Francisco Pizarro (1474 - 1541), a Spanish conquistador of the sixteenth century, who setout on an expedition to colonize Peru for Spain. In 1531, he and his two partners landed in Peru with about 180 men, some cannons and horses. The Incas (rulers of a vastempire in South America) had a civilization wealthy in gold, silver and other natural resources, though no draft animals. They were, however, already divided by a civil war when Pizarro arrived and so h e easily defeated the army of Atahualpa, the Inca ruler. Pizzaro took Atahualpa as prisoner and demanded a huge ransom for him. The Incas began filling a room with gold to get their leader back. But instead of freeing him, Pizarro had Atahualpa strangled and took Peru. —PDC Volume 6 Approved Glossary