Cajamarca: Was Atahuallpa's capture avoidable?

I happened to read some accounts of the meeting at Cajamarca, and I got to wondering how much of Pizarro's decision to seize Atahuallpa was a spur-of-the-moment type deal. It sounds as though the immediate spark came when Atahuallpa asked to see a friar's breviary, then threw it on the ground, which the Spanish took as a provocation. If this was actually the case, and not made up as a later justification, then what might have happened if Atahuallpa had not done this? Would Pizarro still have found some excuse to spring his ambush, or would he have held off? In the later case, what effects might this have on the attempted conquest? Does he just try to seize Atahuallpa at a later date? Or might the Sapa Inca escape capture altogether, with consequences for any resistance to the Spanish?
 
If we're just talking about Cajamarca, I think there was enough chaos and confusion for Atahualpa to slip away unnoticed while the Spaniards tried to reign things in. The procession was thousands strong, and all though completely unarmed, I think it's not too unreasonable for one individual to manage to escape in the chaos.
 
Atahualpa underestimate spaniards; if he had benn carefl, he would have some forces hidden in the outskirts, so if something , they colud have attacked and avoid Atahualps been prisioner of spaniards; and is some way delay spaniard conquest
 
Atahualpa underestimate spaniards; if he had benn carefl, he would have some forces hidden in the outskirts, so if something , they colud have attacked and avoid Atahualps been prisioner of spaniards; and is some way delay spaniard conquest

Spanish conquest was far from inevitable.
 
Atahualpa underestimate spaniards; if he had benn carefl, he would have some forces hidden in the outskirts, so if something , they colud have attacked and avoid Atahualps been prisioner of spaniards; and is some way delay spaniard conquest

I'm sorry but the conquest by the Spaniards or any European power was far from inevitable.
 
I happened to read some accounts of the meeting at Cajamarca, and I got to wondering how much of Pizarro's decision to seize Atahuallpa was a spur-of-the-moment type deal. It sounds as though the immediate spark came when Atahuallpa asked to see a friar's breviary, then threw it on the ground, which the Spanish took as a provocation. If this was actually the case, and not made up as a later justification, then what might have happened if Atahuallpa had not done this? Would Pizarro still have found some excuse to spring his ambush, or would he have held off? In the later case, what effects might this have on the attempted conquest? Does he just try to seize Atahuallpa at a later date? Or might the Sapa Inca escape capture altogether, with consequences for any resistance to the Spanish?

Athaualpa's capture wasn't unavoidable. However, it wasn't by chance that the Spanish captured Atahualpa. They certainly did not do it because they got angry cause he drop the Bible. Pizarro knew how Cortez had conquer Mexico, and also knew that, in order to deal with "Indians", it was always useful to capture their leaders and use them as hostages. That's why they planned the ambush that lead to the Emperor's capture. It was all part of a plan.

As I said, he's capture is not unavoidable, but that depends more on him being more aware of the Spanish intentions, or just more cautious than on anything else.


I once started a TL based on this premise, but it never got past the first post: https://www.alternatehistory.com/discussion/showthread.php?t=142360
 
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