Battle of Añaquito

Infobox Military Conflict
conflict=Battle of Añaquito


caption=
partof=the Spanish conquest of Peru
date=January 18, 1546
place=Añaquito, near Quito, present-day Ecuador
result=Decisive victory for Nueva Castilla
combatant1=Nueva Castilla
combatant2=Viceroyalty of Peru
commander1=Gonzalo Pizarro
Francisco de Carvajal
commander2=Blasco Núñez VelaKIA
Francisco Hernández Girón
strength1=700 men
strength2=Unknown, but fewer
casualties1=Unknown
casualties2=Unknown, but heavy

After his unheard claims as governor of New Castile (Peru) following the death of his brother, Gonzalo Pizarro pressed claims to be recognized as the ruler of the land he and his brothers had conquered. After the arrival of appointed royal viceroy Blasco Núñez Vela in 1544, Gonzalo succeded to have him repelled and sent to Panama in chains. He was released, however, and returned to Peru by sea while Gonzalo was mustering an army. The two met on January 18 at Añaquito in the outskirts of Quito, present-day capital of Ecuador, where the superiority of the Nueva Castilla army ensured victory for Gonzalo. Blasco Núñez Vela reportedly fought bravely but fell as a victim in battle and was later decapitated on the field of defeat, a fate Gonzalo himself would recognize two years later at Jaquijahuana.