Pizarro Founds Lima

January 18, 1535

Francisco Pizarro chose a dusty valley near the Pacific coast for his new capital, away from the mountains and closer to Spanish supply ships. He called it the City of Kings. Lima would grow into the viceregal heart of Spanish South America, fat on silver from Potosi. Lima's coastal location, near shipping routes rather than Andean strongholds, reflected Pizarro's understanding that Spanish power depended on sea communication.