Francisco Pizarro
· Was born into a poor family and never attended school or learned to read or write as a child he was a swineherd (a person who took care of boars-wild pigs)
· Pizarro was on Balboa’s journey across the Isthmus of Panama; however, Balboa did see it first
· Pizarro’s expedition – from Panama to Peru
· Did not have enough men to attack, so he gave the Indian presents and pretended to be friends ( in Tumbes Harbor)
· Pizarro returned to Panama, but the Gov. Rios refused to let him take another voyage, so Pizarro sailed to Spain to ask King Charles V for permission. King Charles gave Pizarro a royal license to conquer Peru and made Pizarro the government of Peru. Pizarro found 100 men in Spain to assist.
· 1530 after Pizarro left Peru in 1527 a deadly disease had spread through the empire (probably caught from Europeans) More than 100,000 people, died Huayna Capac (leader) died and before dying split his kingdom between 2 sons. Hauscar was the oldest and angry and led war with Athuallpa; however, Athuallpa won the War of Two Brothers
Atahuallpa Pizarro
Met with 6,000 unarmed men Spanish priest demanded Incas become Christians
Atahuallpa refused Pizarro attacked
Atahuallpa taken prisoner and Pizarro received 13,420 lbs of gold, 26,000
made deal with Pizarro lbs of silver in exchange for freedom, but Pizarro did not free Atahuallpa- he executed him
Pizarro was killed in Lima, Peru by his old partner, Almagro’s men
www.powerkidslinks.com/pslfe/pizarro
Analyze the poem, “Lament for Atahualpa” which was written almost 500 years ago. Ask
students to discuss the ransom and betrayal of Atahualpa and then write their own free-
form poem or song expressing their feelings about this event.
After seizing our father Inca
After deceiving him
They put him to death.
He with the heart of a puma
The cleverness of a fox
They killed him
Like a llama
Hail fell
Lightning struck
The sun sank
Night fell.
Balboa
· He was given land as a gift for hard work on an expedition
· 8 years in Hispaniola as a pig farmer, but he did not do well and went into debt. He could not leave the island without paying debts
· He stowaway on an expedition ship (he and his hound dog, Leonciso)
· Balboa always sought to make peace with the Native Americans. He wanted them as allies and partners not enemies or enslaved (rare attitude for a conquistador)
· 190 best men of Darien and 800 Indians to carry supplies to serve as guides
· Balboa journey through swamps, rivers, streams. Many times the men had to strip off all their clothes and carry them on top of their heads as they crossed. Then they entered a rain forest where the plant life and trees were so thick Balboa and his men could not see the sky. Then crossed mountains and deep wide streams and treacherous waterfalls.
· One encounter with hostile Indians. 1000 Quarequ warriors attacked but Spanish muskets defeated then. 600 Indians died, but none of Balboa’s men. Some were wounded and were left at a friendly village.
· Balboa and 70 men pushed ahead
· On Sept 25th, an Indian guide pointed to a mountain peak and told Balboa that a man could see the great sea from the top. Balboa led the final climb alone with only his dog, Leoncico. Took 2 hours to climb and reached the peak exhausted.
· As Balboa gazed in awe at the sparkling blue waters of the Pacific Ocean, he fell to his knees to pray.
· 1st European to see this ocean from the Eastern shore….named it the “South Sea”
· At the time the Atlantic Ocean was named the North Sea and he traveled south when crossing the isthmus.
· The other men followed and Balboa had a tree cut down and made a cross to plant there. He waded into the warm water in full armor until it reached his knees and drew his sword with one hand and Spain’s flag with the other and claimed the ocean and all lands property of the King.
· A mean leader Pedrarias Davila tried many times to hurt Balboa and his reputations. He sent Balboa’s friend, Pizarro to arrest him and then had Balboa’s head cut off. Balboa was buried, but his head was mounted on a pole where it remained for several days. Pedrarias tried to remove Balboa’s name from all documents on his discovery of the South Sea, but men who knew and loved Balboa kept it alive.
· Balboa has a statue in Panama City, Panama “Peacemaker” Panama’s currency is named “The Balboa” in his honor.
· In 1517, Balboa wrote in his journal of an idea for a canal between the two seas. 1881 French attempted it, but abandoned the work after 7 years (yellow fever) 1904 – America built (took 10 years $366 million), nearly 400 years after Balboad first proposed it. Opened August 1914
Hernando De Soto (1500?-1542)
was a Spanish explorer who sailed the Atlantic Ocean and was the first European to explore Florida and the southeastern US. First European to see the Mississippi River and first in TN
Francisco Pizarro enlisted de Soto for an expedition to Peru (1531-1532). During this expedition they met and killed Atahualpa, the ruler of the Incas, and conquered the Inca empire.
De Soto returned to Spain in 1536, and was granted the rights to conquer Florida and was named governor of Cuba in 1537.
De Soto arrived on the west coast of Florida on May 30, 1539 with 10 ships carrying over 600 soldiers, priests, and explorers. They spent four years searching for gold and silver, exploring the area, and brutally contacting native societies, including the Cherokees, Seminoles, Creeks, Appalachians, and Choctaws. De Soto died during the explorations and was buried on the banks of the Mississippi River in late June, 1542.