100 facts for 100 years of Machu Picchu: Fact 46

46. In 1533, Atahuallpa was executed, and explorer Francisco Pizarro began his march to Cuzco.
45.Amazingly, Francisco Pizarro’s men, who numbered less than 200, overcame 4,000 or so Incans and captured Atahuallpa, the Incan ruler.

44. In November 1530, Francisco Pizarro and Atahuallpa, the Incan ruler, were to meet in Cajamarca, an Incan city in northern Peru. Pizarro told Atahuallpa to give himself to Christ and the Spaniards, and when he refused, Pizarro decided to attack.

43. The governor of Panama thought the expeditions foolish so Francisco Pizarro went to Spain to speak directly with the emperor, who said yes. So off Pizarro sailed.

42. He and his partner, Diego de Almargo, and a priest, Hernando de Luque, sailed down the west coast of South America twice.

41. Francisco Pizarro seems an unlikely player in that drama. He was a bit of a puzzle. Once, the explorer was marked as unambitious, but after a stint as mayor of a city named Panama (in, not surprisingly, Panama), he turned his attention to South America.