Hernando Pizarro

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Hernando Pizarro y de Vargas (c. 1504 – c. 1578) was a Spanish conquistador and one of the Pizarro brothers who helped conquer Peru. He was the only brother who was not killed in Peru and he eventually returned to Spain. Born in Trujillo, Extremadura, he grew up with connections to the Spanish court. In 1530 he joined Francisco Pizarro in the New World and helped defeat the Inca Empire. In 1533 he carried the royal fifth from Atahualpa’s ransom back to Spain and spoke with Emperor Charles V about the expedition. Back in Peru, he and his brothers ruled from Cuzco and helped suppress Inca uprisings. When Diego de Almagro challenged them, Almagro captured Hernando briefly, but he was released after negotiations. In 1538 the Pizarros defeated Almagro at the Battle of Las Salinas, and Almagro was killed. The ensuing infighting damaged their standing in Spain, and in 1541 Hernando returned to lobby for the Pizarros. He was imprisoned for about twenty years, until 1561, in the Castle of La Mota. He then lived in Trujillo until his death in 1578. In 1552 he married his niece, Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui, daughter of Francisco Pizarro and his Inca mistress Inés Yupanqui; they had five children. The Pizarro line continued through his descendants for some time but is now extinct in the male line.