Pizarro and the Inca Gold According to rumours, there's lots of precious gold hidden in the jungles of Peru. It got there when the Spanish conquered parts of South America. The Spanish noble, Francisco Pizarro, arrived in Peru in the 1500s. He found a group of people called the Incas. The Incas believed that their leader, Atahualpa, was both a king and a god. But Pizarro didn't agree. "It' is a sin for a man to think he is God!" he said to Atahualpa. Atahualpa thought Pizarro was insulting his heritage. He thought the blonde Spanish men held prejudices against the Incas. But Atahualpa was a kind man and didn't want to fight the Spaniards. He said, "If I give you a room full of gold, will you leave my country in peace?" Pizarro was suspicious. He thought Atahualpa was exaggerating. But a few days later, Pizarro returned to the Inca palace with his ambassadors. He saw a room filled with stacks of gold. There were golden necklaces, cups, plates and vases. lt was a great spectacle. He acknowledged that Atahualpa had told the truth. But after seeing the gold, he wanted all of Peru's gold. So he didn't leave the country. The Spanish soldiers stayed in Peru and grabbed all the gold they could find. But the Inca people tricked the Spaniards. They mixed the gold with tin so that it was poor quality. They gave this gold to the Spaniards. Meanwhile, they hid the good gold. They stuffed it into sacks and dragged it deep into the jungle. The Spanish conquerors never found the gold. People think it is still there today.