Afterfrancisco pizarro executed the inca king atahualpa in 1533 , the spanish shippedhome tons of bullion in a 300-year stream of galleons laden with silver andgold .
The spaniards took the ransom , and then get ready to burn atahualpa at the stake until he made a last-minute conversion to christianity , which prompted them to show " mercy " : they hanged him instead .
Vicious and greedy , pizarro and his men at first pretended friendship , tricked atahualpa into meeting with them , and then kidnapped him and massacred his unarmed followers .