Battle of Las Salinas (1538)

Battle of Las Salinas (1538)
Conflict	Battle of Las Salinas (1538)
Partof	Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, Spanish colonization of the Americas
Date	13 April 1538
Place	near Cuzco, Peru
Result	Victory for the forces of Diego de Almagro
Combatant1	Almagrist faction (Diego de Almagro, supporters)
Combatant2	Pizarrist faction (Francisco Pizarro loyalists, Gonzalo Pizarro supporters)
Commander1	Diego de Almagro, Pedro de Valdivia, Hernando de Soto
Commander2	Francisco Pizarro (indirect), Hernando Pizarro, Gonzalo Pizarro
Strength1	~500–700 Spanish, indigenous auxiliaries
Strength2	~700–1,000 Spanish, indigenous auxiliaries
Casualties1	significant; leaders captured/executed (including Diego de Almagro)
Casualties2	heavy; commanders wounded and captured; estimated several hundred

Battle of Las Salinas (1538)

The Battle of Las Salinas (13 April 1538) was a decisive engagement in the civil war between rival Spanish factions in Peru following the collapse of the Inca Empire; it marked the bloody climax of the dispute between Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizarro that shaped early colonial rule in Spanish America. The clash near Cuzco involved veterans of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire and indigenous allies and had immediate political consequences for control of Peru and the nascent colonial administration under the Spanish Crown.

Background

After the capture of Atahualpa at Cajamarca and the subsequent Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, tensions mounted over territorial rights, repartimientos, and titles granted by the Castilian Crown. The Capitulación de Toledo and appointments such as the Governor of New Castile fueled rivalry between Francisco Pizarro and Diego de Almagro, while figures like Hernando de Soto, Pedro de Valdivia, Cristóbal Vaca de Castro, and Gonzalo Pizarro interwove personal ambition with legal claims. Disputes over the southern province of Chile and the city of Cuzco followed the Treaty of Tordesillas-era colonial scramble that included actors such as Charles V and representatives of the Real Audiencia of Lima.

Combatants and Commanders

Almagrist forces were led by Diego de Almagro with captains including Pedro de Valdivia and Hernando de Soto, supported by indigenous contingents from former Inca Empire provinces. The Pizarrist side comprised supporters of Francisco Pizarro and his brothers Hernando Pizarro and Gonzalo Pizarro, with leading officers such as Juan Pizarro and Alonso de Alvarado (who had served under both factions at different times). Other notable contemporaries implicated in the conflict included Diego de Almagro II, Diego de Rojas, Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, and legal authorities like Martín de Alcázar and members of the Audiencia of Panama.

Prelude and Movements

Following Almagro's capture of Cuzco in 1537 and the execution of Cristóbal Vaca de Castro-era decisions, Pizarro loyalists regrouped, raising forces in Lima and provincial settlements such as Arequipa, Jauja, and Huamanga. Almagro marched from Chupas and the southern highlands toward Cuzco while Pizarro's commanders marched from Lima and the central coast, coordinating with veterans from expeditions to Tumbes and Piura. Skirmishes around Cusco districts, supply line disputes involving mule trains, and intelligence operations by men like Gonzalo de Tapia and Martín García Óñez de Loyola prefaced open battle. The involvement of conquistadors who had participated in the Pizarro expedition and the intercession of clerics from the Diocese of Cuzco and emissaries to Charles V added legal and ecclesiastical dimensions to the mobilization.

Battle

On 13 April 1538 near fields known as Las Salinas outside Cuzco, the two forces arrayed in infantry tercios of pikemen and mounted squadrons of jinetes and cavalry veterans from campaigns such as the First Mayor of Lima's operations. Almagro's flank commanded by Pedro de Valdivia engaged Pizarro's veterans under Hernando Pizarro and Gonzalo Pizarro in a melee marked by cavalry charges, arquebus volleys, and close quarters fighting that recalled encounters at Cajamarca and sieges like Siege of Cuzco (1536–1537). Tactical errors, miscommunication, and shifting indigenous allegiances affected the engagement; reputed episodes include the capture of prominent captains, the wounding of leaders, and the eventual rout of Almagro's force. After the fighting, Almagro was taken prisoner and subsequently executed, echoing the violent fates of other disputants in colonial disputes such as the Revolt of the Comuneros.

Aftermath and Consequences

The Pizarrist victory reasserted Pizarro's control over Cuzco and consolidated his political position in Peru until later rebellions by Gonzalo Pizarro and royal interventions by officials including Blasco Núñez Vela and the Viceroyalty of Peru. The elimination of Almagro as a rival intensified factional feuds, influenced appointments to the Real Audiencia of Lima, and affected colonization efforts in Chile under Pedro de Valdivia. The battle altered indigenous power dynamics, facilitating encomienda distributions to Pizarrist supporters and shaping subsequent legal proceedings like appeals to Charles V and petitions to the Council of the Indies.

Forces and Casualties

Both sides fielded several hundred Spanish soldiers, supported by indigenous auxiliaries drawn from former provinces of the Inca Empire and allied kurakas; estimates vary but indicate Pizarrist elements slightly outnumbered Almagroists. Casualties included dozens to hundreds dead or wounded among Spaniards and many indigenous combatants; leading casualties and prisoners—most notably the capture and execution of Diego de Almagro—had outsized political impact. Contemporary chroniclers such as Pedro Cieza de León, Bernabé Cobo, and Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés provide differing tallies and narratives, echoed in later histories by William H. Prescott and scholars in the historiography of Spanish America.

Legacy and Historiography

The battle is interpreted within scholarship on the early colonial period, including works on the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, factional violence among conquistadors, and the formation of colonial institutions like the Viceroyalty of Peru and the Real Audiencia. Historians such as William H. Prescott, Basilio de Salas, John Hemming, and María Rostworowski have debated sources including chronicles by Pedro Cieza de León and Garcilaso de la Vega, emphasizing legal documents sent to Charles V and archival records in the Archivo General de Indias. The episode influenced cultural memory in Peru, narratives of conquest in Spain, and the careers of figures like Pedro de Valdivia and Hernando Pizarro, resonating in studies of colonial violence, legitimacy, and the contested nature of authority in early Spanish America.

Category:Conflicts in 1538 Category:Spanish colonization of the Americas Category:History of Peru