Tom Holland

Bloody good bloke.

Total ledge.

So let's begin with Pizarro and the Conquistadors in Cajamarca.

It's the summer of 1534.

They've just killed Atahualpa.

What now?

So, killing Atahualpa has made their life much simpler in a couple of respects.

First of all, they are now free to push on for the gold of Cuzco, which is about 750 miles, 800 miles to the south.

And this is especially important for Pizarro's partner, Diego de Amagro, who, as we heard last time, is absolutely seething because he's been cut out of the ransom.

Hopping mad.

He's a short man, a very colourfully dressed man, a boastful man, and, as we'll see, a violent man.

Secondly, the Spaniards have definitively now taken a side in the civil war between Atahualpa and Huascar.

Now, initially they were pro-Atahualpa, but by killing him, Pizarro has put himself very firmly on the side of the late Huascar, who represented Cuzco and the south of the empire.

And he cements this further with his choice of the new puppet emperor.

So they have been holding in Cajamarca all this time Huascar's younger brother, who is called Tupac Hualpa.

He's probably in his 20s.

We know virtually nothing about him.

This bloke's just been hanging around somewhere and as soon as Atahualpa they've held their Christian funeral service for Atahualpa and buried him Pizarro summons all the local chiefs and he unveils this bloke Tupac Hualpa and they have a kind of coronation ceremony for him.

There's a lot of

Interesting tribal dancing and feathered costumes play a part, I'm happy to say.