Francisco Pizarro Gonzalez was a Spanish conquistador who became famous by conquering the Incan Empire. Born as the illegitimate child of a poor woman, he received no education and expected nothing in inheritance. He became a soldier and when he heard of the riches of the New World, he believed he could change his fortunes by going there and looting a vast fortune for himself. After learning that Peru was a prosperous region under the Incan Empire, he undertook two expeditions with navigator Diego de Almagro and a priest Hernando de Luque in 1524 and 1526 to conquer the empire. These expeditions failed to produce any fruitful results owing to hostile natives, bad weather and scarcity of food. On his third expedition he founded the first Spanish settlement in Peru at the San Miguel de Piura. The expedition came to an official end after successfully conquering Cuzco, the Incan capital. Pretty soon he founded the city of Lima, undoubtedly his biggest achievement. By this time Almagro and Pizarro had become bitter rivals and their quarrels led to the Battle of Las Salinas following which Almagro was executed. However, Almagro’s son avenged his father’s death by killing Pizarro in his castle at Lima