Pizarro Family During The Sixthteen Century

Peruvian Wealth and Spanish Investments: The Pizarro Family during the Sixteenth
Century
Author(s): Rafael Varon Gabai and Auke Pieter Jacobs
Source: The Hispanic American Historical Review , Nov., 1987, Vol. 67, No. 4 (Nov.,
1987), pp. 657-695
Published by: Duke University Press
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2516048
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Hispanic Amnerican Historical Review 67:4
Copyright (C 1987 by Duke University Press
CCC ool8-2168/87/$1.50
Peruvian Wealth and Spanish

Investments: The Pizarro Family
during the Sixteenth Century
RAFAEL VARON GABAI
AUKE PIETER JACOBS*
eQuie'n contard el oro que destos lugares

entro en Espaiia?
Pedro de Cieza de Leon
HE enterprises of discovery and conquest of Spanish

America were motivated to a large extent by the en-
trepreneurial spirit of men who were seeking a return
on their investments in the new territories. While the military and
religious aspects of the conquering expeditions have caught the attention
of historians throughout the centuries, the economic side has remained
almost unexplored. In the case of the conquest of Peru, there have been
only a few exceptions, concentrating for the most part on the financing
stage before the actual expedition led by Francisco Pizarro.' The extrac-
* This article started as a joint venture. Auke Pieter Jacobs joined me and wrote a first
draft of the second part of the paper and its tables. Both text and tables were revised for
the final version, for which I accept full responsibility. Maria Rostworowski de Diez Canseco
pointed out the existence of the Pizarro legajos in the Archivo General de Indias; John
Lynch, Franklin Pease, Luis Millones, Juan and Judith Villamarin, and fellow researchers in
Seville provided help and encouragement at various stages of the work. Hazel Aitken aided
in translation of the article. The University of London Central Research Fund and the British
Council financed part of my stays in Seville and London, respectively. Finally, Margarita
Sudrez shared my historical and other problems. To all of them mv sincerest thanks. (R. V. G.)
I wish to add my own particular thanks to John Lynch, for his remarks on the original
Spanish text, as well as to acknowledge a grant of the Dutch-Spanish Cultural Exchange
Treaty and of the Unger van Braro Foundation that financed my stays in Seville inl 1985 and
1987. (A.P.J.)
1. Guillermo Lohmann Villena, Les Espinosa: Unefamille d'homlmnes d'affaires en Es-
pagne et aux Indes a l'Npoque de la colonisation (Paris, 1968). Some relevant articles have
been published by Enrique Otte, "Mercaderes vascos en tierra firime a raiz del descubri-
miento del Per6," Mercurio Peruano, 111:443-444 (Mar.-Apr. 1964), 81-89 and "Los mer-
caderes vascos y los Pizarro. Cartas ineditas de Gonzalo y Hernando Pizarro y su mlayordonmlo
Diego Martin," Bulletin de la Facult6 des Lettres de Strasbourg, 44 (May-June 1966), 777-

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658 | HAHR I NOVEMBER B RAFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
tion of the resources available in the conquered country and what became
of the fortune accumulated by the first conquerors are two issues that have
remained unsolved. This article will attempt to show both the process of
formation of the patrimony of the Pizarro family in Peru and how those
Peruvian earnings were invested in Spain, from the beginning of the con-
quest until the 1570s. The Pizarros, acting as a unified group, directed
much of their earnings to their homeland in Trujillo and neighboring
areas, buying urban property, agricultural fields, and pasture lands, as
well as lending money to peasants and urban dwellers. As a result of the
Pizarros' permanent link to their homeland, much of the money generated
in the conquest and initial exploitation of Peru was introduced into the
Spanish economy and society.
Pizarro, in addition to carrying out military operations in Peru, ac-
cumulated wealth and properties for himself and his relatives. It is very
difficult at this point to evaluate accurately the fortune of the Pizarros
in Peru. The diversity of transactions carried out via a complex web of
administrators awaits further research, while most of the documents pub-
lished on this subject are fragmentary and without archival references. In
addition to these problems, one has to consider the loss and destruction
of documents by the affected parties at the time of the Gonzalo Pizarro
uprising and the later dispersion and looting of archives, especially those
of the early sixteenth century.2
However, several indications provide an initial impression of the extent
of the Pizarros' fortune in Peru. During the first stages of the conquest
the Europeans, and the Pizarros in particular, were as busy in lending
money as they were in military affairs, selling various products and per-
forming a wide variety of mercantile activities within their expedition. As
early as May 8, 1533, a few days after Hernando Pizarro's return from
Pachacamac to Cajamarca, and more than two months before the execu-
tion of Inca Atahuallpa, he was engaged in planning the organization of
his encomiendas. On that date he issued before a notary a poder to his
mayordomo Crisostomo de Hontiveros, entrusting Indians and properties
794. Luis Vazquez, "Los Pizarros, la Merced, el convento de Trujillo (Caceres) y Tirso," in
Homnenaje a Guillermo Vdzquez N6uez (1884-1984) (Madrid, 1984), 202-427 provides some
interesting information on the Pizarros' religious donations in Trnjillo.
2. Licenciado Ramirez de Cartagena is very clear when he writes to the king from
Los Reyes oln Nov. 20, 1572: "Anse hurtado unas cuentas que soIn de donlde pendia toda la
claridad . . . [del pleito] que agora tratan ante V. M. Fernando Pizarro y su mujer....
Entiendo que el danio de esto debi6 hacerlo Gonzalo Pizarro en su tiempo . . . y parece que
el que las hurt debi6 saber el dafio que hacia . . . pues habia otros papeles alli mas antiguos
y no faltaron...." This appears in Roberto Levillier, ed., Gobernantes del Perii. Cartas
y papeles. Siglo XVI. Documnentos del Archivo de Indias, 14 vols. (Madrid, 1921-26), VII,
133-134. No comments are needed about more recent looting of archives.

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PERUVIAN WEALTH AND SPANISH INVESTMENTS 659
into his care, and authorizing him to buy and sell on his behalf as well
as to represent him legally whenever necessary.3 A few months later, the
then Comendador, Adelantado and Capitan General Francisco Pizarro was
getting ready to receive merchandise fiom abroad. In Jauja, on October
26, 1533, in the middle of the war with the Inca state, Pizarro issued a
poder to Juan de Valdivieso and Pedro Navarro to receive merchandise
from Panama, collect debts, and settle accounts.4 These initial activities
soon gave way to others which were both more profitable and more deeply
rooted in the new lands.
Encomniendas, Mines, and Coca
The highest reward for the personal and financial risks taken by the
first conquerors was, without a doubt, the possession of an encomienda
of Indians. An encomienda gave the possibility of fulfilling the seigneurial
expectations which few Spaniards could achieve, and it gave access to
Indian tribute, labor, and even land.5 Moreover, the encomienda gave
political power through military force, since the encomenderos could and
did use Indian mnen and women extensively in the wars of conquest as well
as in the bloody civil wars among Spaniards that followed. Given that it
was Francisco Pizarro who granted most of the first encomiendas in Peru,
it is not surprising that he and his family took the best and richest ones
for themselves. This practice not only justified the complaints of their
contemporaries but also leads to our understanding of the relationship
between the Pizarros and Peru.6
Francisco had been the captain of the enterprise, had received the
royal grants necessary to ensure a leading position, and was understand-
ably eager to collect the returns on his large investments. Moreover, by
arranging the presence of four of his brothers in the invasion of Peru,
Francisco had managed to consolidate the Pizarro leadership. The larger
Extremaduran group came next in the pyramid of power, and its mem-
bers were accordingly widely rewarded when the country's population
was divided into encomiendas. For example, out of 168 Europeans present
in Cajamarca, 36 came from Extremadura, the native province of the
3. U.S. Library of Congress, The Harkness Collection in the Library of Congress.

Docunmtentsfromn Early Peru, 2 vols. (Washington, 1932-36), I, 7.
4. Ibid., 10.
5. See, for example, James Lockhart, Spanish Peru, 1532-1560. A Colonial Society
(Madison, 1968), ii and Juan A. and Judith E. Villamarin, Indian Labor in Mainland Colo-
nial Spanish America (Newark, DE, 1975), 6-21 .
6. William H. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru, 5th ed., 3 vols. (London,
1854), II, 296, summarizes the generalized contemporary opinion when he says, "For his
own brothers he [Francisco Pizarro] provided by such ample repartimientos, as excited the
murmurs of his adherents. ..."

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66o I HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL VAR6N GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
Pizarros. Of those, 17 came from Trujillo and its surroundings and 4 from
nearby CQceres.7 The Extremadurans were the largest regional contin-
gent, and it is not surprising that their closeness to the leaders resulted in
their permanent settlement in the conquered country. Conversely, those
who were from other regions were more inclined either to return to Spain
with the initial booty or to embark on more promising expeditions of "dis-
covery and conquest," thus furthering the borders of the Spanish presence
in America.8 No one illustrates this situation better than Diego de Alma-
gro who, in his expedition to Chile, was seeking the space for himself that
had been seized by the Pizarros in Peru. As may be expected, the fate of
the leaders determined to a large extent that of their committed followers.
The Pizarros had planned a long-term enterprise for Peru. The looting
of temples, cemeteries, and treasures of the Andean people was a first
stage of the Pizarros' accumulation of wealth, obviously not to be under-
valued but soon to give way to a more thorough exploitation of the indige-
nous population and the country's resources. This second stage, though
brief in the time span of the Pizarros, was the real origin of the family's
wealth. Given its scope and intensity, it seems strange that a few decades
later the Pizarros and their wealth were almost forgotten in Peru. With
regard to the supposed poverty that Francisco Pizarro suffered at the time
of his death, Viceroy Francisco de Toledo, a most capable colonial official,
said that "it was not known that he left anything else than an old cloth
on top of his grave in the city of Lima."9 As will be seen, that assessment
lacked all traces of truth.
In the radiant years of the Pizarros--i.e., until 1541 when the Mar-
quis Francisco Pizarro was killed, and possibly even until 1548 when
Gonzalo's rebellion and life ended-the encomiendas of Francisco Pizarro
were located all over Peru in the districts of Los Reyes (Lima), Cuzco,
Huainuco, La Plata, and Guayaquil. Many of those encomiendas included
within their boundaries gold and silver mines which had been worked in
pre-Hispanic times for the benefit of the Inca state. Pizarro also owned
houses and solares in Lima, Cuzco, and Quito and at least four chacras
that had previously produced coca leaves for the Cuzco elite, that is, the
best quality coca in Peru. These chacras were located in the vicinity of
7. Lockhart, The Men of Cajamarca. A Social and Biographical Study of the First
Conquerors of Peru (Austin, 1972), 28-29 (tables 3-4). This is the most complete and usefu
book on the Europeans who were present at the capture of Inca Atahuallpa. The information
it contains was used extensively in this article as a starting point to identify and follow the
careers of the Pizarros, their friends, and their enemies.
8. Ibid., 86 (table 23) and passim.
9. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo to His Majesty, Cuzco, Mar. 1, 1572, in Levillier,
Gobernantes del Perti, IV, 328.

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PERUVIAN WEALTH AND SPANISH INVESTMENTS 66i
Yucay, whose main valley had been taken over as an encomienda by the
Pizarro brothers Francisco, Hernando, and Gonzalo.
The case of the valley of Yucay is especially interesting, for it had
been one of the most productive in the Andes and reserved for the per-
sonal use of the Inca rulers.'0 Not long before the arrival of the Spaniards,
Huayna Calpac had turned Yucay into his private estate. Buildings, or
agricultural terraces, and irrigation canals were constructed using some
3,500 mitimaes, colonists transplanted from other parts of the state. Ad-
ditionally, yanaconas and camayoc ("servants of the Inca") were made to
settle there. According to some versions, when this ruler died, his mum-
mified body was taken to Yucay and worshipped by his panaca until the
late sixteenth century." At the time of the distribution of encomiendas,
Pizarro took a large portion of the valley for his family. This encomienda
was so rich and significant that Viceroy Marquis of Cafiete granted it some
years later in perpetuity and mayorazgo to Sairi Tuipac Inca as a reward
and compensation for leaving his refuge in Vilcabamba and going to live
in CuzCo.'2
Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro held some of their encomiendas in
the nearby valley of Tampu (or Tambo), and Gonzalo's were precisely on
the "lands named Colcabamba . . ., ancient patrimony of the Inca."' 3
Finally, lands in the area had been allocated to dofia Angelina Yupanqui,
Pizarro's second woman and mother of his two younger children; she was
later given in marriage to the well-known Quechuist Juan de Betanzos by
Gonzalo Pizarro.'4 Dofia Angelina was a member of the Cuzco nobility
and probably the daughter of Huayna Capac. As such she belonged to
the ethnic group that ruled the Andes until the arrival of the Europeans.
Some time after the Spanish invasion, during the time spent with Pizarro,
she was again close to the rulers of the country. Finally, when she married
in. Garcilaso de la Vega explained that Viracocha Inca "mand6 hacer grandes y sun-
tuosos edificios por todo su Imperio, particularmente en el valle de Yucay, y mdis abajo en
Tampu. Aquel valle se aventaja en excelencias a todos los que hav en el Pert'i, por lo cual
todos los reyes Incas, desde Manco Capac, que fue el primero, hasta el ultimo, lo tuvieron
por jardin y lugar de sus deleites y recreaci6n...." (Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, Cowmentarios
reales de los incas, 2 vols. [Buenos Aires, 19431, I, 283.)
11. Horacio Villanueva Urteaga, "Documentos sobre Yucay en el siglo XVI," Revista del
Archivo Hist6rico del Cuzco, 13 (1970), 2-4, 94.
12. Ibid., 94-95.
13. "Indice de la secci6n Derecho Indigena y Encomiendas del Archivo Nacional del
Perui. Legajo XXIII, Cuaderno 614," Revista del Archivo Nacional del Per6, 12:1 (1939),
112
14. An official survey of the valley of Yucay stated that "[p]or bajo esta arboleda qu
se dice Cozca esta una chacara que se llama Moyobamba, que era de Hachache, un sobrino
de T6pac Inca Yupanqui. Dicen que tiene ocho topos de sembradura y que la siembra dofia
Angelina, mujer de Juan de Betanzos. (Villanueva, "Documentos sobre Yucay," 52-53.)

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662 | HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
Betanzos, she became involved personally and through her husband in

the negotiations to end the state of war between the colonial government
and the last remains of Inca resistance in Vilcabamba.
The nature of the available information does not now permit a reli-
able estimate of the value of the Pizarro family's properties during their
years of glory. However, it would be difficult to imagine any other en-
comendero who could even approach, in income, any of the Pizarros. For
example, just one of Gonzalo's repartimientos, located in Charcas, was
valued at about ioo,ooo pesos per year, which included the production of
the mines, clothing, and tributes paid by the Indians. Hernando, on his
part, obtained at least 130,000 pesos per year from his mines in Porco; and
Francisco received about 140,000 pesos per year from his repartimientos
in Collao alone. Even if these figures were falsely increased to suit the
crown's needs during its lawsuits against the Pizarros, the actual quantities
must have been high. It is certainly accurate to assert that the Pizarros
had taken over the most valuable encomiendas, lands, mines, and ur-
ban solares in Peru for themselves. Furthermore, a large portion of these
properties had belonged to the panacas or royal lineages of pre-Hispanic
Cuzco, as in the case of the valley of Yucay. There was, in this valley, a
recurrent parallelism with regard to invading forces. In the same way that
the Inca ethnic group had expelled the local population, expropriating
their lands, the Pizarros had evicted a large number of the Incas that were
occupying it. Those that remained achieved a sort of coexistence under
the patronage of the European conquerors.
Hernando Pizarro was characterized by an insatiable entrepreneurial
spirit and perhaps had more initiative than his brothers. Like them, he
held several encomiendas in many provinces, but he also had a very special
interest in mining his deposits in Porco and Arequipa. For a long time
Hernando took care to send tools and slaves from Spain to work these
mines. On October i6, 1534, for example, Hernando gave a carta de poder
in Sanluicar de Barrameda to his loyal agent Francisco de Zavala to send
to Peru the black slaves remaining from a license of ioo that the emperor
had granted on May 21 of that same year. Zavala executed the order by
shipping 35 blacks in 1536, 1537, and 1540.' In his first years on Peruvian
soil, Hernando had devoted himself to giving out a number of loans in
cash and to selling clothes and horses, according to the notarial registers.'6
Yet even Gonzalo, despite his youth, could boast comparable wealth. He
15. Archivo General de Indias, Seville (hereafter AGI), Contrataci6n, leg. 5760, lib. 2,
ff 9-10, quoted by Otte, "Los mercaderes vascos y los Pizarro," 780.
i6. Guillermo Lohmann Villena, "indice del cartulario de Pedro de Castafieda," Revista
del Archivo Nacional del Peru, 27:1 (1963), 27-87 and 28:1, 2 (1964), 59-132. See also U.S.
Library of Congress, The Harkness Collection, II, 48-5o and 54-56.

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held repartimientos in Charcas, Arequipa, Quito, and Cuzco, in addition

to mines and houses, all of which were seized for the crown after his
rebellion was defeated. Francisco Martin de Alcaintara, Francisco's half
brother on his mother's side, was the humblest of them all. Nevertheless,
his encomiendas of Jauja, Los Llanos, and Huainuco enabled him to collect
the tribute of 3,8oo Indians.'17
Although the possessions of the Pizarros could be considered sepa-
rately for each brother-as in fact the Spanish courts would eventually
do-it is more fitting to think of them as different branches of the same
enterprise. The family operated as a single unit from the time Francisco
brought his brothers from Spain. By the marriage of Hernando to his niece
dofia Francisca-who would soon become the sole heiress of the estate of
her father, the Marquis-the family's patrimony was unified, the global
administration falling to Hernando. However, by that time the nepotist
government of Peru by the Pizarros had come to an end, many of their
properties having been seized by the crown for a variety of reasons, and
the Pizarros' enterprise entered a new stage. Peru still continued to be
a source of income for them, although nothing out of the ordinary for
major conquistadors. A large amount of the money forwarded to Spain
by the family during the earlier years was now under the management of
Hernando. The uses given to that money will be discussed below.
The First Treasure from Peru
After the distributions of Cajamarca (June 17 and July i6, 1533),

Pizarro decided to entrust his brother Hernando with the delicate mission
of going to Spain. The aim of this trip was twofold: On the one hand he
had to "give notice and report on the great land he [Francisco] had discov-
ered and the large treasure they had found and were hoping still to find,
because with such happy news, His Majesty would feel he had been well
served. " 18 As a sample of that treasure Hernando took the emperor the
royal fifth that had been collected until the time of his departure, which
probably included Atahuallpa's throne of solid gold and pieces of jewelry
that the royal officials had given him in Peru.'9 A contemporary report
17. Jose Varallanos, Historia de Hudnuco. Introduction para el estudio de la vida social
de una region del Per6. Desde la epoca prehist6rica a nuestros dias (Buenos Aires, 1959),
2i8 (n. 9). Also Juan Pizarro, the remaining brother, enjoyed similar privileges, but his early
death and lack of male descendants channeled his possessions initially to Gonzalo and later
to Hernando Pizarro. His biography is in Lockhart, The Men of Cajamarca, 168-175.
i8. Pedro de Cieza de Le6n, Descubrinmiento y conquista del Peru [third part of the
Cr6nica del Peru], in Pedro de Cieza de Le6n e il "descubrimiento y conquista del Peru,"
Francesca Cantui, ed. (Rome, 1979), 280.
19. Ibid., 28i. Agustin de Zdrate says that when Hernando left Peru the smelting and
assaying had not yet been made, and it was not known for sure "what could belong to His

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recorded that in 1534 "Hernando Pizarro brought 5,048 marks of silver as

well as 150,o6g pesos of gold of various carats for the king. Five ships were
[then] loaded for Peru [and in them] went more than 500 passengers."20
Although brief, these few lines suggest a relationship of causality between
the arrival of precious metals and the departure of the new contingent
of reinforcements so much needed by the invading forces in Peru at that
time.
Hernando had a spectacular reception, in contrast to the one given
to his brother Francisco when he came to seek royal grants and people
a few years earlier. The then visionary prophesies had now turned into
very convincing metal. For this reason, the requests of the Pizarros to
the crown concerning jurisdiction and prerogatives, the second motive for
Hernando's voyage, became more feasible. In return for his gifts, Her-
nando asked in the audience he had with Charles V that His Majesty grant
his brother Francisco an increase in territory and award Almagro and
himself other Mercedes, all of which he received without much difficulty.2'
Between the end of 1533 and the middle of 1534, four ships arrived
successively in Seville loaded with returning conquerors. These four ships
brought to Seville 708, 58o pesos in gold and 49, oo8 marks in silver belong-
ing to private individuals and the crown.22 Besides the legally declared
gold and silver, there is little doubt that a very large amount of unregis-
tered metal was smuggled in by passengers. Transport from the river to
the city must have attracted the attention of many people, as cases were
unloaded at the pier and taken to the Casa de la Contratacion.23 The ship
on which Hernando Pizarro arrived, the Santa Maria del Campo, had
reached the "river of Seville," i.e., the mouth of the Guadalquivir, on Jan-
uary 9, 1534, carrying gold and silver for the king, as mentioned above,
along with 310,000 pesos in gold and 13,500 marks in silver brought by
individual passengers. Francisco Pizarro's secretary in Peru, Francisco de
Jerez, who was to arrive in Seville six months later, took note of the above-
Majesty from the pile," as quoted by Luis J. Ramos G6mez, "El primer grand secuestro
de metales, procedentes del Peru, a cambio de juros, para costear la empresa de T6nez,"
An-uario de Estudios Americanos, 32 (1975), 220.
20. Colecci6n de documentos ineditos relatives al descubrimiento, conquista y organi-
zaci6n de las antiguas posesiones espauolas de Ultrainar, segunda serie, 25 vols. (Madrid,
1885-1932), XIV, 221. Figures vary slightly in other versions.
21. Cieza de Le6n, Descubrimiento y con quista del Perli, 281 and Antonio de Herrera,
Historia general de los hechos de los castellanos en las islas y tierrafirme del mar oceano, 17
vols. (Madrid, 1934-57), XI, 8o.
22. Francisco de Jerez, Verdadera relaci6n de la con quista del Peru y provincia del
Cuzco (Madrid, 1906), 346. As converted by the chronicler himself this resulted in a total
of 318,861,000 maravedis in gold and 108,307,680 maravedis in silver. Herrera gives very
similar figures, as pointed out by Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru, II, ]go.
23. Jerez, Verdadera relaci6n de la con quista, 345-346.

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mentioned quantities, emphasizing that most of the crown's treasure had

been sent without smelting in the form of gold and silver containers as
well as a silver eagle, two sacks of gold, "and one gold idol the size of a
four-year-old child...."24
Hernando was allowed by the royal officials to take some of the pieces
he had brought for the king as a sample for Charles V to see. The latter
soon ordered the smelting of the treasure. There was no time for delay,
because there was "the need for money. In January 1535 the emperor
ordered that the process should not take over two months. Whatever could
not be smelted in Seville during that term was to be sent immediately
to the mints of Toledo and Segovia with "all the [necessary] advice and
clarity ... for the instruction of officials here, who are not so skillful in the
labor of gold from the Indies as those of the mint of that city [Seville]."25 In
this way the first shipment of gold and silver from Peru was incorporated
into the European economy as currency, while many of the most elaborate
pieces of gold and silver work, a legacy of Andean culture, were being
destroyed.
Of the treasures brought by individual passengers, the highest valued
was surely that of the Pizarro family, entrusted to Hernando. The amount
was probably impressive and in itself justified the long trip undertaken
by the best educated and most sagacious of the Pizarro brothers, in the
company of two faithful servants, Juan Cortes and Martin Alonso. Cortes
and Alonso would administer the estate of the Pizarros in Peru and in
Spain for many years to come, even acting as figureheads when neces-
sary.26 It is difficult to assess the value of the jewels and precious metals
that Hernando took home with him as his first booty from Peru. Cieza
de Leon, the soldier-chronicler, stated that "Hernando Pizarro took out
of this kingdom [Peru] a quantity of his gold and that of his brothers."27
24. Ibid., as pointed out by Ramos G6mez, "El primer gran secuestro de metales," 223.
The official list drawn up by the authorities of the Casa de la Contratacion gave a total value
of 150,070 pesos, 2 tomines, and 3 grains for the gold and 5,036 marks, 7 ounces for the
silver. "Relaci6n del oro del Perl que recibimos de Hernando Pizarro . .. para Su Majestad
[en febrero de 15341 . . ." and "Relaci6n de la plata del Per6 . . . ," AGI, Contrataci6n, leg.
4675, as published by Jos6 Toribio Medina, La imprenta en Limna 1584-1824, facsimile ed.
in 4 vols. (Amsterdam, 1965), I, 163-170. Hernando Pizarro himself gave a similar value for
the royal treasure in a letter he wrote to Charles V announcing his arrival. AGI, Patronato
192, no. 1, ramo 2. Published with transcription errors in Colecci6n de docurnentos ineditos
relatives al descubrimiento, conquista y organizaci6n de las posesiones espaiiolas de America
y Oceania, 42 vols. (Madrid, 1864-84), XLII, 96-97.
25. Charles V to the Royal Officials in Seville, Madrid, Jan. 30, 1535, as published by
Medina, La imprenta en Lima, I, 170.
26. The biography of Juan Cort6s is in Lockhart, The Men of Cajamarca, 295-296, that
of Martin Alonso, ibid., 288-289 and in Jose Antonio del Busto Duthurburu, Diccionario
hist6rico biogrdfico de los conquistadores del Per6t. Tomo I. (Letra A) (Lima, 1973), 131.
27. Cieza de Le6n, Descubrimiento y conquista, 281.

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Another contemporary writer asserted that the conquerors remaining in

Peru had made a particular effort to give many riches to Hernando, whom
they considered an active element of discord, so that he would remain
in Spain.28 Hernando invested the wealth that he and his brothers had
obtained in their conquest in the least risky way, attempting at the same
time to obtain the highest possible returns, and was possibly thinking
even at this stage of a long-term consolidation of the family estate. Before
examining the strategy adopted by Hernando, it should be noted that the
three principal spheres in which he invested his new fortune were mer-
chandise and capital goods to be sent to Peru, land and local investments,
and juros. We have already seen an example of the first category, with
the sending of slaves and tools for the mines. This activity was maintained
for many years as it was cheaper to buy European products in Spain than
in Peru. However, when royal confiscation of private money shipments
became unbearable, Hernando decided to supply his enterprises in Peru,
even at higher prices, investing the limited money that reached him in
Spain in other ways.
The second category was that of land and local investments. During
the sixteenth century there was a marked increase in the purchase of agri-
cultural land by urban investors in Castile as in the rest of Europe. Not
only was there the firm belief that land was the only source of wealth that
offered long-term security, but there also was the extraordinary demo-
graphic increase which by increasing demand caused the price of agricul-
tural products to rise. Even though commerce may have yielded higher
profits, investment in land was less risky, and in addition land ownership
was an important element for promotion within the ranks of the aristoc-
racy, something that undoubtedly appealed to the enriched conqueror.29
In the case of Hernando Pizarro, the Peruvian enterprises continued to
be his main source of income-even though they were unstable due to
the conflicts that affected the country and the Pizarros-while the invest-
ments in Spain represented his settling down and establishment of a solid
estate for long-term security and the achievement of a higher place within
the Spanish aristocracy.
A large sum of Hernando's money was turned into juros or royal
treasury bonds, usually in a compulsory manner following the seizure of
registered metals that arrived in Seville. The owner of a juro received
28. Fernandez de Oviedo said that the conquerors remaining in Peru "trabajaron de
le embiar rico [a Hernando Pizarro] por quitarle de entre ellos, y porque yendo muy rico
como fue no tuviese voluntad de tornar a aquellas partes." (Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo,
as quoted by Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru, II, 182.)
29. John Lynch, Spain under the Habsbnrgs, 2d ed., 2 vols. (Oxford, 1981), I, 119. See
also David E. Vassberg, Land and Society in Golden Age Castile (Cambridge, 1984), 147.

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
the promise of a periodic payment at a fixed rate of interest, for which

responsibility was assigned to specific sources of the crown's ordinary in-
come.30 Hernando received payments for many years through his agents
and bankers, for example from the alrnojarifazgo of Seville. Thus, on May
22, 1539, Francisco de Zavala, on behalf of Hernando Pizarro, received
200,000 maravedis from the alnojarifes Alonso de Illescas and Baltasar
de Alcocer, paid through the bank of Crist6bal Francisquin and Diego
Martinez. This payment corresponded to the interest on two juros for the
first third of that year, which had expired in April.3' At least until 1551
there are notarial records according to which agents and bankers in Seville
collected interest payable onjuros on behalf of Hernando Pizarro.32 Other
juros, as will be seen, were located in Trujillo and neighboring towns.
The Spanish crown had rapidly acquired the habit of seizing the pre-
cious metals belonging to private individuals as a means of financing its
increasing needs.33 As early as 1523, in a state of emergency, the crown
temporarily seized private metals. The Spanish involvement in Europe
with the imperial, and perhaps religious, interests of Charles V placed
increasing pressure on the royal treasury. The arrival of Peruvian trea-
sure had given the emperor hope of improving his financial position by
paying off the treasury's debts, but the increase in crown expenses was
always greater than its income, including of course that of the Indies. An
interesting example of the seizing of treasure took place in 1535. Four
ships coming from Nombre de Dios arrived in Seville with a large amount
of private gold and silver from Peru, in addition to that of the crown. A
real cedila dated February 13 ordered royal officials in Seville to seize
the metal and pay their owners in juros perpetuos at a rate of "30,000 a
thousand," i.e., 3 1/3 percent, "which we will pay off within the next six
years . . .; not paying it off within that time, it will remain perpetual
forever." While the Welser bankers lent money to the crown at an inter-
est rate of 9 percent and the Fuggers later accepted juros at a rate of
6.25 percent, the forced loans taken from private citizens cost only about
3 percent. The total amount of private gold that was transported on the
four ships and subject to confiscation-that is, shipments of at least 400
pesos in value-was slightly more than 700,000 pesos, while the silver
30. Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, I, 6o-6i.

31. Letter of receipt of Francisco de Zavala on behalf of Hernando Pizarro, Seville,
May 22, 1539, published in Catdlogo de los condos americanos del Archivo de Protocolos
de Sevilla, 3 vols. (Madrid, 1930-32), II, 477 (corresponds to vol. XI of the Colecci6n de
docunientos ineditos para la historic de hispanoainrica, 14 vols. [Madrid, 1927-32]).
32. Ibid., III, passing. Also in Docunmentos ainericanos del Archivo de Protocolos de
Sevilla. Siglo XVI (Madrid, 1935), passing.
33. The information in this paragraph was taken from Ramos GC6lmez, "El printer gran
sectiestro de metales, 217, 225-228, and his Cuadro 1.

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668 j HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
amounted to almost 95,000 marks. This shipment included in its registers

money belonging to all the Pizarros, with the exception of Hernando.34
Francisco, Juan, and Gonzalo registered 47,403 pesos of gold and no sil-
ver. In all probability this shipment saw the beginning of the first forced
juros obtained by the Pizarros in Spain after the conquest of Peru, setting
a pattern that would be repeated often in the future.
But not all the money reaching Spain legally was turned into juros.
Unfortunately we do not have a complete series for several years, but a
few examples will give an idea of the constant flow of money Hernando
Pizarro received from his interests in Peru and the encomienda pensiones
granted to his wife and nephews. Table I shows some shipments that
arrived in Seville for the Pizarros in 1550, 1556, and 1557. Even though
there is some uncertainty that the registers for these years are complete,
it can be seen that at least four members of the Pizarro family still had
strong economic links with Peru. On the one hand, Hernando and dofia
Francisca, his wife, owned businesses that continued to be profitable and
that required the presence of several mayordomos-more than those ap-
pearing in these lists. On the other hand, don Francisco Pizarro and his
cousin by the same name, sons of Gonzalo Pizarro and Francisco Pizarro
respectively, received the pensions granted to them by the crown for their
maintenance in Spain when they were expelled from Peru.35 However,
much of the money Hernando Pizarro received from Peru probably went
to Spain through illegal channels. These took many forms and became
more attractive as the crown imposed more restrictions on the legal means
of entry.
Even during his first return trip to Spain, Hernando had addressed the
emperor requesting that the royal officials of the Casa de la Contrataci6n
in Seville allow him to land His Majesty's treasure without obstacles.36
Direct evidence has not been found that Hernando avoided import duties
on his own money, but considering the number of acquisitions he made
through his agents soon after his return, as can be seen from the notarial
records studied below, few doubts remain. In any case, at the time of
Hernando's second and final trip to Spain, when the initial splendor of the
Peruvian treasure had become the everyday need of the royal treasury,
Fiscal Villalobos of the Council of the Indies formally accused Hernando
34. As usual, the register is not extremely trustworthy, both because of the high level
of contraband and the "disappearance" of cargo and passengers before reaching their desti-
nation.
35. Dofia Francisca arrived in Spain in 1551 with her brother don Francisco Pizarro.
Juan Pizarro's daughter, dofia Isabel, and Gonzalo's children, dofia In6s and don Francisco,
were sent to Trujillo in Spain in 1549. Levillier, Gobernzanites del Pert6, I, 162-164.
36. See letter cited in n. 24.

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Pizarro of having taken unregistered gold, silver, and emeralds valued at

500,000 ducats, and without paying the royal fifth.37 The amount was high,
and, if true, it was a daring act, befitting a character such as Hernando.
The method of personally transporting money from Peru to Spain,
however, was not carried out frequently, for Hernando was the only one
of the Pizarro brothers who returned to Spain after the conquest and
then only twice. It was more convenient and safer, even though more
expensive, to trust the business to professionals: that is, the merchants
and the ships' masters. Since it was an illegal business, it was noted in
the documents only in exceptional cases. In a letter dated from prison in
Medina del Campo on December 23, 1543, Hernando addressed his agent
and banker in Panama, Juan de Zavala, instructing him on the procedure
of dispatching money and documents.
[AIll that might come for me or anyone else without register should
be entrusted to the ship's master, who is an honest man. A receipt
should remain there and a duplicate should come within the dis-
patches of Francisco de Zavala, and even my letters should come
inside his dispatches. . . . If you receive an order from me to give
something to someone, do not do so unless it is in my handwriting
and carries my, signature, and . . . for additional safety it [my mes-
sage] will be signed and marked by a notary public and sealed by
my seal.38
There can be little doubt that the illegal shipments of precious metals
belonging to the Pizarros and other individuals continued throughout the
following decades. This flow of illegal money proved to be of significant
value even after the Gonzalo Pizarro administration, in spite of the fact
that his execution strengthened the crown while it impaired the power of
the first conquerors.
Hernando Pizarro: Head of the Family Enterprise
The pattern followed by many of the returning conquerors had been

to invest their newly acquired riches in lands surrounding their places
of origin in Spain.39 Hernando had faithfully bought land in Trujillo and
surrounding areas, and other places in Extremadura. In 1561, Hernando
Pizarro was the largest landowner in La Zarza, a small place in the juris-
37. AGI, Justicia, leg. io66, no. 4. This expediente is unfortunately incomplete, but it
includes Hernando's rejection of charges and the Council of the Indies' acceptance to hear
the case.
38. AGI, Justicia, leg. 833, no. 5, pieza 3. Published by Otte, "Los imercaderes vascos
y los Pizarro," 784-785.
39. Vassberg, Land and Society, 51 and 56.

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
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3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
diction of Trujillo, now called La Conquista de la Sierra.40 Hernando had

no doubts that his social promotion and definitive settlement should come
true in his patria chica, in the environment he knew and perhaps even
longed for.
After his first return trip to Spain, Hernando went back to Peru having
begun his program of investment in the metropolis. His mission had been
successful and he carried many royal mercedes for the family. But even
as early as this, the influential licenciado Gaspar de Espinosa had tried to
tarnish Hernando's golden halo in court by writing to the emperor, "Your
Majesty already has had news about the hostility between Captain don
Diego de Alhiagro and him [Hernando Pizarro]; it is not convenient to
have them both together in the same gobernaci6n...."4' The worst fears
of Espinosa would come true a few years later as Almagro was executed by
order of Hernando in Cuzco on July 8, 1538. As a result Hernando decided
to take the transoceanic trip once again, to justify his actions before the
emperor. Fearing the Almagristas and a certain judge who had threatened
to cut off Hernando's head if he went through Panama, he journeyed
through New Spain.42 After crossing the Isthmus of Tehuantepec he was
arrested at Coatzacoalcos and brought to the viceroy in Mexico City, but
an agreement must have been reached, as Hernando was soon released
and allowed to board in Veracruz.43
Luck was not with him in Spain this time, as Hernando was soon
jailed in Madrid. His misfortune began on April 17, 1540, when the solici-
tor Ifiigo L6pez de Mondrag6n presented two criminal cases on behalf
40. Averiguaci6n de La Zarza, 1561, Archivo General de Sim-ancas, Expedientes de

Hacienda, leg. 189-56 (hereafter Averiguacion de La Zarza). Reference to this document
was taken from Vassberg, Land and Society, io8, but the evidence used comes from a direct
reading of the document's microfilm. The Pizarro Vassberg found as the largest landholder in
La Zarza is Hernando. He misplaces the old La Zarza in present-day Zarza de Montdnchez,
whereas it corresponds to La Conquista de la Sierra as asserted by Miguel Mulloz de San
Pedro, "Las 6ltimas disposiciones del 6ltirno Pizarro de la Conquista," part I, Boletin de la
Real Academia de la Historia (hereafter BRAH), 126 (Apr.-June 1950), 396; also by Pascual
Madoz, Diccionario geogrdfico-estadistico-hist6rico de Espaiia y sus posesiones de ultra-mar,
i6 vols. (Madrid, 1845-50), VI, 567; and, finally, by a personal visit to Trujillo and La
Conquista de la Sierra which helped us to shape this and many other views held in this
article.
41. Licenciado Gaspar de Espinosa to His Majesty, Panama, Aug. 1, 1533, in Levillier,
Gobernantes del Perti, II, 29-30.
42. Hernando Pizarro to His Majesty, Puerto Viejo, July 5, 1539, AGI, Patronato, leg.
go-B, no0. 2, ramo 9. He decided to use the New Spain route despite an order of the queen
instructing authorities to free Hernando Pizarro if he was taken to Panarna or any other place
under arrest. CUdula issued in Barcelona, on Apr. 22, 1538. AGI, Lima, leg. 565, published
in Racl Porras Barrenechea, Cedulario del Per6. Siglos XVI, XVII y XVIII, 2 vols. (Lirna,
1944-48), II, 414-415.
43. Prescott, History of the Conquest of Peru, II, 298; also Woodrow W. Borah, Early
Colonial Trade and Navigation between. Mexico and Peru (Berkeley, 1954), 19.

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
of Diego de Alvarado, don Diego de Almagro el mozo, and others for

the death of Diego de Almagro. The first one was against the Pizarro
brothers and their accomplices, and the second case "particularly" against
Hernando Pizarro. The charges were brought before the Council of the
Indies, which was then staying with the court in Madrid. Hernando was
not caught by surprise. He was ready for his defense not only with the
many probanzas he had brought from Peru, but also with the fruits of
his conquest that were still arriving in Spain. In spite of his preparations,
Hernando could not prevent the decree to imprison him, issued by the
Council of the Indies a month later, on May 14, 1540, and carried out "on
the day before the eve of Pentecost" in the royal alcdzar of Madrid.44
As a prisoner Hernando had to follow the royal court along its route.
The judicial proceedings developed slowly and became increasingly com-
plex, until he was finally placed in the castle of La Mota in Meedina del
Campo, which became his permanent prison for almost i8 years. Her-
nando was freed on May 17, i56i, after Philip II commuted his sentence
of exile in Africa to banishment from the court and a bail of 48,ooo ducats
while awaiting the definitive sentence from the Council of the Indies.
(This definitive sentence did not come until March 17, 1572, when a
symbolic fine was imposed as well as permanent banishment from the In-
dies. 45) When Hernando Pizarro left prison many things had changed, for
him and for Spain. All of his original accusers had long been dead, most
of the judges on his tribunal were also dead as were all his brothers, who
had suffered violent deaths in Peru.
The long years in prison were probably not too pleasant for Hernando
Pizarro, even though his wealth, energy, and prestige allowed him to
enjoy some comfort and to maintain a rather inconspicuous link with the
outside world. At least until 1548 he lived with two female servants, one
black the other white. The latter, called Isabel de Mercado, had been
found hidden in the prisoner's bed by a royal official making an enquiry.
She declared that she had given birth three times during the time they
had been living together. In a turret facing the exterior the prisoner had
three rooms, one of them completely independent and assigned to the
black servant. A despensero or storekeeper who lived in town took care
of buying food and supplying all the needs of the prisoner. Although
forbidden, Hernando had access to paper and ink, and thus was able to
write long letters which reached Peru through secret channels. Moreover,
44. The rollo of the legal process is in AGI, Escribania de nimara, leg. 1007, no. 17. An
accurate summary, from which this information was taken, may be found in Ernst Schaefer,
"El proceso de Hernando Pizarro por la muerte del Adelantado Almagro," Investigaci6n y
Progreso, 5 (1931), 43-46.
45. Ibid.

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the prison bars were not an obstacle for his servants and mayordomos;
nor for merchants and lawyers to come see him to receive instructions on
the running of his American and European enterprises during those years;
nor for his female companions to leave for town when the need arose.46
The Family Estate in Pertu
The children of Francisco Pizarro, dofia Francisca and don Francisco,

arrived in Spain in i55i. A few months later Hernando married his niece
dofia Francisca, thus unifying the Pizarros' estate. The descent started by
their children would soon die out, as would that of the Marquis Fran-
cisco Pizarro. The titles and property of the Pizarros would go to the
descendants of another dofia Francisca Pizarro, a daughter of Hernando
and Isabel de Mercado.47
During the years he spent in prison, Hernando devoted himself to
the management of his properties in Spain and Peru with energy and
diligence, in addition to attending to the unending litigation he had to
face before the slow and meticulous Spanish courts. The long distances,
difficult communications, and the zeal of the royal officials toward the
Pizarros which allow us access to part of their private and business
documents increased the difficulties of the absentee owner. Everyone
was aware that ordinary writings could be read by uninvited officials, in-
cluding of course personal letters, so they were written so as to be difficult
to interpret. Some, however, include very precise information, having
been sent secretly, following Hernando's careful instructions.
A long letter written by Hernando to Diego Martin was discovered
by the royal officials, dated December 3, 1544, several months after the
uprising of Gonzalo Pizarro in Peru. The letter touched on political as well
as purely administrative topics.
I would like to know about the health of senior Gonzalo Pizarro and
about your trip [to Panama] and about my possessions and about
the [movements of the] senior viceroy with our things and those
of my nephews. . . . What you say about the properties in Cuzco
being lost does not surprise me, with all the disturbances that have
occurred in the land.
46. Autos of the jtez de comisi6n in Hernando Pizarro's prison, La Mota of Medina del
Campo, July 28, 1548, AGI, Justicia, leg. 833, no. 5, pieza i. The social status of Isabel de
Mercado is not clear; in som-ie documents she was named "dofia" while in others she was
not. After Hernando's marriage she entered a convent in Trujillo according to Vdzquez, "Los
Pizarros," 221.
47. Don Francisco died in 1557, after a brief and childless marriage with his cousin
dofia Ines, a daughter of Gonzalo Pizarro. Miguel Mufioz de San Pedro, "La total extinguida
descendencia de Francisco Pizarro," Revista de Estudios Extrenmeriios, 20 (1964), 469 and
472; also Lockhart, The Men of Cajamarca, 154.

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In a more reflective tone, Hernando was possibly giving coded advice

on the convenience of continuing with the rebel movement, but with a
view to a seigneurial retirement to his properties in La Zarza, as be said
If I am freed, which God willing will be soon, I do not think that

senior Gonzalo Pizarro will want me to turn back, rather than honor
go forth. Once we retire to La Zarza, you will fish and the pages
will collect branches and asparagus and I will spend my time with
the crossbow and with the dovecote that is being built.
He closed the letter with another cryptic paragraph, in which the Peruvian
situation was combined with international politics, his trial, and once again
La Zarza's utopia.
There is now permanent peace with France. My sentence was

about to be issued but it was not. It is believed that it was sent for
consultation [to the king], but some say it is a game of maha and
that they will delay it until they are sure that the land [Peru] is
peaceful; they are not interested that I am more concerned about
La Zarza.48
Father Diego Martin, the addressee of this letter, was Hernando's princi-
pal and most trustworthy manager, second in command only to Gonzalo
Pizarro. Through this loyal priest Hernando directed the web of mayordo-
mos, who in turn managed specific properties and followed his legal cases.
Father Martin also had Hernando's authority to hire or dismiss agents, to
go through accounts, and to solve all kinds of problems about his estate in
Peru.
Among all of Hernando's enterprises it was probably the mines of Porco
that brought the highest returns, through his large investments in tools
and slaves there. In another letter to Diego Martin, Hernando said, "I
have had made a very good tool for the silver mines, and I am sending
to Lisbon for black craftsmen.... I will also send stallions and jennies.
. . . Be diligent in the mines, because what could be extracted this year
should not wait until the next....9 Just how much diligence was applied
is difficult to know, but Hernando continued to receive silver from Peru,
evading all the controls and continuous seizures of the crown.
According to Pedro de Soria, Hernando's administrator in the Porco
mines, the enterprise was doing fairly well in 1547, a year before the
48. Autos of the juez de coinisi6o, Medina del Camnpo, JUlV 28, 1548, AGI, Justicia, leg.
833, no. 5, pieza s. In the same document the fiscal accused Hernando of sending messages
between the lines, i.e., that the end of the war with France meant availability of soldiers.
49. Hernando Pizarro to Diego Martin, La Mota of Medina del Campo, Mar. 8, 1545,
AGI, Justicia, leg. 833, no. 5, pieza 3, in Otte, "Los mnercaderes vascos v los Pizarro,"
786-788.

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 202u, 01 Jan 1976 12:34:56 UTC
676 I HAHR I NOVEMIBER AFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
end of Gonzalo Pizarro's rebellion. But Soria was having trouble with
Father Diego Martin, his immediate superior, and may have simply been
trying to please the master. In a letter addressed to In6s Rodriguez, but
obviously intended to be delivered to her brother Hernando Pizarro, Soria
sharply said
I only want to say that had it not been for the property under my
care, memory of the Pizarros would no longer remain. . . . The
properties of Hernando Pizarro, my master . . . are now worth four
times as much as before, because this year I will produce 100,000
castellanos of maize and coca and chufio to help the governor [Gon-
zalo Pizarro] my lord in his expenses. I let your grace know all
this so you will know that with the mines and properties that the
governor, my lord, has, he can serve His Majesty more than any of
his other vassals in the world, and if Hernando Pizarro, my lord,
comes, he can go settle other lands rather than this one which is
already discovered....50
There was a message between the lines from Soria to Hernando, sug-
gesting that Governor Gonzalo Pizarro was taking advantage of the good
mining production to Hernando's disadvantage. In a previous paragraph
Soria had already complained about the difficulties given him by Father
Martin when he sought to send silver directly from Porco to Spain, subtly
accusing the priest of disloyalty or complicity with Gonzalo, but it is more
interesting to learn of the feasibility of sending silver from the Porco
mines to Spain, along an unknown route, during the time Gonzalo Pizarro
governed Peru. Hernando, however, trusted Father Martin and Gonzalo
above anyone else, and they inevitably favored the Pizarro enterprise
during Gonzalo's administration between 1544 and 1548. The informa-
tion available for this period confirms, once again, the soundness of the
Pizarros' family ties, that expressed themselves in the economic field in
a marked idea of a common patrimony. In a letter written by Hernando
from prison on December 2, 1544, he answered Gonzalo's letter written in
Chincha on July 17 the previous year: "Diego Martin is taking my poder
to your grace to do and undo in my enterprises as you would in your
own.... Later, he added
Do not feel sorrow, your grace, for what was spent or lost [in the
expedition to La Canela, royal confiscations, etc.], our father left
us nothing. We will go on with what we may have, please God,
and as good brothers the wealthier one will help the other....
50. Pedro de Soria to In6s Rodriguez, Porco, Apr. 23, 1547, in Juan P6rez de Tudela
Bueso, ed., Documentos relatives a don Pedro de la Gasca y a Gonzalo Pizarro, 2 VOlS.
(Madrid, 1964), I, 209-212.

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Do not think, your grace, of coming here any more than of

pulling out your eyes, because that would mean to destroy your
property and mine. When the time comes, your grace should write
to me [informing me] how the enterprises there are doing and I
will write asking you to come.51
Gonzalo invested a large amount of the family's patrimony in the up-

keep of his government, especially due to the high military expenses he
had to face. It is true that part of those expenses were paid for with money
looted from his enemies and from the royal treasury, but the rest was
defrayed from the production of his own silver mines and encomiendas,
those of his niece and nephews, and with the possessions of his brother
Hernando, who continued to believe that Peru was his main enterprise.
It is also true that Gonzalo levied taxes, gathered donations, and granted
encomiendas to his supporters; but once defeated, the net result on the
family's estate was negative. Perhaps for this reason, as soon as he heard
of the downfall and execution of his brother, Hernando attempted to dis-
tance himself from the rebel Pizarro. On June 8, 1549 Hernando, still in
prison, accused Gonzalo of having "usurped" his properties in Peru, and
produced a list of justifying documents, supposedly written four years ear-
lier. Suffice it to say that the accusation was false and the deception was
promptly discovered by Hernando's judges, incorporating the relevant
documents into his already voluminous expedientc.i
Despite his efforts, Hernando could not maintain intact the Pizarro
family's estate in Peru, but neither did they lose all their property, for
which he fought in the courts until the end of his days. Already in 1550
President Pedro de la Gasca, the able priest who cunningly defeated and
eradicated the Pizarros from Peru, had received a royal order to deposit
all the possessions, gold, and silver that belonged to Hernando and Gon-
zalo Pizarro in the royal treasury.53 However, two decades later the matter
was not completely settled, as Viceroy Toledo was still making efforts, in
the midst of a tangle of complications, to regain for the crown the en-
comiendas of Indians that the Pizarros had taken for themselves, and also
attempted to collect from them the expenses incurred by the royal trea-
sury during Gonzalo's uprising.54 By that time, the estate of the Pizarros
in Peru had greatly diminished after having been for some 15 years the
51. Hernando Pizarro to Gonzalo Pizarro, La Mota of Medina del Campo, Dec. 2,
1544, ibid., I, 166-170.
52. AGI, Justicia, leg. 833, no. 5, pieza 3, in Otte, "Los mercaderes vascos y los
Pizarro," 791-794.
53. Pedro de la Gasca to the officials of the Casa de la Contrataci6n, Los Reyes, Jaln. 5,
i-o, in Levillier, Gobernantes del Perti, I, 245.
54. Viceroy Francisco de Toledo to His Majesty, Cuzco, Mar. 1, 1572, ibid., IV, 184.

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largest entrepreneurial complex in the country. But a large part of the

profits went to the European metropolis where "the last Pizarro of the
conquest," 55 Hernando, managed them with perseverance and ability with
the final aim of perpetuating his name and fame.
The Investments in Spain
The large amount of precious metal that the Pizarros took to Spain,
beginning with Hernando's arrival in January 1534, was soon invested.
Part of the money arriving from Peru was delivered to the Pizarros' agents
in Seville, once the royal officials had finished with the slow paperwork.
Another part was kept by the crown and exchanged for royal juros. The
interest on these juros was usually payable from the regular income of
the Casa de la Contrataci6n or the alcabalas of Seville, even though the
transfer to other sources of royal income in a different place was frequently
accepted.
It becomes clear in the case of the Pizarros that they tried to concen-
trate their property in Extr-emadura and particularly in Trujillo and its
environs. They acquired land and rents mainly in Trujillo, Medellin, and
other places within their jurisdiction (see map). Similarly, a large number
of the juros they received were made payable from the royal alcabalas of
Trujillo or turned into a local rent that could also bring prestige and power,
such as the tenure of Trujillo's fortress or the city's alferago mayor, which
gave the Pizarros one vote in the city council.56 These acquisitions of the
Pizarros, or more precisely of Hernando and dofia Francisca, can be seen
through the information available in the two main judicial proceedings
that the crown filed against them. The first one, against Hernando, was
caused by Almagro's execution, while the other, against dofia Francisca
as her father's only surviving heir, resulted from Francisco Pizarro's sup-
posed debts to the royal treasury in Peru.
Licenciado Cisneros, the judge in dofia Francisca's lawsuit, had re-
quested the royal collector of rents and alcabalas of Jaraicejo, Cafiamero,
La Cumbre, Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Logrosdn, and Garciaz to obtain from
the local notaries a list of the juros and estates that Hernando and dofia
Francisca had in those places, and then to put an embargo on them to
cover dofia Francisca's inherited debts to the crown. The alcabala collector
obliged and prepared the required list which was signed by Hernando and
dofia Francisca in April i566. This list was divided in two sections. The
first detailed dofia Francisca's personal property, which had originated
55. Adequately named "el 6ltimo Pizarro de la Conquista" by Mufioz de San Pedro.
56. Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las 6ltimas disposiciones," Part II, BRAH, 127 (Julv-Sept.
1950), 224.

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Caceres Trujillo
C~ceres* 5 * *2 4
7 6* La Conquista
,Mrida 8
0 ~~9
Badajoz 10
Extremadura: Main locations of Hernando

and doha Francisca Pizarro's investments.
1 Jaraiceio 5 La Cumbre 8 Medellin
2 Garciaz 6 Santa Cruz de 9 La Haba
3 Logrosan la Sierra 10 Cabeza del Buey
4 Caiamero 7 Zarza de Montanchez
from her Peruvian income and her father's and brother's inheritances, and
included some properties in Lima, censos in Trujillo, Medellin, and their
jurisdictions, and juros payable from royal income in Seville and Trujillo.
The other section of the list gave an itemized account of all those proper-
ties that she held as common property with her husband Hernando and
included land and houses that had been acquired in Trujillo, Medellin,
and their jurisdictions, and in La Zarza, in addition to juros and censos

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
68o J HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
payable in Trujillo. Hernando had already left prison at the time of signing
this document and was staying in his mansion of La Zarza, enjoying the
company of his wife and some of the servants that had been with them
since the Peruvian days.
The especially interesting characteristic of these lists is that they in-
cluded copies of all the notarial records issued at the time of buying the
properties and a large proportion of the census. Most of the acquisitions
had originally been made by Hernando's agents-such as Luis de Ca-
margo, who had been acting on behalf of the Pizarros in Spain at least
since 1534. As Hernando did not want to risk losing his properties in case
of unfavorable sentences in his lawsuits, they remained for many years
under the name of those agents. However, when Hernando was allowed
out of prison in 1561, many of his properties were transferred, always
through a notary public, to his own name as the true owner, with a note
specifying that they had been bought for him, from the beginning, with
his money and following his instructions. As an additional guarantee, the
original purchase contract was also copied with each transference docu-
ment. By 1566, Hernando's lawsuit was not finished, but it was clear that
it would not bring about any surprises. Another case in which a transfer
of ownership was made had occurred previously, soon after the Pizarros'
wedding, when dofia Francisca's lawsuit had reached a stage where con-
fiscations were threatened both in Spain and in Peru. On January i8, 1554
and August 14, 1555, several of the properties that she acquired before
marrying were transferred to her husband's name.
In the long run, more important than the immediate risk faced in court
was the Pizarros' wish to establish a long-lasting estate, as was the way of
the nobility, and to strengthen it through a mayorazgo.58 It is indeed dif-
ficult to imagine the Castilian nobility receiving Hernando Pizarro as one
of their peers, given that it was an accepted principle that the riches of the
nobles had to be inherited and, therefore, free from the memory of greed
present at the time of obtaining them.59 Yet, it was still possible to leave
57. Judge to royal collector of rents and alcabala. Order to embargo doila Francisca
Pizar-ro'sjuros, Trujillo, Apr. 9, 1566, followed by list of juros and other properties. Several
copies, some incomplete and in poor condition, in AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-A, ff 592-604v,
732-798, 830-952v, 953-998v (this copy bears the original signatures of Hernando and doila
Francisca), and leg. 496-B, if. 150-526 and 925-931.
58. Aln example may be found in Helen Nader, "Noble Income in Sixteenth-Century
Castile: The Case of the Marquises of Mondejar, 1480-1580," Ecotomonic History Review,
Second Series, 30:3 (Aug. 1977), 411-428. See also Charles Jago, "The Influence of Debt oln
the Relations between Crown and Aristocracy in Seventeenth-Century Castile," Ecotnomiiic
History Review, Second Series, 26:2 (May 1973), 218-236 and "The 'Crisis of the Aristocracv'
in Seventeenth-Century Castile," Past and Presenit, 84 (Aug. 1979), 60-go.
59. Pierre Chauinu, La Espaha de Carlos V, 2 vols. (Barcelona, 1976), I, Las estrticturas
de una crisis, 242-245.

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the foundations ready for the Pizarros' heirs to enjoy the corresponding
privileges, as in fact occurred.
A mayorazgo could incorporate all the properties of the grantee, mak-
ing them indivisible, but Hernando and dofia Francisca opted for incor-
porating "the third part plus the fifth part" of their properties, all of which
would be taken up by a previously named heir on their death. Dofia Fran-
cisca received royal sanction for establishing a mayorazgo on November
26, 1571, while Hernando received his on May 27, 1577. Together, on
June 6, 1578, they had the documents that formalized this mayorazgo
issued in the name of their second son, don Juan Pizarro, and included a
long list of the entailed properties.60 Moreover, between July and August
1578 facing Hernando's imminent death he was then blind and so weak
that he could not get up from bed or even sign his name-they issued sev-
eral documents. These documents, which included his last will, codicils,
and additions to the original mayorazgo, are especially relevant because
of the information they provide not only about the entailed properties but
also about properties that remained free and bound for other ends.6'
It may seem surprising that there are many more properties mentioned
in the mayorazgo documents than in those of 1566, but that was to be
expected. Between 1566 and 1578, the Pizarros must have bought lands
with their Spanish and Peruvian income; these times were better and more
peaceful for them, and despite his years Hernando could act personally
in his business deals. In 1566, Hernando and dofia Francisca had lacked
all motivation to ease the judge's job of finding out what their properties
were in order to place an embargo on them. In 1578, however, it was
definitely necessary to include all the properties of the dying Pizarro in
the documents in order to assure succession, strength of the mayorazgo,
and the preservation of the family's patrimony.
If the list of urban and rural estates, census, juros, and other wealth
such as jewelry, clothes, and silverware is more complete in the may-
orazgo, last will, and related documents, what interest may the 1566 list
have? It proves crucial for two reasons: First, even though it is incomplete
6o. This don Juan Pizarro died childless soon after, therefore unable to enjoy the may-
orazgo. Following Hernando's detailed instructions, the mavorazgo was granted to his eldest
son, don Francisco Pizarro, who for unknown reasons had initially been substituted by the
second son. Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las 6ltimas disposiciones," Part I, 392-393, based on
Hernando's last will, points out that the eldest son apparently did not submit to his father's
wishes. The mayorazgo of the conqueror Juan Pizarro had initially been given to don Fran-
cisco, a legacy of his uncle killed in the attack on Cuzco in 1536 by the Inca forces. He
additionally received several unentailed properties.
6i. These documents are published at large in Munioz de San Pedro, "Las 6ltimlas
disposiciones,' Part II, 203-252, and Part III, BRAH, 127 (Oct.-Dec. 1950), 527-560. Some
of them are also published in Luisa Cuesta, "Una docurmentaci6n interesante sobre la famnilia
del conquistador del Peri-," Revista de Indias (hereafter RI), 8 (Oct.-Dec. 1947), 865-892.

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682 | HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL \7ARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
as a list of the Pizarros' properties in Spain, it appears to be complete as a

list of those properties recorded in their names before the Extremaduran
notaries between 1552 and 1562, and also of those acquired in previous
years but legally transferred to the Pizarros' name during that period.62
Second, the information given for each transaction is abundant. A copy
of the purchasing contract is furnished, and, when applicable, it is com-
plemented by the transfer document made out to the Pizarros by their
agent. Thus a somewhat deeper understanding of the dynamics of the
purchases and their local effect is gained. However, a quantitative analysis
of these investments would not be adequate, because even though the
recorded investments seem to cover the whole spectrum of the Pizarros'
purchases, additional information shows that their properties were far
more extensive.63
Chro nology and Categories of Puirchases
The dates of the investments in Spain were directly related to the

events in the Pizarros' lives. Table II shows a chronological list of the
original dates of purchase. One must remember, once again, that the list
is not complete and does not include all the investments of the Pizarros
between 1536 and 1562. At first glance, the amount that draws attention
by its magnitude is that of the jurors of the royal crown (shown in more de-
tail in Table III), but unfortunately the date of issue has not been located
and they appear undated in the table. Many of the Juros were issued in
exchange for confiscated precious metal from Peru, while others, probably
excluded from this table, had been bought voluntarily, especially during
the first years.64
In Table II one sees a concentration of purchases in the initial years,
until 1539, followed by a gap which coincided with Francisco Pizarro's
assassination in Lima in 1541 and Gonzalo's uprising from 1544 to 1548. It
was not until 1552-the year in which Hernando married dofia Francisca,
and the Pizarros' political power definitely ended in Peru-that invest-
ments began to flow once again into Spain, simultaneously in Trujillo,
62. As discussed above, manv documents account for the transference of propel-ties
bought for Hernando or his nephew don Francisco since 1536, Tables were assembled ac-
cording to the original date of purchase.
63. For example, the mayorazgo of the conqueror Juan Pizarro ended uip in Hernando's
hands but was kept as a separate estate. The properties comprising this estate, and their
management, could be studied from documents available in the Archivo de la Casa y Estados
de los Duques de Abrantes (Jerez de la Frontera), especially legs. 43, 72, 83, and 84. (I thank
Teodoro Hampe Martinez for referring me to this archive and to the Excelentisimlo senior
Duque de Abrantes who kindly allowed me to use it. [R. V. G])
64. In his last will, dated in 1536, Juan Pizarro mentions jturos he had in Spain. Cuesta,
"Una documentaci6n interesante," 878.

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TABLE II: Investments of the Pizarros by Year and Destination, 1536-62

(In Maravedis)
Trujillo Medellin La Zarza Royal Juros Unknown Total
Date
Unknown* 500,000 29,849,535 540,000 30,889,535
1536 952,500 175,000 1,127,500
1537 862,500
1,340,500 478,000
1538 177,000 216,000 393,000
1539 30,000 30,000
1540
1541 65,500 65,500
1542
1543
1544
1545 250,0001 250,000
1546
1547
1548
1549
1550
1551
1552 286,501 404,950 24,179 715,630
1553 7,050 7,050
1554 82,500 2,448 84,948
1555 170,500 4,875 175,375
1556 150,000 150,000 48,044.52 348,044.5
1557 33,398 33,398
1558 2,720 2,720
1559
1560
1561 8,500 8,500
1562 23,395.5 23,395.5
Total 2,774,001 2,176,950 154,610.0 29,849,535 540,000 35,495,096.0
* Between 1552 and 1557.

1. One half of the alcabala paid by the butyer.
2. Includes the purchase of an alcacer fromt Maria de Hinojosa on June 14, 1556, for
which she received in payment a third of the alcacer Hernando had bought on February 1,
1556 fromt Martin Hernaindez, plus four dlucats.
Sources: AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-A, f. 732-733 and 830-833xN, and leg. 496-B, f. 151-
498x and 928-931v.
Medellin, and La Zarza, remaining relatively steady until the end of the
period, with the exception of 1559 and 1560.65
The most interesting investments of the Pizarros fall under the two
categories of land and censos. The geographical location of the investments
may be explained by the natural security the Pizarro family felt in their
ancestral territory. Their purchases were mainly houses, cereal lands or
65. These investments must be searched for in notarial and other archives.

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TABLE IV: The Pizarros' Investments by Destination, 1536-62

(In Maravedis)
Place Number of Transactions Purchase Pr-ice
Trujillo
Land 6 1,398,000
Houses 2 872,500
Pasture rent 1 30,000
Censos 5 482,501
Sub-total 2,783,001
Medellin
Pasture rent 13 1,676,9501
Censos 1 500,0002
Sub-total 2,176,950
La Zarza
Cereal land 13 76,3243
Pasture land 5 17,790
Land (unspecified) 1 1,496
Vineyards 13 30,695.5
House with two vineyards 1 13,875
Houses 3 14,429.5
Sub-total 154,610.0
Royal Treasury
Juros 23,849,535
Fortress of Trujillo 6,000,000
Sub-total 29,849,535
Destination unknown
Censos 4 540,000
Sub-total 540,000
Total 35,504,096
1. Totaling 138 5/s

2. Located in La Haba, jurisdiction of Medellin. Inherited by dofia Francisca from her
brother.
3. Totaling 125 fanegadas.
Sources: AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-A, if. 732-733 and 830-833v, and leg. 496-B, ff 151-
498 and 928-931v.
panlievar, vineyards, pasture rents or rentas de hierba, and census, each

in a different proportion according to the location. Thus, in Trujillo most of
the money went to buy land and houses, even though the census also had
an important place. In Medellin, all the purchases were directed toward
the acquisition of rent, in pasture and census. Finally, in La Zarza, only
land and houses were bought (see Table IV).

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Trujillo
The Pizarros' presence had remained visible in urban Trujillo since

1529, when Francisco returned from the Indies to collect his brothers. It
is doubtful that he had any money to invest at that time, but Peruvian met-
als would soon start arriving. Thus, on June 17, 1536, Hernando bought
from Alonso Hernandez, notary public, some houses adjoining that inher-
ited from his father in the plaza, for i,6oo gold ducats. Not long after, on
October i6, he bought from dofia Juana de Guzmdn, widow of Francisco
de Tapia, some "half houses" valued at 272,500 maravedis, whose remain-
ing half he would later buy from Garcia de Orellana. Using these houses
and that of his father, Hernando built his Palacio de la Conquista, still the
largest and most imposing building in Trujillo, with the exception of the
Arab fortress.66
In the rural jurisdiction of Trujillo there was a continuous stream of
land purchases, most of them cereal lands, with the apparent intention
of combining small estates that were previously scattered among many
owners. Thus, on March 20, 1537 Hernando paid 750,000 maravedis to
Gonzalo Casco for one half of the dehesa or pasture-ground called Min-
goabril; he bought the other half on September 29, 1545 for 250,000
maravedis and half the alcabala from the children of Alonso de Loaysa and
Maria Calder6n, both deceased. On this second half of the dehesa, the
monastery of Santa Maria of Trujillo had 1,200 maravedis "muertos" or
fixed annual rent that the new owner had to continue paying.67 In another
instance, Hernando bought "two-fifths of a fifth" of the heredad named
Maria Alonso, later adding to his property in the same estate "a tenth
and an eleventh of two-fifths," which were bought for 65,5oo maravedis
fiom Francisco Solano and his wife, Maria P6rez, on November i6, 1541.68
These examples are representative of the vast majority of transactions
found in the jurisdiction of Trujillo. In general terms, the situation is simi-
lar to that found in Cdceres, and perhaps in other areas of Extremadura,
when returning conquerors began to buy censos and accumulate land pre-
viously divided among many owners.69
66. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-A, if 781-784 and 785-794; Mulioz de San Pedro, "Las
6ltimas disposiciones," Part II, 224. The purchase price of 1,6oo gold ducats is equivalent
to 6oo,ooo mnaravedis. A documented monograph of the building may be found in Pilar
Mogoll6n Caflo Cortes and Antonio Navarreilo Mateos, "Palacio del Marques de la Con-
quista, en Trujillo," Memorias de la Real Academia de Extrenmaduhra de las Lett-as y las Artes
(Trujillo), 1 (1983), 259-291.
67. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, ff 357v-361.
68. Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las 6ltimas disposiciones," Part II, 22o and AGI, Escribania,
leg. 496-B, ff 353-354V.
69. See for example Ida L. Altman, "Emigrants, Returnees and Society in Sixteenth-
Century Caceres" (Ph.D. diss., The Johns Hopkins University, 1981), 325-381.

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The fragmented ownership of productive land in Trujillo on the one

hand eased Hernando's purchases by confronting him with small owners.
On the other hand, this same fragmentation made it necessary for him to
amass land as in a giant puzzle, by joining together small and sometimes
minuscule plots. Hernando slowly managed to obtain the land that formed
the dehesas; for over four decades he appears to have been consistently
willing to buy, and almost never to sell. During that time, when heirs
of a deceased person needed money, Hernando or his agents were ready
to buy their lands. When a woman abandoned by her husband was faced
with economic pressure, she also could count on Hernando Pizarro's will-
ingness to buy her lands. This is what happened, for example, with In6s
de Torres, abandoned by her husband Juan de Orellana. When she sold
a fourth of the heredad of La Casilla on March ii, 1536, she explained
that she needed the money to pay for the expenses of her son, Crist6bal
Pizarro, to go to the Indies.70 She received 68,ooo maravedis from Diego
de Trujillo, a loyal associate of Hernando, and five days later Crist6bal
Pizarro was granted permission to sail to the Indies, declaring his destina-
tion Santa Marta.7" It is interesting to point out the presence of women in
the registered purchases of houses and land in Trujillo. Of eight sellers,
five were women. Besides Ines de Torres, three others were identified
as widows and one as a beata or pious woman. The absence of the male
in the family, so common in those days of migration and wars, may have
forced women to sell their properties as a means of subsistence. Most of
the sellers are identified as vecinos of Trujillo. This coincides with the
generalization made for Spain at the end of the sixteenth century, that the
owners of rural lands were mostly urban. However, any conclusions must
be tentative in this case, given the small sample and possibility that the
sellers might not have been representative of the group of owners.
70. Don Diego de Almagro included one Crist6bal Pizarro as an ally of the Pizarros in
the charges relating to his father's assassination in 1540. Later, there was a Crist6bal Pizarro
de Orellana, from Trujillo, who took part in Gonzalo Pizarro's rebellion and was sentenced to
"perpetual banishment to Spain and loss of his property," but ran away with other prisoners
before leaving Peru. Colecci6n de docurmentos ineditos para la historia de Espaia, 113 vols.
(Madrid, 1842-1895), XX, 268-269 and 521, and Levillier, Gobernantes del Perfi, I, 123.
Ernesto Schafer, Indice de la Colecci6n de documents inelitos de Indias, 2 vols. (Madrid,
1946), I, 403, points out that both names refer to the same person.
71. Diego de Trujillo, in turn, sold the same piece of land two years later to Juan Cortes,
Hernando's servant. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, ff 414-429V and Crist6bal Rarnirez Plata,
ed., Catdlogo de pasajeros a Indias durante los siglos XVI, XVII y XVIII, 3 vols. (Seville,
1940-46), II, 141. As to Diego de Trujillo, he had sailed to Peru with the Pizarros in 1529,
always remaining loyal to Hernando. He left Peru in 1534, and soon settled in Trujillo, but
later returned to Peru during Gonzalo's rebel administration, receiving an encomienda in
Cuzco and slowly working his way up from his popular origins. His biography is in Lockhart,
The Men of Cajanarca, 362-365. He may have acted as Hernando's agent for some time,
but there is not any additional evidence.

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It can be seen that much of the investment in Trujillo went into cen-
sos (see Table V). Consequently, the Pizarros participated in the return
of this credit option, a form of loan similar to a mortgage, which usually
allowed agricultural land, and in lesser measure houses, to be used as a
guarantee for loans in cash. The variety used in most of the cases studied
was called census al guitar, which provided for an end of the periodic
payment when the principal was paid off by the borrower, as opposed to
a perpetual censo. In practice, however, the principal was never paid and
interest on the loan continued to be collected for centuries. The demo-
graphic pressure of the early sixteenth century, as well as the increase in
overall economic activity, had generated a higher demand for agricultural
products. This, in turn, encouraged bringing back into cultivation long-
abandoned fields, that became once again profitable.72 It can be assumed
that at least part of the Pizarros' censos went to agriculture, as in the
case of the village of La Haba in Medellin, although specific mention of
the purpose of the loan was not made. Some other census were granted
in Trujillo over the guarantee of urban property, as in the case of some
shoemakers, the most important guild in Trujillo around the middle of
the century. In any case, the Pizarros, and with them Peruvian treasure,
acted as a source of credit in Trujillo, both in the urban and rural areas.
Medellin
The Pizarros had a special interest in investing in Medellin and above

all in the rural areas of the city's jurisdiction. The first issue that draws
attention is that all the investments were directed toward pasture rents
and censos, completely excluding land purchases, whether in urban or
rural areas. There were investments here from the very first years, at least
since 1536, in addition to a very substantial investment in census valued
at 500,000 maravedis, granted to the village and vecinos of La Haba,
that dofia Francisca had inherited from her brother don Francisco, and
which he must have bought between 1552 and 1557.7' The Pizarros were
not the only New World conquerors that invested in the local economy.
Hernando Cortes had sent Mexican money for the construction of a chapel
under the advocation of San Antonio, in a convent of Franciscan friars
in Medellin. Even though more information on this topic has not been
found, it would not be surprising if he had become involved in purchasing
Spanish properties in the first years of the conquest of Mexico.74
72. Bartolomn Bennassar, "En Vieille-Castille: Les ventes de rentes perp6tuelles.

Premiere moiti6 du XVIe siecle," Annales, 15:5 (Sept.-Oct. 1960), 1115-1126.
73. According to Table I, don Francisco received in that same period about 5.2 million
maravedis from Peru, so the 500,000 maravedis given as a censo does not seem excessive.
74. Madoz, Diccionario, XI, 331. Moreover, the mayorazgo documents include the
heredad of La Jarilla in the jurisdiction of Medellin, whose tercio or portion called La

3.236.169.149 on Wed, 04 Aug 2021 06:54:00 UTC
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690 I HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL VARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
According to Hernando's and dofia Francisca's mayorazgo documents,

the total investment that the couple had in Medellin was 698.1 "vacas"
of pasture rent.75 The set of notarial records, however, only registered
138.6 "vacas," that were bought for a total of almost 1. 7 million maravedis
between 1536 and 1556, and of this, 807,950 maravedis correspond to
the period 1552-1562. Taking these amounts as approximate indicators to
obtain an average price, the investment of the Pizarros in pasture rents
in Medellin by 1578 may be calculated at 8.5 million maravedis, even
though these documents do not include all the family properties. As in
the preceding cases, the pasture rents were acquired in small fractions
and from a wide variety of owners. Often several fragments of the same
property were bought, with the apparent intention of eventually gaining
the entire ownership.
In this manner Hernando bought on September 9, 1536, 13.3 "vacas"
in the dehesa of La Caballeria, for 175,000 maravedis that yielded an
annual rent of 5,000 maravedis. The seller was the convent of Nuestra
Sefiora de la Concepcion of Trujillo, that had moved temporarily to the
town of Cabeza del Buey and was now returning to Trujillo. The money it
received would be used to continue the construction of the new convent,
near the church of San Clemente. The convent had been endowed with the
property of this rent on December 1, 1534, as a dowry for the entrance of
dofia Blanca de Sotomayor and dofia Catalina de Ocampo, both daughters
of dofia Catalina de Ocampo and the late Gutierre de Mendoza, who
had owned 39.5 "vacas" in this dehesa.76 A year later, in two transactions
dated February i8 and October 24, Hernando bought 9.5 "vacas" in the
same dehesa of La Caballeria from Ines de Chavez, widow of Hernando
Carrillo. Of the 6oo "vacas" that made up this dehesa, Hernando could
buy 23 through many small transactions.77
The Pizarros' purchases in Medellin were interrupted at about the
same time as their purchases in other places, and then continued in 1552
with a significant investment of 400,000 maravedis. Among the purchases
of the following years, a number indicated Hernando's interest in trying
Ranchal of an extension of 29.25 "vacas" had belonged to dofia Catalina Pizarro, mother of
Hernando Cortes. Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las uiltirnas disposiciones," Part II, 219.
75. Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las uiltimas disposiciones," Part II, 214-219. The "vaca" of
pasture rent, hereafter to be referred to as "vaca," is an area unit which is related to the
livestock's consumption of pasture, in particular those travelling to winter in the region. A
nineteenth-century copy of the Pizarro mayorazgo documents equalled the area of a "vaca"
to that of a fanega. Archivo de la Casa y Estados de los Duques de Abrantes, leg. 43.
76. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-A, ff 777-780v and leg. 496-B, if. 453-459v. This de-
hesa is still known by the same name, and is now in the jurisdiction of Guarefia (Badajoz),
according to Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las uiltirnas disposiciones," Part I, 395.
77. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, if. 361-362v and 462-465, and Mufioz de San Pedro,
"Las uiltimas disposiciones," Part II, 215.

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to consolidate his possessions. He bought from dofia Aldonsa de Orellana,

widow of Hernando Alonso de Orellana, a total of 15.5 "vacas" in three
transactions, one in 1554 and the rest in 1556, for a total price of 201,000
maravedis, in the dehesa of Torviscal. Hernando had accumulated at least
40 "vacas" in this dehesa, 25.5 bought from dofia Aldonsa and 14.5 from
Francisco de Contreras, vecino of Don Benito.78 Another interesting pur-
chase was the one made from the sons of the Duke of Albuquerque, don
Rodrigo and don Fernando Puertocarrero, who sold Hernando Pizarro
slightly more than 58 "vacas" for 692,950 maravedis.79 This case shows
that Hernando bought not only from impoverished widows but also, and
in larger quantities, from the high nobility. However, again, widows stand
out among the sellers of the period between 1536 and 1562, numbering
three in a group that also included a clergyman and the already men-
tioned sons of the Duke of Albuquerque. As to the place of residence of
the sellers, two said they were vecinos of MWrida, three of Medellin, and
five of Trujillo; the convent also was located in Trujillo. It can be seen in
the jurisdiction of Medellin, once more, that a vecino of Trujillo, an urban
dweller, had made important investments in rural areas.
La Zarza
This was a small Extremaduran settlement classified in the middle

of the sixteenth century under the category of lugar, that is, far smaller
than a villa. However, the effect of the conquest of Peru was felt by all
its 103 vecinos, from the richest to the poorest, because of the presence
of the Pizarro family and Hernando's intention to turn La Zarza into his
own seiorio. Captain Gonzalo Pizarro had left in this lugar a small estate
that consisted of a "mill, a fence, a sown field, a house, and land" as
inheritance to his children,80 but it was Hernando who began to build on
that foundation the postconquest family estate, buying anything available
within the jurisdiction of La Zarza.
There are two characteristics of the investments in La Zarza that con-
trast with those in Trujillo and Medellin. First, the list of notarial records
does not include any purchases in La Zarza before 1552. But, as shown
78. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, ff 329-337v and Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las filtimas
disposiciones," Part II, 218. This dehesa has also kept its name and is located in the ju-
risdiction of Villar de Rena (Badajoz), according to Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las iltimas
disposiciones," Part I, 395.
79. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, ff 339-341, 400-402, and 475-485. The Duke of
Albuquerque held one of the Spanish sehorios in the sixteenth century, having anl income
of 25,000 ducats in 1530, 46,ooo ducats in 1577, and 50,000 ducats in 1595. Nader, "Noble
Income," 426.
8o. Captain Gonzalo Pizarro's last will, Pamplona, Sept. 14, 1522. Published by Luisa
Cuesta, "Una documentaci6n interesante," 869.

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692 | HAHR I NOVEMBER I RAFAEL \7ARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
above, it is almost certain that at least since the 1540S Hernando had
every intention of spending the rest of his life here. Moreover, the 36
transactions for properties in La Zarza that are available from the notarial
records for the period 1552-62 do not reflect the totality of the purchases.
Other documents show that the Pizarros bought more properties here,
but probably before and after those years. Unfortunately, the situation
in this case becomes more difficult to investigate than in the previous
ones, considering that the mayorazgo documents do not detail individual
properties in La Zarza but include them as one unit, except "the large
vineyard ... , the house in the woods, and the house of the oxen works,"
all of which Hernando shortly before dying assigned to his eldest son, don
Francisco Pizarro.8 In any case, the explanation for this contrast between
La Zarza and the other places may be that the purchases made by the
Pizarros' agents during the first few years (1536-52) were not copied by
the scribe of 1566, or perhaps the properties in La Zarza were bought
directly in the name of the Pizarros from the very beginning, and it was
unnecessary to copy those documents at the time of Licenciado Cisneros's
request.
The second contrasting characteristic is that Hernando did not invest
in censos in La Zarza. This is an important difference, considering that
in other places a high proportion of his investments went to this cate-
gory. Hernando's strategy appears to have been an eminently lucid one.
While in Trujillo and Medellin he received a good income from census,
in La Zarza he was in practice forcing the small land owners to sell their
lands by not giving loans to normally credit-thirsty peasants. The scarcity
of money in the rural areas directly corresponded to the agricultural cy-
cle, and this situation was reflected in Hernando's land-purchasing cycle.
Thus, all the purchases of cereal lands, except one, were made between
May and September, while the vineyards, again with one exception, were
purchased between November and April.82
The investments of the Pizarros in La Zarza between 1552 and 1562
were only 154,6io maravedis, according to the notarial records (see Table
IV). Clearly, this amount is not tremendously high, but La Zarza was a
small place where this money, however little, would be noticed, and for
that reason the effect of the Pizarrist presence was stronger than in Trujillo
8i. Codicil, Trujillo, Aug. 8, 1578. Published by Mufioz de San Pedro, "Las iltimas
disposiciones," Part III, 555.
82. A similar situation was found in sixteenth-century Cdceres, where slightly over 40
percent of vineyards were purchased between December and March, that is in the winter
months, after the harvest and vintage, according to Jose L. Pereira Iglesias, "La explotaci6n
del vifiedo en la tierra de Cdceres durante el siglo XVI," Alchntara (Revista del Semlinario
de Estudios Cacerefios), Tercera 6poca, 4 (Jan.-Apr. 1985), 17-26, quote from p. 24.

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or Medellin.83 The highest share of investments went to cereal lands,

reaching a total of 125 fanegadas, which were acquired in 13 transactions
that totalled 76,324 maravedis. Vineyards occupied second place, costing
30,695.5 maravedis, again purchased in 13 transactions. Next came barley
fields or alcaceres and four houses located in privileged positions, mostly
along the royal road. The family house was expanded and turned into a
mansion, surrounded by gardens and a small lake, displaying the Pizarros'
coat of arms on the facade. But the properties of Hernando Pizarro in La
Zarza were much larger than it seems at first sight. According to a detailed
description of La Zarza's inhabitants and their possessions dated in L561,
Hernando was the outstanding owner of land and livestock, far ahead
of any others. This description, prepared for fiscal purposes, states that
Hernando Pizarro owned 500 fanegadas of cereal lands. The next three
owners of cereal lands had, altogether, 97 fanegadas, while the following
ten, the remaining owners in this category, had only i6 fanegadas. The
largest group was formed by the 89 peasants without land, that is 86.4
percent of the vecinos, while Hernando Pizarro concentrated 8i.6 percent
of all the cereal lands of La Zarza.84
A high degree of concentration is also noted in the vineyards, though
not as marked as in the previous case. Hernando owned 26.3 percent of all
vineyards in La Zarza. He was again the largest owner with iloo peonaclas,
while the remaining 28o peonadas were owned by 72 vecinos. Twenty-
nine vecinos did not own any vineyards.85 Hernando appears as the largest
livestock owner, with at least I50 goats, 50 sheep, and 30 oxen, while
pigs are surprisingly absent.86 Finally, according to the same description,
Hernando owned four alcaceres, an enclosure with a dovecote, an olive
grove, fruit gardens, a "large house" where he lived, and 13 other houses.
The alcabala he paid for all his properties in La Zarza for the year 1561 was
one ducat "as usual." Competition for buying land in La Zarza does not
seem to have been excessive. After Hernando Pizarro, the next important
landowners were two Hinojosa families. When these Hinojosas sold their
belongings in a place perceived by its own inhabitants as "small and poor,"
83. An idea of the going prices in the region may be given by those in El Casar, jurisdic-
tion of CQceres. In 1567, the fanega of wheat for plowing was sold for 310 maravedis, barley
for 187 maravedis, and rye for 200 maravedis. In the following decade, a cow was bought
for 5,113 maravedis, a donkey for 2,250 maravedis, and a pig for 1,500 maravedis. Jos6 L.
Pereira Iglesias and Miguel Rodriguez Cancho, La 'riqueza campesina' en la Extremadura
del antiguo regimen (Cdceres, 1984), 85 and 96.
84. Averiguaci6n de La Zarza.
85. Ibid.
86. The Averiguaci6n de La Zarza does not include livestock, which was taken from
Hernando's and dofia Francisca's list of common properties of 1566. As discussed above, this
list tended to lower their properties. AGI, Escribania, leg. 496-B, ff 193-214.

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694 | HAHR I NOVEMBER B RAFAEL v.ARON GABAI & AUKE PIETER JACOBS
Hernando Pizarro was ever willing to buy, concentrating in his hands

the largest share of land in La Zarza.87 Unfortunately, there is no more
information available about the land market in this area, but it would
have been most unlikely to find any other buyer as willing as Hernando,
apparently always paying in cash and whenever the need arose for the
local population. Even though Hernando Pizarro bought for himself a
very large part of private lands in La Zarza, probably only a fraction was
directly exploited by him, while much of it must have been given to local
tenants, perhaps the former owners.88
Conclusions
Many Spanish conquerors, greater and lesser, envisioned a career in-

cluding two main stages: collection of riches in America and a peaceful
retirement in their birthplaces. The Pizarro brothers followed this pat-
tern, but only Hernando could fulfill his expectations.89 He was able to
ennoble his name and lineage by establishing a family estate solid enough
to survive until the present day, despite the uncertainties to be expected
through the passage of four centuries. The Pizarros were engaged in dif-
ferent business activities from the very initial stages of the conquest of
Peru. These activities ranged from a simple money loan to a horse sold
on credit, in addition to the more serious affairs dealing directly with the
conquest itself. At some point, however, it was impossible to distinguish
their private business from their governing of Peru. Because the Pizarros
were in control, they appropriated the best resources of the newly con-
quered country and distributed the rest among their followers. Not long
after the capture of Atahuallpa, they began organizing a wide range of
enterprises that would soon include encomiendas, mines, and urban and
rural properties.
Also from the very beginning, the Pizarros began shipping their own
gold and silver to Spain, and investing in safe and stable properties. Her-
nando Pizarro's exceptional business ability played a major role in the
shaping of the Pizarro estate in Spain, and his imprisonment could only
provide the family with a permanent manager, who along with his wife
in the end would inherit all of his brothers' riches. Much of the money
invested went to buy juros, either voluntarily or by force. But a very
87. Averiguaci6n de La Zarza.

88. When Hernando was ordered to produce the books where he kept the accounts of
rental lands, he answered by saying that he kept the accounts by heart. AGI, Escribania,
leg. 496-A, f. 971.
89. Juan Pizarro, for example, assigned to each inhabitant of La Zarza "two gold ducats
and for the hijosdalgos, to each one two thousand maravedis," according to his last will,
published by Luisa Cuesta, "Una documentaci6n interesante," 873.

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large portion was directly invested in the Pizarros' homeland of Trujillo

and other nearby places such as Medellin and the small La Zarza, later
to become La Conquista de la Sierra. The circulation of money from the
colony to metropolitan Spain, through the private enterprise of a family
of conquerors, became especially significant as an investment that in large
proportion was directed to the productive sectors of the economy, even if
the most traditional ones. Peasants used the credit made available locally
by the Pizarros in their small agricultural operations, while pasture fields
had a definitive role in the economy of sixteenth-century Extremadura.
In addition, the loans given to the urban sector of Trujillo as well as the
presence of a now wealthy and entrepreneurial family of investors had to
be determinant in the economic development of a peninsular city. As for
that family itself, once the surviving Pizarros were all in Trujillo and the
Peruvian enterprises gave way to a symbolic crown rent, the investments
in Extremadura, secure and long lasting as intended, provided for the
needs of the generations that descended from the conquerors of Peru.

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Pizarro Family During The Sixthteen Century

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Pizarro Family During The Sixthteen Century

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Peruvian Wealth and Spanish Investments: The Pizarro Family during the Sixteenth

Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/2516048

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Peruvian Wealth and Spanish

RAFAEL VARON GABAI

AUKE PIETER JACOBS*

eQuie'n contard el oro que destos lugares

HE enterprises of discovery and conquest of Spanish

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Encomniendas, Mines, and Coca

3. U.S. Library of Congress, The Harkness Collection in the Library of Congress.

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Betanzos, she became involved personally and through her husband in

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held repartimientos in Charcas, Arequipa, Quito, and Cuzco, in addition

The First Treasure from Peru

After the distributions of Cajamarca (June 17 and July i6, 1533),

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recorded that in 1534 "Hernando Pizarro brought 5,048 marks of silver as

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mentioned quantities, emphasizing that most of the crown's treasure had

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Another contemporary writer asserted that the conquerors remaining in

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the promise of a periodic payment at a fixed rate of interest, for which

30. Lynch, Spain under the Habsburgs, I, 6o-6i.

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amounted to almost 95,000 marks. This shipment included in its registers

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Pizarro of having taken unregistered gold, silver, and emeralds valued at

Hernando Pizarro: Head of the Family Enterprise

The pattern followed by many of the returning conquerors had been

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diction of Trujillo, now called La Conquista de la Sierra.40 Hernando had

40. Averiguaci6n de La Zarza, 1561, Archivo General de Sim-ancas, Expedientes de

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of Diego de Alvarado, don Diego de Almagro el mozo, and others for

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The Family Estate in Pertu

The children of Francisco Pizarro, dofia Francisca and don Francisco,

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In a more reflective tone, Hernando was possibly giving coded advice

If I am freed, which God willing will be soon, I do not think that

There is now permanent peace with France. My sentence was

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Do not think, your grace, of coming here any more than of

Gonzalo invested a large amount of the family's patrimony in the up-

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largest entrepreneurial complex in the country. But a large part of the

The Investments in Spain

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Extremadura: Main locations of Hernando

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