If we want to objectively explain the reasons that started the dispute between Spanish conquerors, we must indicate that at first they were caused by territorial disputes in the distribution of conquered lands in the Andean mountain range and the area of present-day Peru. Specifically, the focus of the confrontation was between the two conquerors who were at the head of the governorships of Nueva Castilla, Francisco Pizarro, and Nueva Toledo, Diego de Almagro. These confrontations, inaugurated by these conquerors in 1537, and despite the execution of Almagro in 1538 and the assassination of Pizarro in 1541 at the hands of the almagristas, will give rise to a series of tragic confrontations between governors and Spanish conquerors in the Andean zone of the Peru, which will last until the first years of the second half of the 16th century.
The Capitulation of Toledo in 1529
The royal decree of the Capitulation of Toledo, signed on July 26, 1529 by the queen consort, Isabel of Portugal, on behalf of Carlos V, marked the definitive triumph of Francisco Pizarro to the detriment of his partners in the conquest of Peru and companions in the Levante Company, Hernando de Luque and Diego de Almagro. This was the main trigger of the conflict due to the fact that the Trujillo native was granted a series of disproportionate privileges compared to those received by Almagro and Hernando de Luque.
These documents were signed after Pizarro presented Carlos V with the project to conquer a great and rich empire, discovered in the Andean region by himself together with Hernando de Luque and Diego de Almagro.
Said decree, signed by Pizarro on behalf of his companions, also demonstrates the complete support that the Extremaduran will receive from the Crown for his company in the Indies.
Basically, Pizarro obtained the royal approval to conquer, colonize and evangelize Peru, which would receive the name of New Castile, a territory that covers 200 leagues south of Santiago (or Tenempuela) to the town of Chincha. Likewise, Pizarro is granted the title of Captain General and Governor of the province of Nueva Castilla, in addition to that of Alguacil Mayor and Adelantado, which he will hold for life. He will set his salary at 625,000 maravedís, however, he will also have to support various officers and servants, who will obtain a fair remuneration for his work. In the same way, he is given the power to build fortresses and exercise full government in them and indicate the encomiendas, exercising practically all the functions that correspond to a viceroy.
Diego de Almagro received the rank of commander of the fortress of Tumbez and was named hidalgo, thus obtaining all the privileges that this entailed. His annual allowance was estimated at 300,000 maravedis, an amount much less than Pizarro’s salary. Hernando de Luque was given the Bishopric of Tumbez, for which he would receive 1,000 ducats a year from the Crown. The latter also obtained the title of “Protector of the Indians”. In addition, the three conquerors were directly subject to the legislative jurisdiction that at that time the Royal House and the Council of the Indies had stipulated for the governance of the territories of America. Likewise, the monetary amounts assigned to each of these three members came from the benefits that were extracted from the conquered territories, that is, they were not paid directly by the Crown.
The advantageous position of Pizarro will lead to a clear division of the Spaniards who leave for Peru to conquer it, forming two factions that will position themselves in favor of Pizarro, called “pizarristas”, or Almagro, “almagristas”. This will generate continuous disputes and intrigues on the part of the sympathizers of the manchego, who will continuously demand the allocation of equal privileges for him that are assimilated to those that Pizarro had. Another factor that aggravated the situation was the increasingly frequent practice that Pizarro adopted, and that consisted of the distribution of spoils and wealth obtained in the conquest at his whim, turning the situation into an enmity that would become irreconcilable. For his part, Hernando de Luque will not be involved in the conflict since he will die in 1533 in Panama.
CONFRONTATION WITH ALVARADO AND EVENTS OF THE YEARS 1534-1535
In the spring of 1534, troops under Pizarro had already taken Cuzco, the capital of the Inca Empire and the main objective of the Spanish enterprise in Peru, and had appointed the Manco Inca as emperor. Almagro continued to work closely with Pizarro, leading, among other acts, an expedition to dissuade the enemy and hunt down their leader, Quizquiz, who fled to the Quito plains and was killed by his own soldiers, who were already exhausted from fighting. because of the confrontation with the Castilian troops.
ARRIVAL OF PEDRO DE ALVARADO TO THE PERUVIAN COAST
The conquests of a powerful and rich empire in the area of Peru by Almagro and Pizarro had echoed throughout the American territory that was under Spanish occupation, thus causing conquerors who were located in Central America to want to profit also at the expense of the treasures that could await them in the southern part of the continent. It is then that Pedro de Alvarado, captain under the orders of Cortés in the conquest of Mexico, certain that there was a great Inca treasure in Quito, Atahualpa’s habitual residence, began an expedition commanding a large fleet, with the aim of obtaining the riches that might await him there.
He landed in March 1534 in the bay of Caracas with an army made up of 500 cavalry and infantrymen, a considerable force for the Spanish armies in America during the 16th century, well equipped and supplied with ammunition and firearms.
However, Alvarado’s expedition to Quito can be considered a failure, since in his march he lost a quarter of his total army. In addition, Benalcázar, Pizarro’s trusted man, aware of his arrival, began a series of movements to take Quito himself, making sure that the rumors about riches in the city were completely false.
Aware Almagro of these events, he left for San Miguel along with 180 men to cut off Alvarado’s path, joining forces with those of Benalcázar in Riobamba, where they would await the arrival of Alvarado’s troops. However, when he arrived, there was no confrontation, but a negotiation by which the governor, Francisco Pizarro, would pay Alvarado 100,000 gold pesos in exchange for his troops, fleet, weapons and ammunition. Despite reaching an agreement on August 26, 1534, these expenses did not cover the money invested by Alvarado in said company. Finally, Alvarado will leave for his governorship in Guatemala on January 5, 1535 after meeting with Pizarro.
Benalcázar is then appointed as governor of Quito and, after these events, Pizarro almost completely accepted the submission of Peru. However, tired of playing a secondary role in the conquest, Benalcázar gathered a group of men and set out to conquer north, in the southern part of present-day Colombia, in territories that were outside the jurisdictional limits of Pizarro. .
Following these events, Pizarro founded the city of Lima on January 6, 1535, which would become the new capital of the governorate due to its fortunate position in having a port and being close to the banks of the Rímac valley. Because of this, Pizarro delegated the work of government of the ancient capital of the Inca Empire, Cuzco, in the person of Almagro, giving him in turn the order to command a conquest expedition to the south, in the territories that currently belong to Chile, also granting him command of the troops that had arrived from Guatemala with Alvarado. This fact confirms the political reality that was lived, in which Diego de Almagro adopts a position in which he really is a political subordinate of Pizarro, who exercised his power in a similar way to that of a viceroy.
The incidents with Alvarado and the founding of Lima have developed at the same time as a series of acts that take place in the Iberian Peninsula as a result of the trip that Hernando Pizarro has undertaken there with the aim of meeting Carlos V and modifying the Capitulations of Toledo in 1529.
Hernando Pizarro landed in the port of Seville in January 1534 with a significant amount of wealth brought from Peru. The part that belonged to the Royal Treasury, unloaded in the Casa de Contratación, had proportions never seen before in Spain and was destined to be delivered to King Carlos V. This treasure can be estimated at 155,300 gold pesos, 500,400 silver marks, 38 vessels and a gold idol that, according to sources, was the size of a 4-year-old child. In addition, he carried crockery, jewelry and other sumptuous objects. However, Hernando also carried part of the treasure that was intended for private individuals, estimated at 499,000 gold pesos and 54,000 silver marks.
The arrival of the member of the Pizarro clan with such loot caused a stir in Castile, this being the main asset that Hernando had to meet Carlos V and that the monarch grant him the privileges and royal support that he longed for the Peruvian company.
ROYAL CERTIFICATES OF 1534
After a few months, Carlos V promised to meet with Hernando Pizarro in Toledo on May 21, 1534. In this appointment, the sovereign asked Hernando for information on the conquest and evangelization of the territory, obtaining a response from Extremadura in which he highlighted his brother’s performance over Almagro’s in Peru.
Finally, after this interview, Carlos V granted Almagro a new governorship with two hundred more leagues of land in lines from east to west and north to south where the governorship of Nueva Castilla ended, which he baptized Nueva Toledo. In addition, he appointed this as Adelantado, that is, military chief and general of the armies that were in the territories that had been granted to him. In the same way, the king appointed a series of Treasury officials to control finances in the fiscal sphere and to monitor the economic transactions that were taking place during the conquest. In addition, he endowed the marshal with the power to choose a successor to occupy his position when he died or was unable to exercise it.
For his part, Hernando requested a series of prerogatives for his brother. In the first place, the monarch appointed Francisco “Marquis of the conquest” and increased the territories that corresponded to the governorate of Nueva Castilla by seventy leagues (with the aim that its jurisdiction encompassed Cuzco and its entire region), which was under his command. Likewise, he was granted a series of powers that made him practically have the power of a viceroy and, like Almagro previously, the ability to name a successor. A curious fact is that the king conferred the…