The Rest Is History

The Fall of the Incas: Massacre in the Andes (Part 2)

February 19, 2026

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  • The Spanish conquistadors, led by Francisco Pizarro, were a small, opportunistic force composed largely of non-professional soldiers seeking fortune, relying heavily on surprise and military technology (horses, steel, gunpowder) to confront the massive Inca Empire. 
  • Inca Emperor Atahualpa initially viewed the small Spanish contingent with curiosity and perhaps as potential military assets for his ongoing civil war, underestimating them as an existential threat until the final confrontation was imminent. 
  • The meeting between Pizarro's men and Atahualpa near Cajamarca on November 16, 1532, was preceded by intense tension, strategic positioning by the Spanish within the town square, and a disastrous religious confrontation initiated by Friar Vicente de Valverde, setting the stage for the massacre. 
  • The Spanish initiated a brutal massacre in Cajamarca after Friar Valverde used Atahualpa's confusion over a prayer book as the pretext to declare the Incas had rejected the word of God. 
  • The ensuing slaughter was a complete surprise to the Incas, involving sensory overload from gunfire and trumpets, followed by a devastating cavalry charge that resulted in the deaths of thousands (estimated between two and eight thousand) while the Incas never raised a weapon. 
  • Despite the carnage, Francisco Pizarro ensured Atahualpa's capture rather than death, leading to the bizarre scene where the Emperor was forced to dine next to Pizarro, covered in blood and trauma, marking a complete decapitation of the Inca state leadership. 

Segments

Festival Announcements and Membership Drive
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(00:01:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The Rest Is History Festival at Hampton Court Palace on July 4th and 5th, 2026, is exclusive to club members, with Athelstan tier members receiving guaranteed tickets.
  • Summary: The hosts announced several guests for the 2026 festival, including Tracy Borman (Tudors) and Katya Hoyer (Weimar Germany). Access to the inaugural festival is restricted solely to members of The Rest Is History Club. Members can enter a ticket ballot, while Athelstan members are guaranteed two tickets.
Conquistador Hardship in the Andes
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(00:03:27)
  • Key Takeaway: The initial ascent into the high Andes was a grueling, freezing ordeal for Pizarro’s men, who struggled for days carrying horses along narrow, exposed paths.
  • Summary: A reading from Peter Schaffer’s play described the Spanish creeping through the Andes for four days in extreme cold, fearing ambush while lugging their horses. The hosts noted this passage illustrates the physical challenge faced by the conquistadors as they approached Cajamarca.
Context of the Inca Empire
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(00:06:56)
  • Key Takeaway: In 1532, the Inca Empire (Tawantinsuyu) ruled 12 million people but was severely weakened by smallpox and a fratricidal civil war between Huáscar and Atahualpa.
  • Summary: Francisco Pizarro landed seeking gold and glory, correctly identifying the sophisticated Inca kingdom. Pizarro and his small force saw an opening due to the ongoing civil war. The Spanish aimed to emulate Hernán Cortés’s success against the Aztecs through opportunistic militarism.
Spanish Legal Framework and Intentions
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(00:09:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Spanish conquest was legally framed by the ‘Requirement,’ which mandated submission to Christianity and Charles V, authorizing violence if this submission was refused.
  • Summary: The Spanish operated under a legal framework that required reading the ‘Requirement’ to indigenous populations, demanding vassalage to the Pope’s representative, Charles V. While ideally seeking accommodation, violence was always part of the Spanish repertoire. Pizarro’s small force of 168 men was largely composed of young artisans and merchants seeking fortune, not professional soldiers.
Pizarro’s March and Inca Intelligence
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(00:13:35)
  • Key Takeaway: The Spanish march through the coastal desert and into the mountains was observed by Inca spies, including one poorly disguised as a trinket peddler named Apu.
  • Summary: The march was a grueling trudge through desert, though the Spanish were impressed by the Inca road network and storehouses. A spy named Apu reported back to Atahualpa that the Spaniards were merely rogues, suggesting they should be killed except for specialists like the blacksmith and horse tamer. Atahualpa’s priority remained finishing the civil war, not immediately confronting the small Spanish contingent.
Soto’s Encounter and Inca Protocol
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(00:17:21)
  • Key Takeaway: Hernando de Soto’s scouting party behaved disgracefully by seizing noblewomen from a sun temple college, an act witnessed by the Inca envoy Sikinchara.
  • Summary: Sikinchara, an important Inca officer, confronted Soto after witnessing the Spaniards dividing 500 noblewomen from a college. Despite this provocation, Sikinchara remained outwardly composed when meeting Pizarro, delivering an invitation for the Spaniards to proceed to Cajamarca.
Debate on Inca Beliefs about Spaniards
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(00:09:17)
  • Key Takeaway: There is no strong evidence that the Incas believed the Spaniards were literal gods, though they may have been viewed as messengers of the creator god Viracocha, fitting into existing cosmological cycles.
  • Summary: The hosts debated whether the Incas viewed the Spaniards as divine, concluding that pragmatic political calculations were more likely than apocalyptic belief. Atahualpa likely saw the Spaniards as potential mercenaries whose military technology could help him decisively win the civil war against Huáscar.
Arrival at Cajamarca Valley
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(00:26:37)
  • Key Takeaway: Upon reaching the high point overlooking Cajamarca, the Spanish were filled with terror seeing Atahualpa’s army of tens of thousands of tents arrayed below them.
  • Summary: After a 52-day trek, the Spanish saw the valley and the vast Inca encampment, filling them with fear, though they maintained a facade of courage. Pizarro immediately ordered his men to prepare for battle upon entering the deserted town, anticipating the meeting.
Spanish Ambush Plan Formulation
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(00:29:03)
  • Key Takeaway: Pizarro devised a plan to use the confined geography of the town square to launch a surprise attack, aiming to capture Atahualpa while his main force was held outside the town.
  • Summary: Pizarro sent Hernando de Soto with cavalry to meet Atahualpa, while he planned the ambush from the barracks surrounding the square. The signal for the attack was to be the firing of Pedro de Candilla’s artillery piece and trumpets. The plan relied on bursting out of the barracks to overwhelm the Inca entourage.
The Tense Meeting with Atahualpa
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(00:40:33)
  • Key Takeaway: During the initial confrontation, Atahualpa displayed supreme arrogance, challenging the Spaniards’ behavior while simultaneously claiming they were prophesied messengers of the god-king Pachacuti.
  • Summary: Atahualpa, furious over reports of Spanish misconduct, challenged them, though Hernando Pizarro responded aggressively, boasting of Spanish military superiority. Atahualpa then spoke of prophecies regarding ‘sons of Viracocha,’ which the hosts suggest was either a courtesy or political maneuvering rather than genuine belief. The tension culminated when Atahualpa refused to meet their eyes until directly challenged.
Valverde’s Confrontation and the Book
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(00:54:45)
  • Key Takeaway: Friar Vicente de Valverde initiated the final trigger by reading the ‘Requirement’ and presenting a prayer book to Atahualpa, who, unable to open it, contemptuously threw it to the ground.
  • Summary: Valverde confronted Atahualpa, demanding submission to Christ and Charles V under threat of destruction, reciting what was likely the legal ‘Requirement.’ When offered a prayer book, Atahualpa, unfamiliar with books, struggled to open it and then threw it down, an act interpreted by the Spanish as sacrilege, signaling the immediate start of the massacre.
Reading of the Requerimiento
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(00:56:47)
  • Key Takeaway: The legal requirement to read the Requerimiento was often performed poorly, especially with mistranslating interpreters.
  • Summary: Spanish captains were legally bound to read the Requerimiento to the peoples of the Americas before attacking them, a practice many Spaniards at the time found absurd. In Cajamarca, the interpreters were useless, leading Atahualpa to likely perceive the document as gibberish. This legal formality was ultimately ignored when the confrontation escalated.
Book Incident Triggers Attack
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(00:57:11)
  • Key Takeaway: Atahualpa’s unfamiliarity with a book, which he could not open, led to the book falling, providing the pretext for the Spanish assault.
  • Summary: When Friar Valverde offered Atahualpa a prayer book, the Emperor, having never seen writing or a book, struggled to open the object. After Atahualpa contemptuously examined the book, it ended up on the ground, which Valverde immediately used as the trigger to call Pizarro, shouting that the dogs had rejected the word of God.
Sensory Overload and Massacre
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(00:58:55)
  • Key Takeaway: The Spanish attack utilized coordinated gunfire, trumpets, and horses to create total chaos and sensory overload among the Incas.
  • Summary: The firing of guns by Pedro de Candilla, followed by the blast of trumpets, initiated the attack, creating immediate shock among the Incas. Spanish horsemen, screaming their war cry ‘Santiago’ and using bells/rattles to frighten the animals, burst out, causing the Incas to stampede and crush each other in panic.
Slaughter and Aftermath
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(01:01:04)
  • Key Takeaway: The event was a complete massacre, not a battle, resulting in thousands of deaths while no Inca raised a weapon against a Spaniard.
  • Summary: Spanish sources confirm the event was a massacre where foot soldiers put everyone in the square to the sword after the cavalry routed those attempting to flee. An Inca chronicler compared the methodical killing to slaughter men working with cattle, estimating between two and eight thousand people died. The massacre resulted in the complete decapitation of the Inca state’s elite leadership.
Capture of Atahualpa
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(01:02:35)
  • Key Takeaway: Pizarro personally intervened to prevent Atahualpa’s death during the chaos, resulting in Pizarro cutting his own hand while securing the Emperor.
  • Summary: Pizarro and his men hacked their way to the litter, with Pizarro grabbing Atahualpa’s arm while Incas clung to the litter to protect him. Miguel de Estete slashed at the Emperor, but Pizarro shouted ‘No, don’t kill him,’ taking a knife wound to his own hand in the process. Atahualpa was eventually dragged out and locked in the Temple of the Sun while the slaughter continued.
Bizarre Post-Capture Dinner
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(01:04:08)
  • Key Takeaway: Following his capture, Atahualpa was given new clothes and dined with Pizarro, who had bizarrely set up a table and chairs for the occasion.
  • Summary: After being cleaned up, Atahualpa was brought to Pizarro, who had set up a table and chairs, an unusual sight for the Incas who did not eat this way. The two leaders dined together, with Atahualpa traumatized while the Spaniards were caked in blood and sweat. Pizarro then commanded that Atahualpa sleep next to him that night.
Historical Significance and Future
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(01:06:06)
  • Key Takeaway: The conquest’s success was attributed to Spanish daring and brutality, coupled with Atahualpa’s complete miscomprehension of the threat.
  • Summary: One chronicler attributed the success to the grace of God, but the hosts argue it was due to Pizarro’s ingenuity and the conquistadors’ brutality. Despite the victory, 168 Spaniards remained surrounded by tens of thousands of hostile Inca warriors, leaving Pizarro with critical choices regarding the Emperor’s fate.