict How might the his- convince Spanish rulers to pay Review the tory of the Aztec people be dif- for a second trip? ferent without the legend of • Searching for a sea route to Asia, the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl? Christopher Columbus arrived in 2. Why did Cortés sail from Cuba the Americas and claimed lands to Mexico in search of the 5. Analyze Why were the Aztec there for Spain. Aztec? and the Inca so easily defeated by smaller Spanish forces? • With a small army, Spanish Critical Thinking conquistador Hernán Cortés 3. Sequencing Information 6. Expository Writing Imagine conquered Montezuma and the Draw a time line like the one you are an Aztec or an Inca Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán. shown. Fill in events related to seeing a Spanish conquistador Cortés’s capture of Tenochtitlán. for the first time. Write a news- • In Peru, a small Spanish force led paper article describing what by Francisco Pizarro captured the you have observed. . 1517: Spanish ship brings back gold from Yucatán

600 CHAPTER 16 The Americas