The execution of the Inca Emperor Atahuallpa on the stake, ordered by Pizarro. Line engraving with etching after E. Chappel.

Francisco Pizarro (1475-1541) was the Spanish conqueror of Peru. Pizarro used surprise, terror and treachery to exploit the divisions among the Incas, who, at the time, were split over a disputed succession between Atahuallpa and his half-brother, Huescar. On Pizarro's orders the Spaniards suddenly fell on the Incas. Atahuallpa was released, so that he could kill Huescar, then imprisoned again. In 1533, after becoming a Christian, Atahuallpa was strangled and burned