The bearded strangers were Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro. Pizarro had heard rumors of an empire in South America that was even richer than the Aztec Empire. In 1527, Pizarro led a group of about 160 men to find this empire. When Pizarro found Inca temples decorated with gold and silver, he figured he had found what he was looking for.

The Spaniards marched toward Cuzco. They traveled along the very roads that the Inca had built to unite their empire. Meanwhile, speedy Inca messengers told Atahualpa that the Spaniards were coming. The Sapa Inca did not take the Spaniards seriously, however. The signs from a few years earlier had been forgotten during the civil war. Also, the Inca had no contact with the Aztec. As a result, they had no way of knowing what had happened to their neighbors to the north. Besides, what could the mighty Sapa Inca, all-powerful son of the sun, have to fear from a small band of men?

When the Spaniards approached Atahualpa’s camp near the town of Cajamarca (/kah*huh*mahr*kuh/), a meeting was arranged. Atahualpa agreed to meet Pizarro in the town square. It was here that Pizarro set an ambush. His soldiers hid inside buildings surrounding the square. Though well-armed, the Spaniards waited nervously. They knew they were greatly outnumbered.

“They approach!” Pizarro’s lookout shouted. As Pizarro had requested, Atahualpa came as a friend. The Sapa Inca had left his warriors outside the city. He was marching into Cajamarca with six thousand unarmed nobles and attendants.

When the Sapa Inca reached the main square, a startling figure stepped from a doorway. A Spanish priest, dressed in a white robe and black hood, walked toward the Sapa Inca’s group. Spanish laws forbade Pizarro from attacking without warning. Before using force, he had to ask the enemies to surrender and become Christians peacefully. So the priest urged Atahualpa to accept Christianity. The priest offered a Catholic prayer book to Atahualpa. The insulted ruler knocked the book to the ground.

This was the moment the Spaniards were waiting for. Pizarro had given the required warning. Now, he gave the signal for attack. The assault on the unarmed Inca was not a battle. It was a massacre!

Cannons fired. Steel swords slashed. Spaniards on horses charged around, cutting down the unarmed Inca. Less than an hour later, Atahualpa was a prisoner, and thousands of Inca people lay dead.