Pedro de Candia

Pedro de Candia, Grandee of Spain, (1485- + 1542) was a Greek Conquistador   and explorer. Born on the island of Crete that was also called "Candia" in some European languages. He was killed in the Battle of Chupas, (Peru), on September 16 + 1542, Spanish Conquistador, Grandee of Spain, "Almirant of the Spanish Armada of the Southern Seas", author and travel writer, recorded the Spanish conquest of the Americas. Eventually the Queen of Spain named Don Pedro de Candia, 2nd Alcalde of Cuzco at the Kingdom of Peru of the Spanish Catholic Crown, from 1534 to 1535.

Origin
He was born on the island of Crete, which then was a Venetian colony known as the Kingdom of Candia. He left the island through one of his mother's relatives at the service of the Crown of Aragon, who took him to Italy. During his period in Italy he was training to become a Condottieri and trained in the Arms, before transferring to the Iberian peninsula to serve the Spanish Catholic Queen and King.

Pedro was eventually married at Villalpando, by nobiliary arrangement to one of the daughters of the Count of Benavente, Zamora of the Dukedom of the House of Osuna. His descendent were part of the Spanish and Italian nobility with holdings in regions of Europe and eventually additional new lands in the Americas during the colonization.

Career
Spanish Conquistador specialized in the use of firearms and artillery, then to become Don Pedro de Candia "Grande of Spain" and "Almirant of the Spanish Armada of the Southern Seas" (Sp: Don Pedro de Candia, Almirante de los Mares del Sur) as recorded in the Spanish Colonial Registry of the "El Libro de Indias". He participated in the conquest of Peru and led an unsuccessful expedition to discover the rumored Kingdom of Amabaya, an El Dorado in the Amazon Basin. He was one of the Great 13th (Sp: Los 13 Grandes) of the conquest of South America; consequently he participated in the civil war in Chile and eventually was killed in Peru in the Battle of Chupas by Diego de Almagro II who suspected him of treachery. He had served in the Spanish royal guard, and fought in Italy against the Turks, and afterward went to America with Governor Pedro de los Ríos. He then accompanied Diego de Almagro and Francisco Pizarro during their first explorations along the coasts of Peru, and when the landing at Tacamez, north of Guayaquil, was effected, he already had command of the artillery. He was one of the thirteen men that remained in the islands of Gallo and Gorgona or San Cristobal with Pizarro, and during the subsequent explorations of the Peruvian ports he undertook to go in person to the Indian towns and investigate their condition. He then visited Tumbez (afterward called Valencia), and returned to the fleet with a map of that city drawn on canvas. When he accompanied Pizarro to Spain to inform Charles V. of their discoveries, the emperor made Candia a nobleman, mayor of Tumbez, and commander-in-chief of artillery of the fleet sent out to conquer Peru.
 * Explorer of Panama, 1527
 * Explorer of Colombia and Ecuador, 1528
 * Explorer of Peru, 1530
 * Alcalde of Cuzco, by the Catholic Spanish Crown, from 1534 to 1535

He was present at the defeat and imprisonment of Atahualpa, and received a large share of the ransom paid by that Inca. While residing at Cuzco, he made arms and ammunition for Pizarro, who was then fighting against Almagro. After the defeat of Almagro at Battle of Las Salinas, Candia undertook the conquest of Ambaya beyond the Andes, but was unsuccessful, being finally arrested by order of Hernando Pizarro. Disgusted at his treatment, and deserted by his old friends, he then joined the followers of Almagro and, with the aid of sixteen other Greeks, cast the guns that were taken by young Almagro to the battle of Chupas, where Candia had decided to support the local natives and badly performed in the battle that Almagro suspected treason and ordered to be killed after attacking him with his own hands.