Conquest of Peru—The conquest of Peru is often told simply as the story of the battle of Caxamalca, during which Francisco Pizarro and his men massacred a group of unarmed Incas, and captured their leader, Atahualpa. It was a shameless deed, and Pizarro is deserving of his poor reputation, but the conquest of the Incas was far from a single-battle event. Pizarro had spent eight difficult years exploring the region and trading with the natives on his own initiative. It was only after he survived a series of perilous expeditions and returned to Spain with samples of gold and silver, that he was given the men and resources he required to complete the conquest.

Even with government support however, the obstacles to conquest were almost insurmountable. The climate and terrain were very difficult, and to even reach the coast of Peru one had to march through a trackless jungle, embark on a small boat, and sail through treacherous waters, only to find oneself at the base of an enormous mountain range. The Incan capital was dozens of miles inland, at a high altitude and the entire region was populated with tens of thousands of Inca warriors. In addition, there were severe conflicts and jealousies among the Spaniards, and Pizarro had many enemies. In the end however, he rose (or rather sunk) to the occasion, and using a combination of brutality, superstition, terror and treachery, managed to get the Inca into his control, and ward off challenges from his Spanish rivals. He was granted governorship of the new province, which proved to be the richest in Spanish possession, but was soon murdered by partisans of a man he had betrayed.

Rule of the Viceroys—With its immense wealth in silver and gold, Peru quickly became the focal point of Spanish interest in South America. The city of Lima was created, and it became the center of Spanish trade and government. During the viceroyalty period, the province of Peru referred to the entire west half of South America, encompassing everything but Portugal's Brazil. By the 18th century, the viceroyalty in South America had broken into three portions. New Granada consisted of modern day Columbia, Venezuela, and Panama; Rio de la Plata consisted of Argentina, Uruguay, and Paraguay; and Peru consisted of Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Ecuador. These divisions are important for understanding how the Independence of South America came about.

Wars of Independence—The most famous early advocate of South American Independence was Miranda.

Character/Date	Short Biography
Conquest of Incas
Atahualpa 1502–1533	Last monarch of the Incan Empire. Captured by Pizarro at Caxamalca and eventually killed.
Francisco Pizarro 1478–1541	With only 160 men, conquered six thousand Inca and took control of Peru.
Lautaro ~ 1541	Military leader of the Araucanian tribe of Chile, who maintained their independence from Spain.
Manco Inca 1516–1544	Puppet Inca ruler who was crowned by the Spaniards, but rebelled against them and laid siege to Cuzco.
Venezuela, Columbia, Bolivia, Equador
Miranda 1750–1816	Early leader of South American Independence. Led a failed revolution in Venezuela in 1813. Died in prison.
Simon Bolivar 1783–1830	Crossed Andes to attack Spanish outposts in Columbia, then met San Martin in Peru.
Antonio Jose de Sucre 1795–1830	South American patriot. Friend and trusted general of Simon Bolivar. Hero of the Battles of Pinchincha and Junin.
Jose Antonio Paez 1790–1873	A cavalry leader during War of Independence who rose from humble origins to be President (really dictator) of Venezuela.
Gabrial Garcia Moreno 1821–1875	Catholic president of Ecuador who resisted the secular forces in his country, made many reforms, and was assassinated by Freemasons.
Argentina, Chile, Paraguay, Uraguay
Pedro de Valdivia 1500–1554	Conquistador who attempted to conquer Chile, but was killed by the native tribes. Founded Santiago.
Bernardo O'Higgins 1778–1842	Military commander who together with San Martin freed Chile from Spanish rule. First 'Supreme Director' of Chile.
Jose de San Martin 1778–1850	Won independence from Spain for Argentina, then crossed the Andes and helped free Chili.
Jose Francia 1766–1840	Ruled Paraguay as a dictator after its independence, and cut off most contact with outside influences.
Tupac Amaru d. 1572	Son of Manco Inca, rebelled against Spain. Led the last independent tribe of Incas at their refuge in Vilcabamba.
Francisco Lopez 1827–1870	Dictator who provoked a war against Brazil, Argentina, and Uruguay that devastated and depopulated Paraguay.
Juan Manuel de Rosas 1793–1877	Gaucho hero who brought law and order to Argentina after 20 years of chaos. Ruled as a dictator for 25 year, then sent into exile.
Jose Miguel Carrera 1785–1821	Leader of a republican faction in Chile during the Wars of Independence and rival of Bernardo O'Higgins.
Brazil
Dom Pedro I 1798–1834	Portuguese prince who became the first Emperor of Brazil but struggled with competing political factions.
Dom Pedro II 1825–1891	Emperor of Brazil who tried to modernize while maintaining a constitutional monarchy. Forcibly exiled after Republican coup in 1889.
Cuba and Caribbean
Don Miguel Tacon ~ 1834	Stern willed Governor of Cuba who tried to curtail smuggling in his realm.
Bartholemy Portuguez ~ 1666	Famous South American Pirate of the Caribbean during the mid-17th century.
Pierre la Grande ~ 1620	Famous French Pirate of the Caribbean during the mid-17th century.
Jose Marti 1853–1895	Leader of the Cuban independence movement in the years before the Spanish-American.
General Maceo 1848–1896	Led the Cuban forces against Spain during the Cuban Rebellion.
Cudjoe ~ 1739	Leader of a tribes of Jamaican of mixed native and African descent. Fought British in the First Maroon War.

AD Year	Event
PERU, COLUMBIA, VENEZUELA
1532	Pizzaro and Almagro conquer Peru
1542	Bartholomew de Casas promotes better treatment of Native Americans
1572	Tupac Amaru leads the last Incan revolt against the Spaniards
1640	Dutch take control of Northern Brazil; Found Guyana
1697	Mayans defeated by the Spaniards
1767	Jesuits expelled from Latin America
1799	Humboldt explores Mexico and South America
1797-1814	Napoleonic Wars in Europe disrupt governments of Latin America
1811	Venezuela, led by Miranda, declares its independence from Spain
1812	Earthquake in Caracus destroys popular support for independence
1825	Bolivia declares its independence from Spain
ARGENTINA, CHILE
1580	Buenos Aires established as primary port on Pacific
1609	Jesuit "reductions" in Paraguay founded
1816	Argentina declares its independence
1818	Chile declares its independence
1822	San Martin and Bolivar meet in Guayaguil
1879-84	Chile defeats Peru and BOlivia in the War of the Pacific
1864-70	War of the Triple Alliance; Paraguay is defeated
BRAZIL
1500	Brazil discovered and claimed for Portugal by Cabral
1808	Monarchs of Portugal move their capital to Rio de Janiero
1816-31	Reign of Dom Pedro I of Brazil; Brazil declares independence in 1822
1840	Pedro II becames the head of a constitutional monarchy in Brazil
1889	Overthrow of Dom Pedro II by Brazilian military
CARIBBEAN
1804	Slave revolt in Haiti expells the Europeans

Book Title	Selected Chapters (# chapters)
Core Reading Assignments
Brooks - Stories of South America	entire book
Morris - Historical Tales: Spanish American	Miranda and Argentina to The Governor and the Smuggler (17)
Supplemental Recommendations
Scott - Gabrial Garcia Moreno	entire book
Butterworth - South America	entire book
Stockton - Buccaneers and Pirates of Our Coasts	entire book
Towle - The Adventures of Pizarro	entire book
Noll - The Peruvians	entire book
Schoellkopf - Don Jose de San Martin	entire book
Sherwell - Simon Bolivar	entire book
Also Recommended
Brady - South American Fights and Fighters	entire book
Esquemeling - The Buccaneers of America	entire book
Browne - South America: Peeps at Many Land	entire book
Browne - Panama: Peeps at Many Lands	entire book
Southworth - Our South American Neighbors	entire book
Ober - Vasco Nunez de Balboa	entire book
Ober - Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru	entire book

I: Introductory, II: Intermediate