Last Inca Emperor Is Executed

Notable events for the week of August 28 - September 3...

August 29, 1533: On this day in 1533, Atahualpa, last emperor of the Inca Empire is executed by Spanish conquistadors directed by Francisco Pizarro. Atahualpa had become the undisputed emperor of the empire after fighting a successful civil war against his brother, Huáscar, following the death of their father, Huayana Capac. Like his father before him, Atahualpa was considered a direct descendant of the Sun.

Atahualpa had agreed to meet Pizarro but was attacked and captured at the appointed meeting place. Atahualpa tried to buy his freedom by offering a room full of gold and two more of silver. After the conquistadors received what they wanted, Atahualpa was anyway sentenced to be burned at the stake. Fearing that his soul would be unable to depart for the afterlife if burned, Atahualpa agreed to be baptized and convert to Christianity, for which he was granted the lesser sentence of death by strangulation.

Atahualpa's death marked the beginning of the end of the Inca Empire, which at the time of his death included all of Peru and Bolivia, southern Ecuador and northern Chile.

August 29, 1810: Birth of Juan Bautista Alberdi (died June 19, 1884), considered one of the founding fathers of Argentina. Forced to flee Argentina for his life, he lived most of his days in Uruguay and Chile. Many of his political papers were used as the basis for the Argentine constitution of 1853.

August 31, 1962: Trinidad and Tobago peacefully gains independence from Britain. Composed of the two big islands of Trinidad and Tobago as well as 21 lesser islands, the country is located in the Caribbean Sea just seven miles from Venezuela.

September 3, 1798: Battle of St. George's Caye is fought between Spanish forces and British settlers, who drive off the Spaniards after a week-long battle.