- Transfer to Peru and the conquests of the Incas
- Civil war between Pizarro and Almagro the advance
- The government and revenge
- Death
- References
Diego de Almagro el Mozo (1522-1542), also known as Diego Almagro II, was a young explorer and conqueror of the Peruvian lands, born in Panama on September 16, 1520. He was the illegitimate mestizo son of the Manchego conqueror Diego Almagro “el Viejo ”, and a native indigenous woman from Panama, named Ana Martínez.
He is historically associated with the battles of conquest of the territories of the Inca empire together with his father and the famous conqueror of Peru Francisco Pizarro.
On the other hand, he is also known as the orchestrator of the assassination of Pizarro and the coup in Peru, where he became governor from 1541 to 1542, the year of his execution.
According to the testimonies and stories of the Panamanian Indians of the time, Diego Almagro was described as an attractive young man, good-looking, with stately bearing and grace, of excellent manners, intelligent, cultured, a good reader, good handwriting, and skilled on horseback..
He was educated in Panama from his childhood until he accompanied his father on the expedition and conquest of the Incas between 1531 and 1532, a fact that led him from a very young age to acquire experiences as a military leader on the battlefield.
The tense political circumstances that followed the Spanish victories over the native Incas, played totally against the prodigious and glorious future that many perceived of "El Mozo."
Transfer to Peru and the conquests of the Incas
Around 1531, his father Diego Almagro "the advance", as they also called him, included him in the expeditions to the north of the Inca empire. The father had long been in Panama recruiting men, gathering equipment and supplies to join his friend Francisco Pizarro's campaign of conquest.
Both, father and son, led a team of about one hundred Spanish soldiers that went to the Peruvian north, while Pizarro faced and defeated Emperor Atahualpa in the famous battle of Cajamarca in 1532.
In 1533, the Almagro team managed to meet with the rest of Pizarro's expedition in Cajamarca, but they were not awarded any booty for the capture of the territory. Despite this, the collaboration between Pizarro and the Almagro people made them conquer more Inca territories and found new cities under their rule.
While his father marched north again, towards Quito, pursuing one of Atahualpa's generals, Almagro the young man accompanied Pizarro to conquer the imperial city of Cuzco, the Inca capital.
The young man decided to join his father again on his expedition to the territories of present-day Chile, where the government of Nuevo Toledo was founded. This administrative department was created in 1534 to favor Diego Almagro el Viejo, who did not receive distribution of strips of land from previous campaigns.
After several setbacks with his ship and the hostility of the local natives, he managed to reunite with his father, who wished to abandon his post because he had not found satisfactory resources or wealth in those lands.
In 1536 it is written in documents that Diego Almagro el Mozo, would be the heir and successor of his father in the government of Nuevo Toledo.
Civil war between Pizarro and Almagro the advance
The animosity and tension between the two conquerors overflowed when Almagro the old man decided to march back to Cuzco in 1537, considering it as part of his government. The city had been retaken shortly before by the indigenous people with Manco Inca at the head.
The Almagro, coming from the south, put an end to the insurrection of the Incas and managed to recover Cuzco. Francisco Pizarro's brothers, Gonzalo and Hernando, were the officers in command of the defense of the city, but during the battle they did not obey the orders of Almagro del viejo.
Under these charges, the Pizarro brothers were arrested in Cuzco. The news made Francisco return - who was in Lima - and both bodies met again in 1538 at the Battle of Salinas. The almagristas were defeated, the old man was tried and imprisoned, and the Mozo was seized by Hernando Pizarro.
Later, the Mozo, was transferred to Lima under Hernando's orders, where he was received with great kindness by Francisco Pizarro. Between conversations and friendly dealings, the Mozo begged the conqueror to forgive his father. It is said that both out of appreciation and admiration for both Almagro, Francisco promised Diego el Mozo not to condemn his father to death.
However, on his return to Cuzco, Francisco found that his brother Hernando had already advanced the death sentence and carried out the sentence. In 1538, Diego Almagro Sr. was strangled in his cell and put on display in the main square of Cuzco, where he was beheaded.
The government and revenge
Under the tutelage of Diego de Alvarado, the Mozo remained in Lima with the plan of waiting the corresponding age to claim his hereditary rights as governor of Nuevo Toledo.
Diego de Almagro el Mozo managed to gather soldiers and obtained the support of various indigenous groups from the Manco Inca factions. Meanwhile, in Spain representatives of both sides tried to obtain the favor of the crown before the demands of ownership of the lands in South America.
The "Caballeros de la Capa", name of the group of affiliated to the Almagrista movement, gather around the Mozo to plan to finish off Francisco Pizarro.
On the morning of Sunday June 26, 1541, they managed to assassinate him in his own palace in Lima, with a thrust to the throat. Diego Almagro el Mozo was validated as governor of Peru by the council and was awaiting the formal proclamation of the king.
He was received with a vocation and much liking by the people of Cuzco.
Death
Despite the victories, acceptance and rise of the young Almagro to power, there were many territories with a strong inclination towards the Pizarro faction. The royal decree never came, and instead the new governor appointed by the king and emperor himself was sent from Spain.
This fact encouraged Pizarro's sympathizers to join the governor, placing the Mozo and his forces in a position of insurrection. The waiter was made a proposal; that he accept the authority of the new governor and pardon would be granted.
For his part, the Mozo made his own request to stay as governor of Cuzco and its assigned lands. Receiving no response, he completely rejected the authority of the new governor and decides to face each other in battle.
The stories tell that Diego Almagro el Mozo led his troops like a great general in the defense of his honor and that of his father. He commanded in the Battle of Chupas in 1542, around 500 men including cavalry, infantry, artillery cannons and arquebuses.
Despite having a good plan, he was defeated by numerical and tactical superiority; although he suspected treason from his lieutenant in charge of the guns. He tried to meet with the Manco Indians in Vilcabamba but was captured.
He was beheaded in the same square where his father was exhibited. His body was buried along with his father's by request prior to execution.
After so many bloody conflicts between the conquerors, the crown decided to create the Viceroyalty of Peru at the end of the same year. In this way the previous governments of Francisco Pizarro (Nueva Castilla) and Diego Almagro (Nueva Toledo), ceased to exist.
References
- Kim MacQuarrie (2008). The last Days of the Incas (Online book). Simon and Schuster. Google Books. Recovered from books.google.co.ve
- The Biography. Biography of the Young Governor of Peru Diego de Almagro. Recovered from thebiography.us
- Diego Almagro II. Recovered from revolvy.com
- Bernardo Gomez Álvarez. Diego Almagro, the Mozo, Governor of Peru. MCN Biographies. Recovered from mcnbiografias.com
- The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica (2013). Diego de Almagro. Encyclopædia Britannica, inc. Recovered from britannica.com