The conquistador who searched for gold in Chile and found only a violent death

History · Published 3 October 2026 Swipe more like this →

In short: Diego de Almagro was a pivotal figure in the Spanish conquest of Peru, yet his legacy is defined by a failed expedition to Chile and a bitter, fatal rivalry with Francisco Pizarro. From humble, illegitimate origins to the heights of colonial power, his life ended in a public execution in Cuzco.

Born in 1475, Almagro rose from an impoverished childhood in Spain to become a key partner in the conquest of the Inca Empire. Alongside Francisco Pizarro, he helped dismantle Incan power, though their partnership fractured over the division of spoils and control of the capital, Cuzco. While Pizarro secured the lion's share of royal favor, Almagro was granted the governorship of 'Nueva Toledo,' a territory extending south into present-day Chile.

Driven by the hope of finding riches surpassing those of Peru, Almagro led a massive expedition of 750 Spaniards and numerous indigenous allies in 1535. The journey was a catastrophe. Crossing the Andes and the Atacama Desert, his forces faced brutal cold, starvation, and fierce resistance from local populations. After two years of hardship, Almagro found no gold or cities, only subsistence-level communities. His troops returned to Peru in 1537, their clothes in tatters, earning them the derogatory nickname 'roto'—a term still used today.

Upon returning to a Peru rocked by Manco Inca’s rebellion, Almagro seized Cuzco and imprisoned Pizarro’s brothers. This sparked a civil war between the two factions of conquistadors. Though Almagro initially held the upper hand, he was eventually defeated by Pizarro’s forces at the Battle of Las Salinas in 1538. Captured and humiliated, he was executed by garrote in his dungeon on July 8, 1538. His son, Diego de Almagro II, later attempted to avenge his father by assassinating Pizarro, but he too was eventually captured and executed in 1542, marking the end of the Almagro line.

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