The Royal Hunt of the Sun

The Royal Hunt of the Sun (1964), is a play written by English playwright and screenwriter Peter Shaffer. Set mostly in sixteenth-century Peru, the play dramatizes the account of Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro as he recruits 167 volunteers for a Peruvian mission to find the Inca’s gold. Once settled in Peru, Pizarro meets Atahualpa, son of the Sun God and king of the Incas, whose divine presence begins to rub off on the Spanish conquistador. As Pizarro and Atahualpa grow closer, forging a profound understanding of one another’s godly stature, Pizarro must decide whether to conquer the Incas to enrich Spain, or remain friendly with his newfound ally. The stage production first premiered at the Chester Festival via the National Theater and was later presented at the Old Vic Theater in July of 1964. In 1965, the play was presented on Broadway at the ANTA Playhouse, starring Christopher Plummer as Pizarro and David Carradine as Atahualpa. In 1969, the now obsolete National General Pictures produced a motion picture of The Royal Hunt of the Sun, directed by Irving Lerner and starring Robert Shaw as Pizarro and Christopher Plummer as Atahualpa.

Narrated by Old Martin Ruiz, a cynical man of wealth in his mid-fifties, the first act begins in Spain. Old Martin’s youthful counterpart, Young Martin, is also a character in the play. The two characters converge by the time the expedition begins. In the beginning, Francisco Pizarro, a conquistador in his sixties, convinces King Carlos V to fund the latest expedition to Peru in search of the Inca’s gold. King Carlos agrees and assigns two men to accompany Pizarro on his journey. Hernando de Soto is Pizarro’s second-in-command. The other man, Vincente de Valverde is a Dominican Catholic chaplain intent on spreading the word of Christianity. Pizarro and his men recruit 167 volunteers to join them on their voyage. At the begging of the sojourn, Old Martin voices his infatuation with honor, decorum, and the code of chivalry. However, as the play progresses and Pizarro suffers a crisis in faith, Old Martin becomes disillusioned, abandoning these values.

The conquistadors travel through the forest before venturing to Peru by sea. Upon arrival in Peru, the Spaniards invade the country in search of gold. After several weeks, they climb a mountain until they reach the residence of Atahualpa, son of the Sun God and the divine king of the Incas. Pizarro arranges a meeting to speak with Atahualpa, who believes the white god is coming to bless them. However, the God-king has been warned by his people that the Spanish invasion will lead to disaster. In order to assuage Atahualpa, Pizarro informs the Incan priests that he, too, is a deity. Atahualpa ventures to Spanish headquarters, where Valverde attempts to convert the king to Christianity. The conversion attempt fails, however, prompting the Spanish churchman to demand Atahualpa be captured and held for ransom. Following the massacre of more than 3,000 Incas, the Spaniards take Atahualpa hostage, murdering his bodyguard. Rather than killing Atahualpa however, Pizarro demands a ransom of gold big enough to fill Atahualpa’s room. Pizarro offers a deal that if Atahualpa can successfully fill his quarters with objects made of gold in two months time, Pizarro vows to free the king without harm. Atahualpa agrees to the deal.



As the Incas toil to fill Atahualpa’s room with 9,000 pounds of gold, Pizarro spends close personal time with the noble leader. As the two men develop a friendship, Pizarro grows fonder of Atahualpa. He begins to believe in Atahualpa’s divinity, becoming less interested in military conquest. Along the way, Pizarro has a crisis of faith that derives from the chronic pain of a past injury. Later, Pizarro confesses to Old Martin that he used to have recurring dreams about the Sun God as a youth. When the ransom is finally paid, the room brimming with gold, Pizarro demands that Atahualpa promise to leave his men uninjured. Atahualpa refuses. Afraid of Incan retaliation, Pizarro’s officers threaten to stage a mutiny unless Atahualpa is executed. The Spanish priests who were unable to convert the Incas agree with the officers’ terms to kill Atahualpa.

Atahualpa tells Pizarro to allow his Spanish soldiers to carry out their execution of him. Atahualpa explains that he cannot die because, as the son of the Sun God, he will always be revived the day after death by murder. Atahualpa promises Pizarro’s personal safety, prompting the Spaniard to agree to the plan. Afterward, Pizarro is inducted into the Incan religion. When the Spaniards demand Atahualpa be punished by law, Pizarro protests. However, Atahualpa is sentenced and tried in a kangaroo court. Instead of being burned at the stake as initially proposed, Pizarro negotiates Atahualpa be executed via strangulation as long as the king agrees to be baptized. The strangulation would ensure Atahualpa’s resurrection, as the process requires the deceased’s body to remain intact. Before being garroted to death, Atahualpa wears a gold mask signifying the Sun God. Following the execution, Pizarro waits beside Atahualpa’s corpse until sunrise. When Atahualpa fails to resurrect, Pizarro’s faith in the Inca king is shattered. Pizarro removes the mask from Atahualpa’s face, assuring his death. As Old Martin concludes his narration of the story, Pizarro holds Atahualpa’s dead body and weeps. Pizarro is left to grapple with the enormous atrocities he inflicted on the Incas.

In addition to The Royal Hunt of the Sun, Shaffer has written several stage and screenplays. His most noted works include The Finger Exercise, Black Comedy, The White Liars, Equus, Amadeus, and Lettice and Lovage. He won Tony Awards for Best Play for Equus and Amadeus. In 2007, Shaffer was inducted to the American Theater Hall of Fame.