Pedro de Candia (Pietro de Cândia) (;

Crete Crete ( el, Κρήτη, translit=, Modern: , Ancient: ) is the largest and most populous of the Greek islands, the 88th largest island in the world and the fifth largest island in the Mediterranean Sea, after Sicily, Sardinia, Cyprus, ...

, Kingdom of Candia 1485–1542

Chupas After the assassination of Francisco Pizarro, in retaliation for his father's execution in 1538, Diego de Almagro II, ''El Mozo'', continued to press claims as the rightful ruler of Peru and as leader of his father's supporters. His claims wer ...

Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru ( es, Virreinato del Perú, links=no) was a Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in South America, governed fro ...

) was a

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

explorer and cartographer at the service of the Kingdom of Spain, an officer of the Royal Spanish Navy that under the Spanish Crown became a

Conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (, ; meaning 'conquerors') were the explorer-soldiers of the Spanish and Portuguese Empires of the 15th and 16th centuries. During the Age of Discovery, conquistadors sailed beyond Europe to the Americas, ...

Grandee of Spain Grandee (; es, Grande de España, ) is an official aristocratic title conferred on some Spanish nobility. Holders of this dignity enjoyed similar privileges to those of the peerage of France during the , though in neither country did they ...

, Commander of the Royal Spanish Fleet of the Southern Sea, Colonial Ordinance of Cusco, and then Mayor of Lima between 1534 and 1535. Specialized in the use of firearms and artillery, he was one of the earliers explorers of Panama and the Pacific coastline of Colombia, and finally participated in the

conquest of Peru The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish sol ...

.Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, He was killed in the

Battle of Chupas After the assassination of Francisco Pizarro, in retaliation for his father's execution in 1538, Diego de Almagro II, ''El Mozo'', continued to press claims as the rightful ruler of Peru and as leader of his father's supporters. His claims we ...

, (Peru), on 16 September 1542, by

Diego de Almagro II Diego de Almagro II (1520 – September 16, 1542), called ''El Mozo'' (the lad), was the son of Spanish conquistador Diego de Almagro and Ana Martínez, a native Panamanian Indian woman. Peru In 1531 El Mozo accompanied his father on the e ...

Early life

He was born on the island of

, which then was part of the

Republic of Venice The Republic of Venice ( vec, Repùblega de Venèsia) or Venetian Republic ( vec, Repùblega Vèneta, links=no), traditionally known as La Serenissima ( en, Most Serene Republic of Venice, italics=yes; vec, Serenìsima Repùblega de Venèsia ...

, known as the Kingdom of Candia, in the city of

Heraklion Heraklion or Iraklion ( ; el, Ηράκλειο, , ) is the largest city and the administrative capital city, capital of the island of Crete and capital of Heraklion (regional unit), Heraklion regional unit. It is the fourth largest city in Gree ...

(then called Candia, hence his appellation). He left the island through one of his mother's relatives at the service of the

Crown of Aragon The Crown of Aragon ( , ) an, Corona d'Aragón ; ca, Corona d'Aragó, , , ; es, Corona de Aragón ; la, Corona Aragonum . was a composite monarchy ruled by one king, originated by the dynastic union of the Kingdom of Aragon and the County of ...

, who took him to the Kingdoms of Italy. During his period in Italy he was training to become a

Condottieri ''Condottieri'' (; singular ''condottiero'' or ''condottiere'') were Italian captains in command of mercenary companies during the Middle Ages and of multinational armies during the early modern period. They notably served popes and other Europ ...

and trained in the arms; he fought against the Turks and in the Italian campaigns including the

Battle of Pavia The Battle of Pavia, fought on the morning of 24 February 1525, was the decisive engagement of the Italian War of 1521–1526 between the Kingdom of France and the Habsburg empire of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor as well as ruler of Spain, ...

,Leon, P., 1998, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Cook and Cook, Durham: Duke University Press, before transferring to the Iberian peninsula to serve the Spanish Catholic Queen and King. Pedro was eventually married in Spain at

Villalpando Villalpando is a municipality located in the province of Zamora, Castile and León, Spain. According to the 2004 census (INE), the municipality has a population of 1,624 inhabitants. Formerly the town was reputed for its saltpans, the Salinas ...

Conquest of Peru

During his first incursion, he went to America with Governor Pedro de los Ríos in 1526 to explore Panama and the Colombian coastline. Then sent by the Spanish Crown assigned on a special edict to engage with local natives, he accompanied

Diego de Almagro Diego de Almagro (; – July 8, 1538), also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits in western South America. He participated with Francisco Pizarro in the Spanish conquest of Peru. While subd ...

and

Francisco Pizarro Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru. Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...

during their first explorations along the coasts of Peru, and at the landing of Tacamez, north of

Guayaquil , motto = Por Guayaquil Independiente en, For Independent Guayaquil , image_map = , map_caption = , pushpin_map = Ecuador#South America , pushpin_re ...

, by then he had already the command of the artillery. He was one of the ''"

Famous Thirteen The Famous Thirteen (Spanish ''Los trece de la fama'', "the thirteen of the fame", or ''Los trece de Gallo'', "the thirteen of sla delGallo") were a group of 16th century Spanish conquistadors that participated in the Spanish conquest of Peru (seco ...

"'', who survived and remained in the islands of Gallo and Gorgona with Pizarro. From there, subsequently launched the explorations of the Peruvian coastline and Inca ports, then as part of the special assignment, he undertook to go in person to the Inca towns to engage with the locals and investigate their living conditions. He then visited Tumbez and then accompanied Pizarro to Spain to inform

Charles V Charles V may refer to: * Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558) * Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain * Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise * Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690) * Infa ...

of their discoveries, the emperor made Candia commander-in-chief of artillery of the fleet sent out to conquer Peru. He was present at the defeat and imprisonment of the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

king

Atahualpa Atahualpa (), also Atawallpa ( Quechua), Atabalica, Atahuallpa, Atabalipa (c. 1502 – 26-29 July 1533) was the last Inca Emperor. After defeating his brother, Atahualpa became very briefly the last Sapa Inca (sovereign emperor) of the Inca Em ...

, and received a large share of the ransom paid by him. While residing at

Cuzco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

, he made arms and ammunition for Pizarro, who was then fighting against Almagro. After the defeat of Almagro at

Battle of Las Salinas The Battle of Las Salinas was a military conflict and decisive confrontation between the forces of Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro against those of rival conquistador Diego de Almagro, on April 6, 1538, during the Conquest of Peru. Both camps clai ...

, Candia undertook the conquest of Ambaya beyond the

Andes The Andes, Andes Mountains or Andean Mountains (; ) are the longest continental mountain range in the world, forming a continuous highland along the western edge of South America. The range is long, wide (widest between 18°S – 20°S ...

, but was unsuccessful, being finally arrested by order of Hernando Pizarro. Disgusted at his treatment, and deserted by his old friends, he then joined the followers of Almagro and, with the aid of sixteen other Greeks, brought the guns that were taken by young Almagro to the

battle of Chupas After the assassination of Francisco Pizarro, in retaliation for his father's execution in 1538, Diego de Almagro II, ''El Mozo'', continued to press claims as the rightful ruler of Peru and as leader of his father's supporters. His claims we ...

, where Candia supported the local natives by performing badly in the battle. Almagro suspected treason and ordered his troops to kill Candia after attacking him with his own hands.

Legacy

Based on his special assignment to engage with local natives by the Spanish Crown edict, Candia took special attention to communicating with the Incas and other vassal natives, that helped him to record his greatest discovery of the Golden Temple of the Sun built by

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas add ...

. Subsequently, Pedro de Candia's visits, discovery, and legacy were recorded by the Inca Garcilaso in the ''GVAINA CAPAC INGA'', and by the Spaniard

Pedro Cieza de León Pedro Cieza de León ( Llerena, Spain c. 1520 – Seville, Spain July 2, 1554) was a Spanish conquistador and chronicler of Peru and Popayán. He is known primarily for his history and description of Peru, ''Crónicas del Perú''. He wrote th ...

in his records of "Cronicas de Americas"; and later rendered in an images codex book by

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (ca. 1535Fane, 165 – after 1616), also known as Huamán Poma or Wamán Poma, was a Quechua nobleman known for chronicling and denouncing the ill treatment of the natives of the Andes by the Spanish after their ...

. His oldest brother Teodoro de Candia, became a priest and led Catholic Missions for the Spanish Crown in the Amazonian region of today's

Misiones Province Misiones (, ''Missions'') is one of the 23 provinces of Argentina, located in the northeastern corner of the country in the Mesopotamia region. It is surrounded by Paraguay to the northwest, Brazil to the north, east and south, and Corrientes ...

, his brother Juan Andres de Candia led a colonial development in

Cusco Cusco, often spelled Cuzco (; qu, Qusqu ()), is a city in Southeastern Peru near the Urubamba Valley of the Andes mountain range. It is the capital of the Cusco Region and of the Cusco Province. The city is the seventh most populous in Peru; ...

, while Pedro's younger brother, Juan Martín de CandiaPobladores de Chile, 1565-1580, Genealogía de personajes destacados: Juan Martín de Candia, Conquistador de Chile, vecino fundador de Santiago, por Juan Guillermo Muñoz Correa, Ediciones Universidad de la Frontera, Temuco, 1989. , https://www.genealog.cl/Apellidos/Candia/ was assigned by the Spanish Crown to explore the Southern region of the continent alongside

Pedro de Valdivia Pedro Gutiérrez de Valdivia or Valdiva (; April 17, 1497 – December 25, 1553) was a Spanish conquistador and the first royal governor of Chile. After serving with the Spanish army in Italy and Flanders, he was sent to South America in 1534, wh ...

the founder of

Santiago Santiago (, ; ), also known as Santiago de Chile, is the capital and largest city of Chile as well as one of the largest cities in the Americas. It is the center of Chile's most densely populated region, the Santiago Metropolitan Region, whos ...

, and settled in

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the eas ...

Sources

* Herrera y Tordesillas (Antonio de) ''Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del mar Oceano (1601-1615)'' in Colección clasicos Tavera (serie 1, Vol. 1-2) Edizione su CD. * Tauro del Pino, Alberto: ''Enciclopedia Ilustrada del Perú''. Tercera Edición. Tomo 3, BEI-CAN. Lima, PEISA, 2001. * Gómara (Francisco López de) ''Historia general de las Indias'' (1552) in Bibl. Aut. Esp. Tomo LXII, Madrid 1946 * Herrera y Tordesillas (Antonio de) ''Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y tierra firme del mar Oceano (1601-1615)'' in Colección clasicos Tavera (serie 1, Vol. 1-2) Edizione su CD * Oviedo y Valdés (Gonzalo Fernández de) ''Historia general y natural de las Indias'' in Bibl Aut. Esp. Tomi CXVII; CXVIII; CXIX; CXX; CXXI, Madrid 1992 * Pizarro y Orellana (Fernando) "Vida del mariscal y adelantado Don Diego de Almagro el viejo y de su hijo Don Diego de Almagro" in ''Varones Illustres del Nuevo Mundo''. Madrid 1639 * Pizarro (Pedro) ''Relación del descubrimiento y conquista de los Reynos del peru''. (1571) In Bibl. Aut. Esp. (tomo CLVIII, Madrid 1968) * Garcilaso (Inca de la Vega) ''La conquista del Peru'' (1617) BUR, Milano 2001 * Zárate (Agustín de) ''Historia del descubrimiento y conquista de la provincia del Perú'' (1555) In Bibl. Aut. Esp. (tomo XXVI, Madrid 1947)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Candia, Pedro de History of Peru 1542 deaths Spanish conquistadors 1458 births Spanish military personnel killed in action Greek explorers Emigrants from the Republic of Venice to Spain

Early life

Conquest of Peru

Legacy

Sources

See also

References