Diego de Almagro the Younger

Diego de Almagro the Younger
Name	Diego de Almagro II
Birth date	c. 1520
Birth place	Cuzco
Death date	April 1538
Death place	Cuzco
Nationality	Spanish Empire
Occupation	Conquistador
Parents	Diego de Almagro
Relatives	Hernando Pizarro (related by conflict)

Diego de Almagro the Younger was a Spanish Empire conquistador and the natural son of Diego de Almagro who became a central figure in the internecine conflicts of the Spanish colonization of the Americas in the 1530s. Active in the aftermath of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, he played prominent roles in the disputes between factions led by Francisco Pizarro, Hernando Pizarro, and other conquistadors, culminating in his arrest, trial, and execution in Cuzco during the Peruvian Civil War.

Early life and family background

Born circa 1520 in or near Cuzco to Diego de Almagro and an unknown mother, he was raised amid the turbulent fortunes of the Almagro household, which were entwined with the careers of Francisco Pizarro, Hernando Pizarro, Gonzalo Pizarro, Pedro de Alvarado, and other prominent figures of the Age of Discovery. His father’s expeditionary ties linked the family to networks including Vasco Núñez de Balboa, Pedro de Valdivia, and the Casa de Contratación, while political patronage and enmities involved institutions such as the Audiencia of Panama and the Council of the Indies. The younger Almagro’s illegitimacy situated him alongside contemporaries like Gonzalo Pizarro and Hernando de Soto within the social hierarchies that characterized colonial aristocracies in Castile and the Spanish Crown’s American ventures.

Role in the conquest of Peru

As a supporter of his father’s claims in the aftermath of the Battle of Las Salinas and the occupation of Cuzco, he became enmeshed in campaigns and skirmishes connected to the collapse of the Inca Empire under leaders like Atahualpa, Manco Inca Yupanqui, and Túpac Huallpa. He participated in operations that intersected with the activities of conquistadors such as Almagro's men, Diego de Roxas, and Lope de Aguirre, and his actions were shaped by treaties and legal instruments including the Capitulación grants and royal writs issued by Charles V. His position involved interactions with local authorities including the Cabildo of Cuzco and indigenous leaders tied to the former Inca Empire’s structures of power.

Political and military career

Following the execution of his father after the Battle of Las Salinas and subsequent political rearrangements by Francisco Pizarro and the Royal Audiencia of Lima, the younger Almagro rallied supporters including veterans of campaigns under Diego de Almagro (elder) and allies from Arequipa, Chinchay Suyu, and Antisuyu. He led forces in engagements that implicated commanders such as Gonzalo Pizarro, Alonso de Alvarado, and Cristóbal Vaca de Castro, and he navigated rival claims related to encomiendas, repartimientos, and governorships adjudicated through institutions like the Viceroyalty of Peru and appeals to Charles V and the Spanish Crown. His military actions involved cavalry, infantry, and native auxiliaries reminiscent of encounters at sites comparable to Cajamarca and Santiago de Chile in the wider context of Spanish conquest operations.

Conflict with Francisco Pizarro and the civil wars

The younger Almagro’s political ambitions coalesced into open conflict with the Pizarro brothers—Francisco Pizarro, Hernando Pizarro, and Gonzalo Pizarro—during the series of internecine struggles known as the Peruvian Civil War or the Spanish civil wars in Peru. He avenged his father’s death by orchestrating campaigns that culminated in key confrontations involving forces loyal to the Royal Audiencia of Lima, insurgent bands allied with Diego de Almagro (elder)’s supporters, and mercenary contingents resembling those raised by Pedro de Valdivia and Francisco de Carvajal. Political maneuvers involved petitions to the Council of the Indies and alignments with figures such as Blasco Núñez Vela and Pedro de la Gasca in the broader struggle over governance and jurisdiction in the Viceroyalty of New Spain and Peru.

Trial, execution, and legacy

After his capture in the wake of factional fighting in Cuzco, he faced a summary trial held by authorities aligned with Francisco Pizarro and the Royal Audiencia, echoing the fates of other rebellious conquistadors like Almagro (elder) and later rebels such as Gonzalo Pizarro. Executed in April 1538, his death intensified rivalries among conquistadors, influencing subsequent royal interventions by Charles V, legal reforms by the Council of the Indies, and the dispatch of royal officials including Pedro de la Gasca to restore order. His execution became a touchstone cited in accounts by chroniclers such as Pedro Cieza de León, Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo, Garcilaso de la Vega, and later historians like William H. Prescott in narratives of conquest and colonial violence.

Cultural depictions and historiography

Diego de Almagro the Younger appears in chroniclers’ works alongside figures like Francisco Pizarro, Diego de Almagro, Manco Inca, and Atahualpa within histories penned by Bernal Díaz del Castillo, Pedro Cieza de León, and Garcilaso de la Vega. His story features in studies by modern historians such as John Hemming, Hugh Thomas, Graham Hancock (in popular accounts), and Terence N. D'Altroy, and in cultural treatments that intersect with literature on the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, dramatizations in Peruvian literature, and artistic representations in collections addressing colonial Latin America and archive holdings at institutions like the Archivo General de Indias and the Biblioteca Nacional del Perú. His legacy is debated in works analyzing legal instruments like the Laws of Burgos and the New Laws and in discussions of indigenous resistance associated with Manco Inca Yupanqui and the persistence of Andean institutions.

Category:Spanish conquistadors Category:People from Cuzco Category:16th-century executions by Spain