Spanish conquistador, born in Trujillo, WC Spain, the half-brother of Francisco Pizarro. He accompanied him in the conquest of Peru (15313), and was made Governor of Quito. In 1539 he undertook an expedition to the E of Quito, and endured fearful hardships and starvation, only 90 out of 350 Spaniards returning with him in 1542. In 1544 the new viceroy, Vela, arrived in Peru to enforce the new laws instigated by the King of Spain. The local Spaniards entreated Pizarro to protect their interests, and he was declared Governor of Peru. He defeated and killed the viceroy in 1546, then Pedro de la Gasca was sent to Peru to restore order. Pizarro defeated a force sent against him, and met Gasca near Cuzco (1548), but his forces deserted him, and he was beheaded.
Gonzalo Pizarro (1502 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish conquistador and younger half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire.
Born in Trujillo, Spain, Gonzalo Pizarro accompanied his brother Francisco in his third expedition for the conquest of Peru in 1532. Gonzalo was also the brother of Hernando Pizarro and Juan Pizarro. A lieutenant of his brother Francisco during the conquest, Gonzalo Pizarro was one of the most corrupt, brutal and ruthless conquistadors of the New World, being far less restrained towards the natives and the Inca than his older brothers.
After Inca emperor Atahualpa was captured in the Battle of Cajamarca and later executed on August 29, 1533, the Pizarro brothers and their followers marched towards the Inca capital of Cuzco to complete the conquest.
Soon discords arose between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro concerning their leadership in the newly conquered land of the Incas. Upon his departure, Gonzalo and Juan were appointed by Francisco as garrisons of Cuzco without Almagro knowing it.
Gonzalo and Juan Pizarro both looked after the settlements in Cuzco, while their eldest brother Francisco explored the west coast of northern Peru and founded the city of Lima in 1535. Gonzalo, Juan and his younger brother Hernándo ruled Cuzco with dictatorship, greed, corruption, and brutality, torturing and executing those who refused to accept Spanish rule.
When Almagro returned from Chile disappointed in not finding any gold, he captured and imprisoned Gonzalo and Hernándo in 1537. When Gonzalo and Hernándo noticed that Almagro also wanted to take control of Cuzco, they fought against him in the Battle of Las Salinas in April of 1538. Gonzalo and Hernándo heard of Almagro's threatening intentions and led an army against him, defeating his forces and later condemning him for treason.
Expeditions with Francisco de Orellana
In 1541, Gonzalo was declared the governor of Quito. Not satisfied and at the urging of Francisco Pizarro, he led an expedition east of Quito with Francisco de Orellana in search of the fabled city of El Dorado and of The country of cinnamon ("País de la Canela"). Gonzalo Pizarro and his followers left Quito on February of 1541, a month before Orellana, who was able to bring 23 men and several horses.
After a brief time, Gonzalo thought the expedition was a whole failure and decided to take a route north back to Quito with 80 of the remaining men, unknowingly relinquishing the success to Orellana, who ended discovering and exploring the entire length of the Amazon River.
Last years
Upon his return to Quito, Gonzalo learned that the Almagristas (as the followers of Almagro were called) had assassinated his brother Francisco Pizarro on June 26, 1541 in retaliation for Almagro's execution. Gonzalo Pizarro offered to help capture those responsible for his brother's death, but was refused. This prompted Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisco de Carvajal to organize an army of followers with the intent of suppressing the New Laws, defeating Núñez in 1546. Soon the support for Gonzalo diminished when the King's new representative, Pedro de La Gasca, arrived with the intention of offering pardon and repealing the New Laws. No longer supported with an army against the King's new representative, Gonzalo Pizarro surrendered and was beheaded.
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