Atahualpa Timeline

The Birth

Mar 20, 1502

March 20, 1502: This is the day Atahualpa was born. Atahualpa was born at Ibarra, Ecuador. Even though he wasn’t the legitimate heir he was his father’s favorite child.

Huayan Capac

1525

After Huayna Capac died in 1525, Atahualpa was appointed governor of Quito by his brother Huáscar. Atahualpa defeated Huáscar's armies, sent because the Inca thought his brother could overthrow him, and in the process conquered and ruled the Inca Empire as Sapa Inca. His rule lasted only a few months before he was captured by the army of Francisco Pizarro, who sided with the Cuzco supporters of the executed Inca Huáscar.

Smallpox

1528

Atahualpa’s father Wayna Qhapaq died in 1528 CE of smallpox, the most distinguished victim of the epidemic of European diseases which had spread from central America even faster than the foreign invaders themselves could manage. This epidemic killed a staggering 65-90% of the native population. When Wayna Qhapaq died without choosing a second heir (his first choice Ninan Coyuchi also died of smallpox) Atahualpa battled for the throne with his half-brother Waskar.

The bloody battle between brothers

1532

Early 1532 after Huayna died the kingdom was divided between Atahualpa and Huascar. A civil war emerged between the brothers and lasted for two years. Atahualpa ruled the northern empire while his brother ruled the southern region. Eventually, Atahualpa captured and imprisoned Huascar and was seen as the sole ruler of the Incan Empire. He did this with about 80,000 troops. This was a bloody civil war that had caused severe distrust and division in the Incan Empire.

Waskar's Death

1532

Later in 1532 By the time Spanish arrived, Atahualpa had managed to capture Waskar but the factions which had deeply split the empire remained. Waskar was imprisoned and his kin-group was killed, as were those who had supported him. Atahualpa even killed historians and destroyed the Inca quipu records.

The Encounter

Nov 15, 1532

On November 15, 1532, he 168-man force of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro approached the Inca town of Cajamarca in the highlands of Peru. Pizarro sent word that he wished to meet the Inca king, there enjoying the local springs and basking in his recent victory over Waskar.
Pizarro and Atahualpa met in what was to prove one of the most fateful encounters in the New World.

The fake trial

1533

Sometime in 1533 after several months in fear of an imminent attack from Rumiñahui, the outnumbered Spanish considered Atahualpa to be too much of a liability and decided to kill him. Pizarro staged a mock trial and found Atahualpa guilty of revolting against the Spanish, practicing idolatry, and murdering Huáscar. Atahualpa was sentenced to death by burning at the stake. He was horrified, since the Inca believed that the soul would not be able to go on to the afterlife if the body were burned.

Catholic

1533

A few months after that in 1533, Friar Vincente de Valverde, who had earlier offered his breviary to Atahualpa, intervened, telling Atahualpa that, if he agreed to convert to Catholicism, the friar could convince Pizarro to commute the sentence. Atahualpa agreed to be baptized into the Catholic faith. He was given the name Francisco Atahualpa in honor of Francisco Pizarro.

Catholic Part 2

Jul 26, 1533

At 1:30 a.m. on 26 July 1533, Atahualpa was interrogated before his death by his Spanish Captors about his birthplace. Atahualpa verbally declared that his birthplace is in what the Incas called the Kingdom of Quito, in a place called Caranqui (today located 2 km southeast of Ibarra, Ecuador). Most chroniclers suggest that Atahualpa was born in what the Incas used to call the Kingdom of Quito, though other stories suggest various other birthplaces.[

The Death

Aug 29, 1533

Atahualpa died on August 29, 1533 after being captured and executed by Francisco Pizarro by strangling him to death, even though he gave him all the gold and silver. His death marked the end of the Inca empire. Following his execution, his clothes and some of his skin were burned, and his remains were given a Christian burial. Atahualpa was succeeded by his brother, Túpac Huallpa, and later by another brother Manco Inca.