The Battle of Cajamarca was the ambush and capture of the Inca ruler Atahualpa by Francisco Pizarro and a small Spanish force on November 16, 1532. The Spanish killed thousands of Atahualpa's counsellors, commanders and unarmed attendants in the great plaza of Cajamarca, and caused his armed host outside the town to flee. The seizure of Atahualpa marked the opening stage of the conquest of the pre-Columbian Inca civilization of Peru.