[Opendesigns-public] Aken less than 104 days--namely, from the 13th June to

Wed Aug 19 12:27:56 CEST 2009

Xpedition just related, the old partisans of Almagro, who had never
frankly joined Pizarro, gathered round the son of their old leader, and
formed a plot for murdering the Marquis. In vain was Francisco Pizarro
several times warned of what was threatening him, he would pay no heed
to the report. He said "Keep quiet, I shall be safe as long as there is
no one in Peru who does not know that I can in a moment take the life of
any one who should dare to form the project of attempting mine." On
Sunday, the 26th of June, 1541, at the hour of siesta, Juan de Herrada
and eighteen conspirators left the house of Almagro's son with drawn
swords in their hands and armed from top to toe. They ran towards the
house of Pizarro, crying out, "Death to the tyrant! death to the
infamous wretch!" They entered the palace, killed Francisco de Chaves,
who had appeared in haste on hearing the noise, and gained the hall,
where was Francisco Pizarro, with his brother Francisco-Martin, the
doctor Juan Velasquez, and a dozen servants. These jumped out of the
windows, with the exception of Martin Pizarro, two other gentlemen, and
two tall pages, who were killed while defending the door of the
governor's apartment. He himself had not had time to put on his cuirass,
but he seized his sword and buckler and defended himself valiantly,
killing four of his adversaries and wounding several others. One of his
assailants, in a spirit of self-devotion, attracted to himself the blows
of Pizarro. Meanwhile the other conspirators made their way in and
attacked him with such fury that he could not parry all the blows, being
so exhausted that he could scarcely wield his sword. "Thus," says
Zarate, "they made an end, and succeeded in killing him by a thrust in
the throat. Falling to the ground, he asked in a loud voice that he
might be allowed to confess, and then not being able any longer to
speak, he made the sign of the cross on the ground, which he kissed, and
then yielded up his soul to God." Some negroes carried his body to the
church, where Juan Barbazan, his old servant, alone ventured to come and
claim it. This faithful servant secretly rendered to it funeral honours,
for the conspirators had pillaged the house of Pizarro, not leaving
enough even to pay for wax tapers. [
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