Battle of Jaquijahuana The Battle of Jaquijahuana was fought between the forces of Gonzalo Pizarro and Pedro de la Gasca , on April 9 , 1548 , during the Conquest of the Inca Empire by the Spanish conquistadores . After the successful Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire , the assassination of Francisco Pizarro in 1541 , and the execution of his main antagonist , Diego de Almagro ( 1538 ) and his son , El Mozo ( 1542 ) , most of the competent commanders of the recently founded New Castile Governorate had been lost in the ensuing power struggle . In 1540 , second in line of the Pizarro brothers , Hernando Pizarro , returned to Spain to defend the question of his and his brothers ' reign in Peru against accusations of abuse of power . He was eventually imprisoned on orders of King Charles . The Almagristas , followers of Diego de Almagro , met their downfall in the battle of Chupas on September 16 , 1542 . Two years later , King Charles eventually sent his own envoy , Blasco Núñez Vela , as governor over the recently found Viceroyalty of Peru , and as well to ensure the accomplishment of the New Laws enacted in 1542 to protect the native Peruvian population of Peru . Gonzalo Pizarro , however , refused to relinquish power and the sovereignty over Peru once belonging to him and his brothers . With his namesake as an ensuring symbol of the former reign of the Pizarros , he gathered supporters , mainly opposed by formal governor of New Castile , Cristóbal Vaca de Castro , victor at Chupas over the Almagristas . The Viceroy arrived at Lima , new capital of Peru , and was sworn into office on May 17 , 1544 . He shortly after had Castro imprisoned and sent home to Spain . On September 18 , Gonzalo Pizarro managed to depose Blasco Núñez Vela and sent him as prisoner to Panama . On October 28 , the 1 , 200 men strong army of Gonzalo Pizarro entered Lima . Upon arrival to Panama , however , Vela was released , and returned to Peru with royal claims as the rightful viceroy and governor of Peru , landing in Tumbes . The two gathered supporters and met on January 18 , 1546 at Añaquito in present - day Ecuador , superiority in numbers and firepower ensured victory for Gonzalo Pizarro , who crushed the army of Blasco Núñez Vela , who was decapitated on the field of battle . This , in its turn , ensured a struggle for the control of Peru between Gonzalo Pizarro and the royal forces . The king then appointed Pedro de la Gasca as new governor of Peru ; meanwhile , the land itself fell under control by Gonzalo Pizarro and his forces . De la Gasca landed in Peru in 1547 , winning supporters to his initially inferior forces by promising amnesty to those having committed treason to the crown , and proclaimed he would not enforce the New Laws , a keepsake that had entrusted Gonzalo Pizarro a number of loyal supporters . After initial skirmishes , the two forces went close to a confrontation in late 1547 at Xaguijagana plains , but de la Gasca succeeded in avoiding battle and winning the case of several other officers of Gonzalo Pizarro , among them the recognizable Alonso de Alvarado . Ultimately , a battle ensuring the definite control of Peru was unavoidable , and the two armies finally met close to Sacsahuana , on Spanish dubbed " Jaquijahuana " , near Cuzco . In the battle itself , Gonzalo ' s forces were at this time gravely inferior and were slaughtered on field of battle , with almost none of de la Gasca ' s forces killed . Gonzalo himself , along with his most loyal commander , Francisco de Carvajal , dubbed the " Deamon of the Andes " , were captured on field of battle and executed by beheading . De la Gasca then made efforts to solidate his control over Peru , which remained a royal colony and viceroyalty until the revolutionary actions of José de San Martín and Simón Bolívar during early 19th century .