Pedro de Candia

Pedro de Candia (Pietro de Cândia) (; Crete, Kingdom of Candia 1485–1542 Chupas, Viceroyalty of Peru) was a Greek explorer and cartographer at the service of the Kingdom of Spain, an officer of the Royal Spanish Navy that under the Spanish Crown became a Conquistador, Commander of the Royal Spanish Fleet of the Southern Sea, Colonial Ordinance of Cusco, and then Mayor of Lima between 1534 and 1535. Specialized in the use of firearms and artillery, he was one of the earliest explorers of Panama and the Pacific coastline of Colombia, and finally participated in the conquest of Peru. He was killed in the Battle of Chupas, (Peru), on 16 September 1542, by Diego de Almagro II. as member of Stratioti Greek mercenary units. Then he was transferred to the Iberian peninsula to serve the Catholic Monarchs of Spain, led by Queen Isabel I and King Ferdinand the Catholic. Pedro was eventually married in Spain at Villalpando.

Conquest of Peru During his first incursion, he went to America with Governor Pedro de los Ríos in 1526 to explore Panama and the Colombian coastline. and then accompanied Pizarro to Spain to inform Charles V of their discoveries, 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, brought the guns that were taken by young Almagro to the battle of Chupas, where Candia supported the local natives by performing badly in the battle. Almagro suspected treason and ordered his troops to kill Candia after attacking him with his own hands.

Legacy Based on his special assignment to engage with local natives by the Spanish Crown edict, Candia took special attention to communicating with the Incas and other vassal natives, that helped him to record his greatest discovery of the Golden Temple of the Sun built by Huayna Capac. Subsequently, Pedro de Candia's visits, discovery, and legacy were recorded by the Inca Garcilaso in the GVAINA CAPAC INGA, and by the Spaniard Pedro Cieza de León in his records of "Cronicas de Americas"; and later rendered in an images codex book by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala. His oldest brother Teodoro de Candia, became a priest and led Catholic Missions for the Spanish Crown in the Amazonian region of today's Misiones Province, his brother Juan Andres de Candia led a colonial development in Cusco, while Pedro's youngest brother, Juan Martín de Candia was assigned by the Spanish Crown to explore the Southern region of the continent alongside Pedro de Valdivia the founder of Santiago, and settled in Chillán, Chile.