Diego De Almagro. I. One of the associates of Pizarro in the conquest of Peru, born of unknown parents about 1404, and picked up as a foundling near the Spanish town from which he derived his name, died in 15-38. He had acquired both wealth and fame in the new world, when he joined Pizarro at Panama in the attempt to conquer the flourishing kingdom of the ineas. In the division of offices among the leaders of the enterprise, Almagro was appointed to manage the forwarding of supplies of men and provisions, in which he had to contend with many formidable obstacles, but overcame them all. From the time of the first landing of the Spanish forces until the death of Ata-huallpa, Almagro was engaged in repeated quarrels with Pizarro, whom he accused of treachery in depriving him of his just share in the fruits of their conquests. He finally attempted to seize Cuzco, the capital, but was persuaded by Pizarro to undertake instead the reduction of Chili, of which kingdom he was to have the undivided control. In 1535 he set forth with 570 European followers, and underwent great hardships among the mountains. The natives resisted him bravely, but he had made some progress when a rising of the Peruvians, who had attacked Lima and Cuzco, summoned him home.

Returning by a toilsome march along the coast, he defeated the natives, and took possession of Cuzco, which he resolved to hold. A civil war ensued, in which Almagro neglected to avail himself of his advantages until Pizarro, having gained time to recruit his forces by negotiation, marched to Cuzco with 500 men, and, defeating him in a bloody engagement, took him prisoner. After several months of confinement, he was tried, condemned, and strangled. He was a man of frank and winning maimers, and far more popular among his men than Pizarro. He had never learned to read and write.

II. The son of the preceding by a Peruvian woman, was a brave, generous, and accomplished youth; his father, mindful of his own deficiencies, having spared no pains in his education. He became the leader of the party opposed to Pizarro upon the death of the elder Almagro, and, after the assassination of the governor, was proclaimed his father's successor. He enjoyed authority for a very brief season, however, as Vaca de Castro soon arrived, bearing a royal commission as governor. Almagro attempted to resist him, and on Sept. 16, .1542, a sanguinary engagement took place between the forces of the rival leaders, in which the victory remained with his opponent. Almagro escaped after the battle, but was given up by his own officers, and beheaded at Cuzco.