ALMAGRO, a fortress of Spain, the capital of one of the districts of La Mancha. It was built by the archbishop Roderic of Toledo, who finished it in 1214, and put a considerable garrison into it to restrain the incursions of the Moors. This was hardly done when the fortress was besieged by an army of 5000 horse and foot, under the command of a Moorish officer of great reputation; but the prelate, its founder, took care to supply those within with such plenty of necessaries, that at length the enemy found themselves obliged to raise the siege and retire with great loss.

Almagro, Diego de, a Spanish commander, was of such obscure birth and mean parentage, that he derived his name from the village where he was born in ¼63. Deprived of the means of early instruction, he could neither read nor write; but nevertheless, in consequence of his improvements in the military art, he formed an association with Francisco Pizarro and Hernando de Luque, for the purpose of discoveries and conquest upon the Peruvian coast. The governor of Panama having sanctioned their enterprise, they devoted their united exertions to that undertaking. Pizarro directed the conquest, and Almaġro was appointed to conduct the supplies of provisions and reinforcements. In the first two unsuccessful attempts, he performed this office with persevering fidelity and uncommon activity. His perseverance was followed with complete success; for they at last discovered the coast of Peru, and landed at Ťumbez, situated about three degrees south of the line, and distinguished by its temple, and a palace of the incas or sovereigns. Pizzaro was sent over to Spain to solicit further powers, after the three adventurers had previously adjusted their future preferments, and agreed that Pizarro should be governor, Almagro lieutenant-governor, and Luque bishop. In this negotiation Pizarro obtained the clerical dignity for Luque; but, chiefly concerned about his own interest, he neglected the preferment of Almagro. On his return, Almagro was so enraged, that he refused to act with such a perfidious companion, and resolved to form a new association. Pizarro for the present artfully endeavoured to avert the indignation of Almagro, and gradually soothed the rage and disappointment of the soldier. The union was renewed upon the former terms; and it was solemnly stipulated that a common expense and a common advantage should take place.

In February 1531, leaving Almagro at Panama to supply provisions and reinforcements, Pizarro set sail for. Peru. He attacked a principal settlement of the natives in the province of Coaque, obtained immense spoil, and made such ample remittances to Almagro as enabled him to complete his reinforcement; and in the close of the year 1532 Almagro arrived at St Michael with a body of [7:2:530] men nearly double the number of those whom Pizarro had along with him. The Spaniards about this time took captive the unfortunate Inca Atahualpa; and after they had received an immense sum for his ransom, they barbarously put him to death. Ferdinand Pizarro sailed for Spain with the news of their success, and with remittances to a great amount; and consequently Almagro gained that elevated station he had so long and so eagerly desired. But no sooner did he receive the intelligence of his promotion by the royal grant, than he attempted to seize Cuzco, the imperial residence of the incas, under pretence that it lay within his destined territory. This produced a new quarrel; but peace was restored upon condition that Almagro should attempt the conquest of Chili, and, if he did not find in that province an establishment adequate to his merit, that Pizarro should yield up to him a part of Peru.

In 1535 he accordingly set out at the head of 570 Europeans, and in crossing the mountains he suffered great hardships and losses by mistaking the route; but at length he descended into the plains of that devoted region. Here he met with a more vigorous resistance from the natives than the Spaniards had ever experienced in other countries. He had, however, made some progress, when he was recalled to Peru by the news of the natives having risen in great numbers, and attacked Lima and Cuzco. He pursued a new route, and marching through the sandy plains on the coast, he suffered by heat and drought calamities not inferior to those which he had endured from cold and famine on the summits of the Andes. Arriving at a favourable moment, he resolved to hold the place both against the Indians and his Spanish rivals. He attacked the Peruvian army with great vigour, and making a great slaughter, he proceeded to the gates of Cuzco without any further interruption. The open, affable, and generous temper of Almagro gained over to his side many of the adherents of the Pizarros, who were disgusted with their harsh and oppressive conduct. With the aid of these he advanced towards the city by night, surprised the sentinels, and surrounded the house where the two brothers Ferdinand and Gonzalo Pizarro resided, who were compelled, after an obstinate defence, to surrender at discretion. A form of government was settled in the name of Almagro, and his jurisdiction over Cuzco was universally acknowledged. This was the origin of a civil war, the beginning of which was very advantageous to Almagro, who by skilful manoeuvres entirely routed a body of Spanish troops advancing to the relief of Cuzco, and made Alvarado, their commander, prisoner. But instead of improving these advantages, he unwisely marched back to Cuzco, and there awaited the arrival of Pizarro, who, convinced of his own feeble resources, proposed an accommodation, and with his usual art protracted the negotiation until he found himself in a condition to meet his antagonist in the field of battle. Meanwhile Alvarado and one of the Pizarros, by bribing their keepers, found means to escape, and persuaded 60 of the men who guarded them to attend them in their flight; and the governor released the other. When Pizarro thought himself sufficiently prepared to settle the dominion of Peru, he marched with an army of 500 men to Cuzco. Almagro, previously to this, worn out with age and infirmity, resigned the command to Orgognez. A fierce and bloody battle ensued, in which Almagro’s army was defeated, and the commander wounded. About 140 soldiers fell in the field, and Orgognez, along with several officers of distinction, was massacred in cold blood. During that fatal day, Almagro, placed in a litter, which was stationed on an eminence, beheld from thence the total discomfiture of his troops, and felt all the indignation of a soldier who had seldom expe rienced defeat. He was taken prisoner, remained several months in confinement, and was afterwards tried and condemned to death. In the view of an ignominious death, the courage of the veteran forsook him, and he unsuccessfully supplicated for life in a manner unworthy of his former character. All the arguments he could employ were ineffectual. The Pizarros remained unmoved by all his entreaties. As soon, however, as Almagro saw that his fate was inevitable, he resumed his courage, and exhibited all his usual dignity and fortitude. In the year 1538, and in the 75th year of his age, he was strangled in prison, and afterwards beheaded. He left one son by an Indian woman of Panama; and, in consequence of a power which the emperor had granted him, he declared his son his successor in the government, although he was then a prisoner in Lima.

With the qualities of intrepid valour, indefatigable activity, and insurmountable constancy, he blended the more amiable dispositions of frankness, generosity, and candour. These qualities rendered him beloved by his followers, and his misfortunes excited their sympathy and pity; so that his death was universally regretted, and particularly by the poor Indians, who deemed him their guardian and protector against the cruel and unfeeling Pizarro. Upon the whole review of his character, it appears just to conclude, that he was, although of inferior abilities, a more amiable man than his rival.

Almagro, the Younger, by his courage, generosity, and other accomplishments, was placed at the head of the party after the death of his father. The father, conscious of his own inferiority from the total want of education, used every possible means to improve the mind and embellish the manners of his son; so that he soon acquired those accomplishments which rendered him respected by illiterate adventurers, who cheerfully ranged round his standard, and by his dexterity and skill sought deliverance from the oppressions of Pizarro. Juan de Herrada, an officer of great abilities, continued still to direct his councils, and to regulate his enterprises; and, while Pizarro confided in his own security, a conspiracy wa<s formed against him, which terminated in his death. The assassins, exulting in their success, and waving their bloody swords, hastened to the street, proclaimed the death of the tyrant, and compelled the magistrates and principal citizens of Lima to acknowledge Almagro as lawful successor of his father. But his reign was of short duration; for, in 1541, Vaca de Castro, arriving at Quito, produced the royal commission, appointing him governor of Peru, together with all the privileges and authority of Pizarro. The talents and influence of the new governor soon overpowered the interest of Almagro, who, perceiving the rapid decline of his influence, hastened with his troops to Cuzco, where his opponents had erected the royal standard under the command of Pedro Alvarcz Holguin. Herrada, the guide of his counsels, died during his march; and from that time his measures were conspicuous for their violence, concerted with little ingenuity, and executed with little address. At length, on September 16, 1542, the forces of Almagro and Vaca de Castro met, and victory long remained doubtful, till at last it declared for the new governor. Almagro conducted the military operations of that fatal day with a gallant spirit, worthy of a better cause, and deserving of a better fate; and his followers displayed uncommon valour. In proportion to the number of combatants the carnage was very great. Of Ið'ļ men, 500 fell in the field, and many more were wounded. Almagro escaped, but being betrayed by some of ms own officers, he was publicly beheaded at Cuzco, and in him the name and spirit of the party of Almagro became extinct.
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