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From Peace Parley to Massacre
Pizarro set off to meet Atahualpa with 110 infantry and 67 cavalry, armed and armored with steel, plus three arquebuses and two small cannon. A meeting was arranged for November 16th, 1532, in a plaza in the town of Cajamarca. On the night of the 15th, Pizarro outlined to his men an audacious plan to seize Atahualpa via a sneaky betrayal, in emulation of Cortes’ seizure of Montezuma. On the appointed day, Atahualpa, who failed to take precautions for his own security, left his army camped outside Cajamarca. That turned out to be a huge mistake.
Atahualpa arrived at the town’s plaza on a fine litter carried by 80 high-ranking courtiers, trailed by about 5000 Incan notables. All were richly dressed in ceremonial garments and unarmed, except for small ceremonial stone axes. The Spaniards were concealed in buildings that ringed the plaza, with cavalry hidden in alleys that led to the open square. They fell upon Atahualpa and his party at a signal from Pizarro. The result was a massacre. The unarmored natives proved no match for the Spaniards’ steel swords, pikes, bullets, or crossbow bolts, and their ceremonial stone axes were useless against Spanish plate armor.