The New World was initially colonized around or before 11,000 B.C. by way of Alaska, the Bering Strait, and Siberia. Complex agricultural societies gradually arose in the Americas far to the south of that entry route, developing in complete isolation from the emerging societies of the Old World. The collision of advanced Old World and New World societies began abruptly in 1492, when Christopher Columbus’s “discovery” of Caribbean islands densely populated by Native Americans.
                        The most dramatic moment in early European-Native American relations was the first encounter between the Inca emperor Atahuallpa (At–ta-hwal-puh) and the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro at the Peruvian highland town of Cajamarca on November 16, 1532.

                The Players:

Atahuallpa:                       The absolute monarch of the largest and most advanced state in the New  
World
Pizarro:                               A Spanish conquistador representing King Charles I of Spain, monarch of the most powerful state in Europe. He is known to his men as “the
Governor.”
Atahuallpa’s Army:       approximately 80,000 soldiers, recently victorious in a civil war with
other Indians.
Pizarro’s Army:               168 Spanish soldiers; 62 mounted on horses, 106 foot soldiers

                The Setting:

Atahuallpa was in the middle of his own empire of millions of subjects.

Pizarro was in unfamiliar terrain and completely out of touch with other Spaniards, who
were 1,000 miles to the north in Panama.

                The Story:

From an eyewitness account…

                “Governor Pizarro wished to obtain intelligence from some Indians who had come from Cajamarca, so he had them tortured. They confessed that they had heard that
Atahuallpa was waiting for the Governor at Cajamarca. The Governor then ordered us to advance.  On reaching the entrance to Cajamarca, we saw the camp of Atahuallpa at a distance, in the skirts of the mountains. The Indian’s camp looked like a very beautiful city.  They had so many tents that we were all filled with great apprehension.  Until then, we had never seen anything like this in the Indies. It filled all our Spaniards with fear and confusion. But we could not show fear or turn back, for if the Indians had sensed any weakness in us, …we would have been killed.  So we made a show of good spirits, and after carefully observing the town and the tents, we descended into the valley and entered Cajamarca.
“We talked a lot among ourselves about what to do. All of us were full of fear, because we were so few in number and we had penetrated so far into a land where we could not hope to receive reinforcements.  Few of us slept that night, and we kept watch, looking at the campfires of the Indian army. It was a frightening sight. Most of the campfires were on a hillside and so close to each other that it looked like the sky brightly studded with stars. The Governor’s brother Hernando estimated the number of Indian soldiers there at 40,000, but he was telling us a lie just to encourage us, for there were actually more than 80,000 Indians.
“On the next morning a messenger from Atahuallpa arrived, and the Governor said to him, ‘Tell your lord to come when an how he pleases, and that I will receive him as a friend and brother. I pray that he come quickly, for I desire to see him. No harm or insult will befall him.’
“The Governor concealed his troops around the square at Cajamarca, dividing the cavalry into two portions. In like manner he divided the infantry. At the same time, he ordered two or three infantrymen to go with trumpets to a small fort in the plaza and to station themselves there with a small piece of artillery. When all the Indians, and Atahuallpa with them, had entered the plaza, the Governor would give a signal to his men, after which they should start firing the gun, and the trumpets should sound, and at the sound of the trumpets the cavalry should dash out of the large court where they were waiting hidden in readiness.
“At noon Atahuallpa began to draw up his men and to approach.  Soon we saw the entire plain full of Indians, halting periodically to wait for more Indians who kept filing out of the camp behind them. In front of Atahuallpa went 2,000 Indians who swept the road ahead of him, and these were followed by warriors, half of whom were marching in the fields on one side of him and half on the other side.
“First came a squadron of Indians dressed in clothes of different colors, like a chessboard. They advanced, removing straws and sweeping the road. Next came three squadrons in different dresses, dancing and singing. Then came a number of men with armor, large metal plates, and crowns of gold and silver. Among them came the figure of Atahuallpa in a very fine litter with the ends of its timbers covered in silver. Eighty lords carried him on their shoulders. Atahuallpa himself was very richly dressed, with his crown on his head and a collar of large emeralds around his neck. The litter was lined with parrot feathers of many colors and decorated with plates of gold and silver.
“ Behind Atahuallpa came more litters and hammocks in which were some high chiefs, then more squadrons of Indians with crowns of gold and silver. They entered the plaza, occupying every part of it. In the meantime all of us Spaniards were waiting ready, hidden in a courtyard, full of fear. Many of us urinated without noticing it, out of sheer terror. On reaching the center of the plaza, Atahuallpa remained in his litter on high, while his troops continued to file in behind him.
“Governor Pizarro now sent Friar de Valverde to go speak to Atahuallpa, and to require that Atahuallpa subject himself to the law of our Lord Jesus Christ and to the service of His Majesty the King of Spain. Advancing with a cross in one hand and the Bible in the other hand, the Friar made his way among the Indian troops and addressed Atahuallpa. ‘I am a Priest of God, and I teach Christians the things of God, and in like manner I come to teach you. What I teach is that which God says to us in this Book,’ he said.
“Atahuallpa asked for the book, that he might look at it, and the Friar gave it to him closed. Atahuallpa did not know how to open the book. The Friar extended his arm to help him, but Atahuallpa, in great anger, gave him a blow on the arm, not wishing that it should be opened. Then he opened the book himself and, without any regard for the writing, threw it away from him, his face a deep crimson.
“The Friar returned to Pizarro, shouting ‘Come out! Come out, Christians! Come at these enemy dogs who reject the things of God! That tyrant has thrown my book of holy law to the ground! March out against him, for I absolve you!’
“The governor then gave a signal and the soldiers with the artillery began to fire the guns. At the same time the trumpets were sounded, and the armored Spanish troops, both cavalry and infantry, sallied forth out of their hiding places straight into the mass of unarmed Indians crowding the square, giving the battle cry, ’Santiago!’ We had placed rattles on the horses to terrify the Indians. The booming of the guns, the blowing of the trumpets, and the rattles on the horses threw the Indians into a panicked confusion. The Spaniards fell upon them and began to cut them to pieces. The Indians were so filled with fear that they climbed on top of one another, formed mounds, and suffocated each other.  Since they were unarmed, they were attacked without any danger to any Christian. The cavalry rode them down, killing and wounding, and following in pursuit. The infantry made so good an assault on those that remained that in a short time most of them were put to the sword.”

                Epilogue:

                Governor Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors he lead captured Atahuallpa. They killed the Indians that supported Atahuallpa’s litter, and the Indians who rushed to take the place of those slain. The litter was dumped on its side and Atahuallpa was pulled from it. The panic-stricken Indians remaining in the square had never seen horses or guns. They tried to flee by knocking down a stretch of wall and running onto the plain surrounding Cajamarca. The Spanish cavalry jumped the fallen wall and pursued them. Though the valley, for 15 or 20 miles, was filled with Indians, not one of them lifted a weapon against a Spaniard. As night fell, the Spanish cavalry continued to spear Indians in the fields.
The trumpet finally sounded calling for the Spanish to reassemble at camp.
“Six or seven thousand Indians lay dead, and many more had their arms cut off and other wounds. Atahuallpa himself admitted that we had killed 7,000 of his men in battle. It was extraordinary to see so powerful a ruler captured in so short a time, when he had come with such a mighty army. Truly, it was not accomplished by our own forces, for there were so few of us. It was by the grace of God, which is great.”
Pizarro held Atahuallpa prisoner for eight months and extracted history’s largest ransom for the promise to free him. “After the ransom – enough gold to fill a room 22 feet long by 17 feet wide to a height of over eight feet – was delivered, Pizarro reneged on his promise and executed Atahuallpa.”

Collision at Cajamarca Questions

Post-Reading

Comprehension Questions:

What was Pizarro’s military strategy?

Who was sent to speak to Atahuallpa?

Based on what he said, why did the Spanish come to the Incas at Cajamarca?

What caused violence to break out?

Why did the Indians panic so quickly and so completely?

What was the result of the encounter?

Essential or Overarching questions: (Choose 2) Answer completely. Use what you have learned about societal patterns, cultures, and encounters. Support your statements.

Why did Pizarro capture Atahuallpa?

Why did Atahuallpa walk into the trap?

How are factors in this encounter between Pizarro and Atahuallpa an indicator of other encounters between the Old World and the New World?

Why didn’t Atahuallpa come to Spain to capture King Charles I?