Diego de Almagro - Return To Peru

Return To Peru

After the exhausting crossing of the Atacama desert mainly due to the climatic conditions, Almagro finally reached Cuzco, Peru, in 1537. According to some authors, it was during this time that the burlesque Spanish term "roto" (torn), used by Peruvians to refer to Chileans, was first mentioned given how Almagro's disappointed troops returned to Cuzco with their "torn clothes" due to the extensive and laborious passage on foot by the Atacama desert.

Upon his return to Peru in 1537, Almagro was bitter and eager to once and for all claim the riches of the city of Cuzco for himself. In the previous year, the Inca Manco had briefly recaptured the royal city and weakened the Spanish hold in the Sacred Valley. Hoping to enlist the help of the Inca, Almagro offered Manco Inca a pardon on behalf of the Spanish government. Manco Inca never officially joined Almagro in his attack on Cuzco. However, most of Hernándo Pizarro's army marched into the Andes in pursuit of Manco Inca, allowing Almagro's men to claim the city for themselves. When Hernando Pizarro and his army returned, Almagro's troops quickly defeated them and took the Pizarro brothers Hernando and Gonzalo captive.

After occupying Cuzco, Almagro confronted an army sent by Francisco Pizarro to liberate his brothers. The army, led by Alonso de Alvarado, was defeated during the Battle of Abancay on July 12, 1537. Later, Gonzalo Pizarro and Alvarado escaped prison. Subsequent negotiations between Francisco Pizarro and Almagro concluded with the liberation of the third brother, Hernando Pizarro, in return for the definitive control and administration of Cuzco for Almagro himself. Francisco Pizarro never had the intention of giving up Cuzco to Almagro, and only wanted to win time for himself to organize an army strong enough to defeat Almagro's troops.

During this time Almagro fell ill, and Pizarro and his brothers finally caught the opportunity to defeat him and his followers. The Almagristas were finally defeated in at Las Salinas in April 1538, with Orgóñez being killed on the field of battle. Almagro fled to Cuzco, still in the hands of his loyal supporters, but found only temporary refuge as the forces of the Pizarro brothers entered the city without resistance. Once captured, he was humiliated by Hernando Pizarro and his requests for appeals to the King were ignored. Almagro begged for his life while Hernando responded:

-"You're a gentleman with an illustrious name; do not display weakness; it marvels me that a man of your stature fears death so much. Confess, for your death has no remedy"-

Almagro was condemned to death and decapitated while in confinement on July 8, 1538 (other sources suggest he was garrotted, which would have been more likely for a Christian man of fame). His cadaver was taken to the public Plaza Mayor of Cuzco and displayed as a sign of defeat and his severed head as a warning to other would-be rebels. Margarita, his loyal servant and lover, took his body and buried him under the church of la Merced in Cuzco.