Quispe Sisa

Quispe Sisa (ca. 1518 – 1559), also known as Inés Huaylas Yupanqui, was an Inca princess who played a role in the Spanish conquest of Peru. The Palace of the conquest in Trujillo, Spain features busts of her, Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui, and others.

Biography

She was the daughter of the Sapa Inca Huayna Capac and the curaca or queen Contarhuacho. She was baptized as Inés Huaylas Yupanqui when she was married at a young age to Conquistador Francisco Pizarro, as conquerors did with the women of the royal families they conquered and subordinated. She cohabited with Pizarro until 1537. In 1534, she gave birth to Francisca Pizarro Yupanqui, and to Gonzalo Pizarro the following year. Separated from Pizarro, in 1538 she married Conquistador Francisco de Ampuero. Between 1538 and 1541, she gave birth to three more children, Martín Alonso de Ampuero, Josefa de Ampuero and Francisco de Ampuero.

Siege of Lima

During the siege of Lima, led by Manco Inca Yupanqui, Quispe Sisa sent several runners with messages to her mother in Huaylas asking for help. On September 12, 1536, her mother Contarhucho sent in an army to help Pizarro defend Lima.

Descendants

Among her direct descendants, with Inca royal blood flowing in their veins, at least three governed Latin American nations during the 19th and early 20th centuries, Dominican President José Desiderio Valverde and Bolivian Presidents Pedro José Domingo de Guerra and Jose Gutierrez Guerra.