Atahualpa

Atahualpa (c. 1497–1533), also known as Atahuallpa, was the penultimate Sapa Inca of the Inca Empire. He was the son of Huayna Capac and came to power after a civil war with his half-brother Huáscar following Huayna Capac’s death in the 1520s. The conflict weakened the empire and set the stage for outside invasion.

In 1532, Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro met Atahualpa at Cajamarca. He was captured following a battle and held hostage by the Spaniards. During his captivity he agreed to a large ransom, offering to fill a room with gold and another with silver to secure his release. The Spaniards accepted the payment, but Atahualpa was executed in 1533, reportedly by garrote, in Cusco after being tried by the colonizers.

Atahualpa’s death effectively ended the Inca Empire’s political autonomy in the central highlands, though held territories and loyalists continued to resist Spanish rule for several years. His capture and murder are central episodes in the early stages of the Spanish conquest of the Andes and the establishment of colonial Peru.

Historiography and sources about Atahualpa vary, with chroniclers offering different details about the ransom, his treatment in captivity, and the precise dates. His reign is often interpreted as a pivotal moment that exposed the vulnerabilities of the Inca state to external forces and led to the rapid dissolution of centralized Inca authority.