What kind of men were Pizarro and Atahualpa? Were they similar or different?
KM: Atahualpa was part of the crème de la crème of Inca royalty—he had royal blood on both his mother’s and his father’s side. His father had been emperor, until he died from European-introduced smallpox. Atahualpa was born high in the Andes in the Inca capital of Cuzco. He was used to being carried around in litters, was about 30 years old, was very intelligent, and was very interested in military matters. Pizarro, by contrast, was 54 years old and was from the bottom of Spain’s social classes; his mother was a maid. He was from a tiny rural town in southwestern Spain, in the impoverished state of Extremadura. Pizarro was also both illegitimate and illiterate. When he captured Atahualpa and pulled Atahualpa from his litter, he was literally pulling the uppermost elite of the Incas’ social pyramid from his throne. Which Pizarro then clambered up and where he remained—at the apex of the Inca state. Q: Is it true that a number of the Spaniards really grew fond of Atahualpa—including Hern
