A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels Volume Iv Part 15

These priests likewise offer sacrifices of animals and even of men to their G.o.ds, searching the hearts and intrails of the victims for certain signs which they wish to find, and repeating their abominable sacrifices until they meet with those signs which they desire; pretending that the idols are not satisfied by the sacrifices till these appear. During all the time that the priests are engaged in sacrificing, they never appear in public, neither have they any intercourse with women, and employ themselves all night in loud cries, invoking the demons near to the places in which the guacas are kept, which are extremely numerous, as most houses have each their own guaca. The priests prepare themselves for having intercourse with the demons by long fasts, after which they tie up their eyes and some even carry their superst.i.tion to such excess as to put out their own eyes. The caciques and other great men among the Peruvians never undertake any affair of importance without having first consulted the idols, or demons rather, by means of the priests.

In the temples of the sun the Spaniards found several large earthen jars containing the dried bodies of children which had been sacrificed. Among the figures of gold and silver which were used as ornaments to the guacas, there were several which had a strong resemblance to the mitres and crosiers of our bishops, and some of these idols were found having mitres on their heads. When Thomas de Verlanga, bishop of Tierra Firma travelled through Peru, with his mitre, in which he was seen by the Indians celebrating the ma.s.s, they asked if he was the guaca of the Christians.

When asked the reason of these mitres, they could only say that they had been handed down from their ancestors. In every part of Peru there were certain houses or monasteries, which were inhabited by women who were consecrated to the sun. These women never went out, but were perpetually employed in spinning cotton and wool, which they wove into cloth, and then burned along with the bones of white sheep, throwing the ashes into the air in honour of the sun. These women were consecrated to perpetual celibacy, and were put to death if found to be with child, unless they could swear that their child was begotten by the sun.

Every year, at the season of the maize harvest, the mountaineer Peruvians had a solemn festival; on which occasion they set up two tall straight trees like masts, on the top of which was placed the figure of a man surrounded by other figures and adorned with flowers. The inhabitants went in procession armed with bows and arrows and regularly marshalled into companies, beating their drums and with great outcries and rejoicings, each company in succession discharging their arrows at the dressed up figure. After which the priests set up an idol at the bottom of the masts, before which they sacrificed a man or a sheep, sprinkling the idol with the blood of the victim; and having inspected the heart and entrails of the sacrifice, they reported the signs they had discovered to the people, who were sad or rejoiced according as these were good or bad. The whole of this festival was usually spent in dancing and drinking, and in various games and sports, some of which were warlike exercises, with maces, clubs, axes and other arms.

All the caciques and other princ.i.p.al inhabitants of Peru are reposited after their death in a kind of vaults, clothed in all their richest dresses, and seated in a kind of chairs which they name _duos_. It was customary also to bury along with them one or two of their best beloved wives, and on this occasion the honour was frequently contested among the wives of the deceased, unless when the husband had previously settled who were to be chosen to accompany him in the tomb. Two or three youths of their train, and all their gold and silver-plate used also to be buried along with them; all of which was done in the hope of one day rising again from the dead, and that they might then appear in proper style, accompanied by their wives and servants. When the Spaniards broke up these sepulchres on purpose to take possession of their buried treasures, the Peruvians requested of them not to disturb the bones of the dead, that they might not be hindered in their resurrection. In the burial ceremony, the relations of the deceased used to pour some of the liquor formerly mentioned, named _Chica_, into the grave, of which a portion was conveyed by some hollow canes into the mouth of the dead person. On the top of the tomb or sepulchre, wooden images were placed, representing the appearance of the deceased; but on the graves of the lower orders, they satisfied themselves by some painted emblems of their profession or employment, more especially if they happened to be warriors.

In all the provinces of Peru there were certain n.o.bles or princ.i.p.al persons, of whom the chiefs or rulers were named _curacas_, similar in every respect to the caciques of the islands. As the Spaniards who conquered Peru had been accustomed to name many things according to the language of Hispaniola and Cuba, and were at first ignorant of the Peruvian language, they continued to employ the terms to which they had been accustomed; and the Peruvians have so far accommodated themselves to this language, especially in speaking to the Spaniards, that they mostly use these terms. Thus they call those chiefs _caciques_, who in their own language are named _curacas_, their bread corn and drink, which in the Peruvian are _zara_ and _azua_, they denominate _maize_ and _chica_, which names were brought from the islands by the Spaniards. These curacas or caciques were the judges and protectors of their subjects in peace, and their leaders in war against the neighbouring tribes. The whole people of Peru lived in that manner for many years under a multiplicity of independent chiefs, having no king or supreme chief; until at length a warlike nation came from the environs of the great lake t.i.ticaca named the Incas in the language of Peru. These men had their heads close shaven, and their ears pierced, in which they wore large round pendents of gold, by which their ears were dragged down upon their shoulders, in consequence of which they were called _ringrim_, or the large ears. Their chief was called _Zapalla Inca_[30], or the only king; though others say that he was named _Inca Vira cocha_, or the king from the sc.u.m of the lake, because the astonished natives, not knowing the origin of their invaders, believed that they had started into existence from the sc.u.m or mud of the great lake. This great lake of t.i.ticaca is about eighty leagues in circ.u.mference, from which a large river runs to the southwards, which in some places is half a league in breadth, and which discharges its waters into a small lake about forty leagues from the great lake, which has no outlet. This circ.u.mstance gives great astonishment to many, who are unable to comprehend how so vast a body of water should disappear in so small a reservoir. As this smaller lake appears to have no bottom, some conceive that it discharges itself into the sea by some subterranean communication, like the river Alphaeus in Greece.

These Incas established themselves in the first place at Cuzco, from whence they gradually extended their sway over the whole of Peru, which became tributary to them. The empire of the Incas descended in successive order, but not by immediate hereditary rules. On the death of a king, he was succeeded by his immediately younger brother; and on his demise the eldest son of the preceding king was called to the throne; so as always to have on the throne a prince of full age. The royal ornament worn by the supreme Inca in place of a crown or diadem, consisted in a fringe of coloured worsted from one temple to the other, reaching almost to the eyes.

He governed their extensive empire with much grandeur and absolute power; and perhaps there never was a country in the world where the subjects were so submissive and obedient. They had only to place a single thread drawn from their diadem in the hands of one of the _ringrim_ or great ears, by which he communicated to this deputy the most absolute delegation of power, which was respected and obeyed over the whole empire. Alone, and without troops or attendants, the message or order which he carried was instantly obeyed, were it even to lay waste a whole province, and to exterminate every one of its inhabitants; as on the sight of this thread from the royal fillet, every one offered themselves voluntarily to death, without a single murmur or the slightest resistance.

In the before mentioned order of succession, the empire of the Incas fell in process of time to a sovereign named _Huana Capac_[31], which signifies the young rich man. This prince made great conquests, and augmented the empire more considerably than had been done by any one of his predecessors, and ruled over the whole more reasonably and with greater justice and equity than had ever been done by the former sovereigns. He established everywhere the most perfect police, and exact rules for cultivating the earth; ruling and governing among a barbarous and ignorant nation with the most surprising order and justice; and the love and obedience of his subjects was equally wonderful and perfect. They gave him a signal proof of this, worthy of being mentioned, in the construction of two roads through the whole extent of Peru for his more convenient travelling; of which the difficulty labour and expence equal or even surpa.s.s all that the ancients have written of the seven wonders of the world. Huana Capac, in marching from Cuzco to conquer the kingdom of Quito, had to march five hundred leagues by the mountains, where he had everywhere to encounter excessive difficulties, from bad roads, rocks, precipices and ravines, almost impracticable in many places. After he had successfully executed this great enterprize, by the conquest and submission of Quito and its dependencies, his subjects conceived that it was inc.u.mbent on them to do honour to his victorious career, by preparing a commodious road for his triumphant return to Cuzco. They accordingly undertook, and executed by prodigious labour, a broad and easy road through the mountains of five hundred leagues in length, in the course of which they had often to dig away vast rocks, and to fill up valleys and precipices of thirty to forty yards in depth. It is said that this road, when first made, was so smooth and level that it would have admitted a coach with the utmost ease through its whole length; but since that time it has suffered great injuries, especially during the wars between the Spaniards and the Peruvians, having been broken up in many places, on purpose to obstruct the invasion of the enemy. The grandeur and difficulty of this vast undertaking may be readily conceived, by considering the labour and cost which has been expended in Spain to level only two leagues of a mountain road between Segovia and Guadarrama, and which after all has never been brought to any degree of perfection, although the usual pa.s.sage of the king and court on travelling to or from Andalusia or the kingdom of Toledo. Not satisfied with this first astonishing labour, the Peruvians soon afterwards undertook another of a similar and no less grand and difficult kind. Huana Capac was fond of visiting the kingdom of Quito which he had conquered, and proposed to travel thither from Cuzco by way of the plain, so as to visit the whole of his extensive dominions. For his accommodation likewise, his subjects undertook to make a road also in the plain; and for this purpose they constructed high mounds of earth across all the small vallies formed by the various rivers and torrents which descend from the mountain, that the road might be everywhere smooth and level This road was near forty feet wide, and where it crossed the sandy heights which intervene betwixt the verdant vallies of the torrents, it was marked on each side by stakes, forming palings in straight lines to prevent any one losing the way. This road was five hundred leagues in length like that of the mountain; but the palings are now wanting in many places, the wood of which they were constructed having been used by the Spaniards for fuel during the war; but the mounds still exist across the vallies, and most of them are yet tolerably entire, by which the grandeur of the entire work may be judged of. In his journeys to and from Quito, Huana Capac used to go by one of these roads and return by the other; and during his whole journey his subjects used to strew the way with branches and flowers of the richest perfume.

Besides the two great roads already mentioned, Huana Capac ordered to be built on the mountain road a number of large palaces, at the distance of a days journey from each other, having a prodigious number of apartments, sufficient to lodge his own personal suite and all his army. Such were likewise built along the road in the plain, but not so numerous or so near each other as on the mountain road, as these palaces of the plain had all to be placed on the sides of the rivers for convenience and the procurement of provisions and other necessaries; so that they were in some places eight or ten leagues distant from each other, and in other places fifteen or twenty leagues. These buildings were named _tambos_, and the neighbouring Indians were bound to furnish each of these with provisions and every thing else that might be wanted for the royal armies; insomuch that in each of these _tambos_, in case of necessity, clothing and arms could be had for twenty or thirty thousand men. Huana Capac was always escorted by a considerable body of soldiers, armed with lances, halberts, maces, and battle axes, made of silver or copper, and some of them even of gold.

In their armies, besides these arms, the Peruvians used slings, and javelins having their points hardened in the fire. On such parts of their rivers as furnished materials for the purpose, they built wooden bridges; and where timber could not be had, they stretched across the stream two large cables made of a plant named _maguey_, forming a kind of net work between these of smaller ropes and masts, strong enough to answer the purpose of a bridge. In this manner they constructed bridges of a surprizing magnitude; some of them being thirty yards broad and four hundred yards long[32]. In such places as did not admit of the construction of bridges, they pa.s.sed over rivers by means of a cable or thick rope extended from side to side, on which they hung a large basket, which was drawn over by means of a smaller rope. All these bridges were kept in repair by the inhabitants of the districts in which they stood.

The king of Peru was always carried in a species of litter covered over with plates of gold, and was attended by more than a thousand of the princ.i.p.al native n.o.bles, who relieved each other in carrying the royal litter on their shoulders. All these men were counsellors, princ.i.p.al officers of the household, or favourites of the prince. The caciques or curacas of the different provinces were likewise carried in litters on the shoulders of their va.s.sals. The Peruvians were exceedingly submissive to their sovereigns, insomuch that even the most powerful lord always entered the presence barefooted, and carrying some present wrapped up in a cloth, as a mark of homage; and even if one person had occasion to go an hundred times in one day to speak to the king, the present had to be repeated every time he went. To look the king in the face was considered as a criminal disrespect; and if any one should happen to stumble while carrying the royal litter, so as to make it fall, his head was immediately cut off. At every half league on the public roads throughout the whole empire, there were Indians in constant attendance to relieve each other in carrying dispatches, which they did swifter than our post horses. When any province or district was subdued, the natives of the place, or at least all their chiefs and princ.i.p.al people, were immediately removed to other parts of the empire, and natives from other places which had been long subjected were sent to occupy the new conquest, by which means the fidelity and submission of the whole were secured. From every province of the empire, yearly tributes of the several productions of their respective countries were sent to the king; and even some sterile districts above three hundred leagues distant from Cuzco, had to send yearly a number of lizards as a mark of their submission, having nothing of any value to send.

Huana Capac rebuilt the temple of the sun at Cuzco, and covered over all the walls and the roof of that structure with plates of gold and silver.

During his reign, one Chimocappa, who was curaca or prince of a large district in the plain, above a hundred leagues in length, chose to erect the standard of rebellion; but Huana Capac marched against him in person, defeated him in battle, and put him to death; after which he commanded that the Indians of the plain should not be permitted to carry arms. Yet he allowed the son and successor of Chimocappa to remain in the province of _Chimo_, in which the city of Truzillo has been since built.

Peru was astonishingly full of those animals called sheep; as Huana Capac and his predecessors had established laws for their multiplication and preservation. Every year a certain proportion of these animals belonging to individuals were set apart as a kind of tythe or offering to the sun, and these consecrated animals multiplied greatly, no person being allowed to injure them under pain of sacrilege, except the prince only for his own use or that of his army. On such occasions, he gave orders for one of these hunts called _chacos_, formerly mentioned, at some of which twenty or thirty thousand sheep have been taken at one time. Gold was in great request among the Peruvians, as the king and all the princ.i.p.al persons of the empire used it for the construction of vessels for all uses, as ornaments for their persons, and as offerings to their G.o.ds. The king had everywhere carried along with him a kind of couch or table of gold, of sixteen carats fine, on which he used to sit, and which was worth 25,000 ducats of standard gold. This was chosen by Don Francisco Pizarro, at the time of the conquest, in consequence of an agreement, by which he was authorized to appropriate some single jewel or valuable article to his own use, besides his regular share of the plunder. When the eldest son of Huana Capac was born, he ordered a prodigious chain or cable of gold to be made, so large and heavy that two hundred men were hardly able to lift it.

In remembrance of this circ.u.mstance, the infant was named _Huascar_, which signifies a cable or large rope, as the Peruvians have no word in their language signifying a chain. To this name of Huascar was added the surname Inca, belonging to all their kings, just as Augustus was given to all the Roman emperors. Huana Capac had several large magazines full of gold in various shapes, such as the figures of men and women, of sheep and animals of all kinds, and of all the kinds of plants which are found in the country, all accurately represented. He had also great quant.i.ties of vestments of various kinds, and many slings, in which the fabric was mixed with gold threads; and many bars of gold and silver made like billets of fire wood.

Although the main object of this history is to relate the Spanish Discovery and Conquest of Peru, it seems proper to explain the circ.u.mstances under which they found the affairs of that empire at their arrival; by which we shall have occasion to admire the wisdom of Providence, in permitting that enterprize to take place at a time when that vast country was divided into two hostile parties, which greatly facilitated the conquest. After Huana Capac had reduced many provinces to submission, to the extent of five hundred leagues from Cuzco, he undertook in person to make the conquest of the kingdom of Quito, which bounded with his empire in the north-west. Having successfully accomplished that great enterprise, finding the country exceedingly pleasant, he continued to reside there for a long while, leaving at Cuzco several of his children, both sons and daughters, among whom were his eldest son Huascar Inca, Manco Inca, Paul Inca, and several others. While at Quito, he took to wife the daughter of the former lord of that country, by whom he had a son named Atahualpa or Atabalipa, of whom he was very fond, and whom he left to be educated in Quito when he returned to Cuzco. After residing for some years in Cuzco, he made a journey back to Quito, partly because he delighted in that country which he had subdued, and partly from affection for his son Atahualpa, whom he loved more than all the rest of his children. He continued to reside in Quito all the rest of his life; and at his death, he bequeathed the kingdom of Quito to Atahualpa[33], which had belonged to his maternal ancestors. On his death, Atahualpa secured the affection of the army, and got possession of all the treasure which his father had in Quito, but the far greater proportion of the treasure remained in Cuzco, as too heavy for transportation, and accordingly fell to Huascar, the eldest son.

Atahualpa sent amba.s.sadors to his eldest brother Huascar, informing him of the death of their father, and a.s.suring him of his loyalty and obedience; yet requesting that he might be permitted to retain the command of the kingdom of Quito, the conquest of his father; which he alleged was beyond the limits of the Peruvian empire, and ought not therefore to follow the ordinary rules of primogeniture, more especially as Atahualpa was the legitimate heir of that country in right of his mother and grandfather.

Huascar sent back for answer, that if Atahualpa would come to Cuzco and give up the army, he should receive lands and possessions sufficient to enable him to live according to his rank; but that he would on no account give up Quito, a frontier province of the empire, where of course he must keep up a body of troops for the defence of the whole. Huascar added, that if Atahualpa refused submission to these conditions, he would march in person against him as a declared enemy. On receiving this message, Atahualpa consulted two of his fathers princ.i.p.al officers, Quiz-quiz and Cilicuchima, brave and experienced warriors, who advised him not to wait the invasion of his brother, but to take the field without delay and march against him; as the army which was under his orders was sufficient to enable him to acquire the whole provinces of the empire, and would increase on the march by means of the provinces which intervened between Quito and Cusco. Atahualpa followed this advice and gradually made himself master of the country through which he marched. Huascar, on hearing of the hostile proceedings of his brother, sent some light-armed troops against him. The commander of these troops advanced to the province of Tumibamba about a hundred leagues from Quito; and learning that Atahualpa had taken the field, he sent a courier to Cuzco with notice of the state of the affairs, and to request that he might be furnished with two thousand officers of experience; by means of whom he could arm thirty thousand men of the warlike province called _Cagnares_ which remained in allegiance to Huascar. These two thousand experienced warriors were immediately sent, by whose means, and with a.s.sistance of the curacas of Tumibamba, Chaparras, Paltas, and Cagnares[34], in that neighbourhood, Huascars general was enabled to collect a formidable army. Atahualpa marched against this army, with whom he fought a battle which lasted three days, in which he was at last defeated and made prisoner, in attempting to escape by the bridge of Tumibamba.

While the army of Huascar was celebrating their victory with great feasts and rejoicings, Atahualpa contrived to escape from the _tambos_ or palace of Tumibamba in which he was confined, by digging through a very thick wall with a bar of copper, which he procured from a woman. He returned immediately to Quito, where he collected the remains of his defeated army, to whom he represented that his father had changed him into a serpent, by which means he had been enabled to escape from his prison through a small hole; and that his father had a.s.sured him of certain victory, if they would return along with him against the enemy. His troops were so much encouraged by this stratagem, that they followed him with great courage, believing themselves invincible under the protection of Huana Capac. He again attacked the army of Huascar, which in this second battle was entirely defeated. Such numbers were slain on both sides in these two battles, that even to this day large quant.i.ties of human bones remain in the places where they were fought. In pursuit of his victory, Atahualpa marched into the provinces which adhered to his brother, which he destroyed with fire and sword. He entirely destroyed the great city of Tumibamba, which stood on a plain watered by three great rivers. In his pursuing his conquests, he gave no quarter wherever he met with resistance but granted mercy and peace to all such districts as submitted quietly to his authority, obliging all the warriors to join his army, which by these means, increased continually as he advanced. On arriving at Tumbez he was desirous to take possession of the island of Puna, but as the _curaca_ of that island defended himself courageously, Atahualpa did not think it prudent to waste much time in the attempt, more especially as he had intelligence of the approach of Huascar with a numerous army; for which reason he continued his march towards Cuzco, and arrived at Caxamarca, where he established his head-quarters. From this place he detached two of his princ.i.p.al officers at the head of two or three thousand light armed troops, with orders to reconnoitre the army of the enemy, and to bring him word of their numbers and situation. When this party had arrived at no great distance from the camp of the enemy, they quitted the direct road and made a circuit among the woods and mountains, to prevent the enemy from discovering them. Procuring intelligence that Huascar had retired to a place at some distance from his camp, attended by seven hundred of his princ.i.p.al officers and n.o.bles, on purpose to avoid the noise and confusion of his great army, they attacked his quarters by surprise, easily defeated his small escort, and made him prisoner. While endeavouring to make good their retreat to the camp of Atahualpa with their great prize, they were surrounded on every side by the vast army of the enemy, which could easily have exterminated them, being at least thirty to one. But the commanders of this fortunate detachment, immediately told Huascar that they would put him to death, if he did not instantly give orders to his army to retire: and at the same time a.s.sured him that his brother Atahualpa had no farther desire than to be permitted to enjoy the kingdom of Quito in peace, for which he would do homage to him as his king and lord. Huascar, terrified by the prospect of death, and believing their promise of restoration to liberty and dominion, issued peremptory orders to his army to desist from their intended attack and to return to Cuzco, which they did accordingly; and the Atahualpan officers carried Huascar a prisoner to Caxamarca, where they delivered him up to their master. Thus were the affairs of Peru situated when Don Francisco Pizarro arrived in that country with the Spaniards; which conjuncture was exceedingly favourable to his views of conquest, of which we shall give an account in the next section, as the great army of Huascar was entirely dispersed, and Atahualpa had dismissed a great proportion of his troops, after this fortunate event, which had placed his enemy in his hands.

_Of the Peruvian History before the arrival of the Spaniards_[35].

"Peru, like the rest of the New World, was originally possessed by small independent tribes, differing from each other in manners, and in their forms of rude policy. All, however, were so little civilized, that, if the traditions concerning their mode of life, preserved among their descendants, deserve credit, they must be cla.s.sed among the most unimproved savages of America. Strangers to every species of cultivation or regular industry, without any fixed residence, and unacquainted with those sentiments and obligations which form the first bonds of social union, they are said to have roamed naked about the forests with which their country was then covered, more like wild beasts than like men. After they had struggled for ages with the hardships and calamities which are inevitable in such a state, and when no circ.u.mstance seemed to indicate the approach of any uncommon effort towards improvement, we are told that there appeared on the banks of the lake t.i.ticaca, a man and woman of majestic form, and clothed in decent garments. They declared themselves to be children of the sun, sent by their beneficent parent, who beheld with pity the miseries of the human race, and who had commanded them to instruct and reclaim them. At their persuasion, enforced by reverence for the divinity in whose name they were supposed to speak, several of the dispersed savages united together, and receiving their commands as heavenly instructions, followed them to Cuzco where they settled, and where they begun to lay the foundations of a city, afterwards the capital of Peru."

"Manco Capac and Mama Ocollo, for such were the names of these extraordinary personages, having thus collected some wandering tribes, formed that social union which, by multiplying the desires, and uniting the efforts of the human species, excites industry and leads to improvement. Manco Capac instructed the men in agriculture and other useful arts; Mama Ocollo taught the women to spin and weave. By the labour of the one s.e.x subsistence became less precarious; by that of the other life was rendered more comfortable. After securing the object of first necessity in an infant state, by providing food, raiment, and habitations for the rude people of whom he took charge, Manco Capac turned his attention towards introducing such laws and policy as might perpetuate their happiness. By his inst.i.tutions, the various relations in private life were established, and the duties resulting from them prescribed with such propriety, as gradually formed a barbarous people to decency of manners. In public administration, the functions of persons in authority were so precisely defined, and the subordination of those under jurisdiction maintained with such a steady hand, that the society in which he presided soon a.s.sumed the aspect of a regular and well-governed state."

"Thus, according to the Indian traditions, was founded the empire of the _Incas_, or Lords of Peru. At first its extent was small; as the territory of Manco Capac did not reach above eight leagues from Cuzco: But within these narrow limits he exercised an uncontrolled authority. His successors, as their dominions extended, arrogated a similar jurisdiction over the new subjects which they acquired; the despotism of Asia was not more complete.

The Incas were not only obeyed as monarchs, but revered as divinities.

Their blood was held to be sacred, and by prohibiting intermarriages with the people, was never contaminated by mixing with that of any other race.

The family thus separated from the rest of the nation, was distinguished by peculiarities in dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful for others to a.s.sume. The monarch himself appeared with ensigns of royalty reserved for him alone; and received from his subjects marks of obsequious homage and respect, which approached almost to adoration. But among the Peruvians, this unbounded power of their monarchs seems to have been uniformly accompanied with attention to the good of their subjects. It was not the rage of conquests, if we may believe the accounts of their countrymen, that prompted the Incas to extend their dominion, but the desire of diffusing the blessings of civilization, and the knowledge of the arts which they possessed, among the barbarous people whom they reduced.

During a succession of twelve monarchs, it is said that not one deviated from this beneficent character."

"When the Spaniards first visited the coast of Peru in 1526, Huana Capac, the twelfth monarch from the founder of the state, was seated on the throne. He is represented as a prince distinguished not only for the pacific virtues peculiar to the race, but eminent for his martial talents.

By his victorious arms the kingdom of Quito was subjected, a conquest of such extent and importance as almost doubled the power of the Peruvian empire. He was fond of residing in the capital of that valuable province which he had added to his dominions; and notwithstanding the ancient and fundamental law of the monarchy against polluting the royal blood by any foreign alliance, he married the daughter of the vanquished monarch of Quito. She bore him a son named Atahualpa, whom, on his death at Quito, which seems to have happened about the year 1529, he appointed his successor in that kingdom, leaving the rest of his dominions to Huascar, his eldest son, by a mother of the royal race. Greatly as the Peruvians revered the memory of a monarch who had reigned with greater reputation and splendour than any of his predecessors, the destination of Huana Capac concerning the succession appeared so repugnant to a maxim coeval with the empire, and founded on authority deemed sacred, that it was no sooner known at Cuzco than it excited general disgust. Encouraged by those sentiments of his subjects, Huascar required his brother to renounce the government of Quito, and to acknowledge him as his lawful superior. But it had been the first care of Atahualpa to gain a large body of troops which had accompanied his father to Quito. These were the flower of the Peruvian warriors, to whose valour Huana Capac had been indebted for all his victories. Atahuaipa first eluded the demand of his brother, and then marched against him in hostile array."

"Thus the ambition of two young princes, the t.i.tle of the one founded on ancient usage, and of the other a.s.serted by the veteran troops, involved Peru in civil war, a calamity to which it had been hitherto a stranger, under a succession of virtuous monarchs. In such a contest the issue was obvious. The force of arms triumphed over the authority of laws. Atahualpa remained victorious, and made a cruel use of his victory. Conscious of the defect in his own t.i.tle to the throne, he attempted to exterminate the royal race, by putting to death all the children of the sun descended from Manco Capac, whom he could seize either by force or stratagem. From a political motive, the life of the unfortunate Huascar, who had been taken prisoner in a battle which decided the fate of the empire, was prolonged for some time; that, by issuing orders in his name, the usurper might more easily establish his own authority."

"When Pizarro landed in the bay of St Matthew, in 1531, this civil war raged between the two brothers in its greatest fury; and though the two compet.i.tors received early accounts of the arrival of the Spaniards, they were so intent upon the operations of a war which they deemed more interesting, that they gave no attention to the motions of an enemy too inconsiderable in number to excite any great alarm, and to whom it would be easy, as they imagined, to give a check when more at leisure. By this fortunate coincidence of events, of which he could have no foresight, and of which he remained long ignorant from its defective mode of intercourse with the people of the country, Pizarro was permitted to advance unmolested into the centre of a great empire, before any effort of its power was exerted to stop his career. During their progress, the Spaniards acquired some imperfect knowledge of the struggle between the two contending factions; and the first complete information respecting it was received from messengers sent by Huascar to Pizarro, to solicit his aid against Atahualpa, whom he represented as a rebel and an usurper."

Manco Capac, the first Inca of the Peruvians, is said to have reigned about the middle of the twelfth century, as the traditionary accounts attribute a period of about 400 years between the commencement of his reign and the decease of Huana Capac in 1529, which would place the origin of the monarchy about the year 1129, allowing an average of 30 years to each of 13 successive reigns. The traditions of such ancient matters among an ignorant people are little to be depended on; and even admitting the series of kings to be right as to number, the ordinary average of _twenty_ years to each of the _thirteen_ successive reigns would only give 260 years for the duration of the monarchy, and would carry back the commencement of the reign of Manco Capac only to the year 1269. The series of these kings, as given by various Spanish writers, according to the traditions of the Peruvians, is as follows:

1. Manco Capac. 2. Sinchi Roca. 3. Lloque Yupanqui. 4. Mayta Capac. 5.

Capac Yupanqui. 6. Inca Roca. 7. Yahuar Huacac. 8. Inca Roca, likewise named Viracocha. 9. Pachacutec[36]. 10. Yupanqui. 11. Tupac Yupanqui. 12.

Huana Capac. 13. Huascar, or Inti-cusi-Hualpa. 14. Atahualpa. 15. Manco Capac the Second, crowned at Cuzco by permission of Pizarro; afterwards revolted and retired to the mountains. 16. Sayri Tupac; who resigned the nominal sovereignty of Peru to Philip II. He died a Christian, and left one daughter who married a Spaniard named Onez de Loyola, and from whom are descended the marquisses of Orepesa and Alcanises.

As the empire of Peru was made up of many barbarous tribes, its native inhabitants spoke many languages or dialects, which were only understood in their own particular districts. The language of the ruling people or tribe to which the royal family belonged, called the _Quichua_, was solely used at court, and we have already seen that the sons of all the chiefs or curacas of the empire were ordered to be educated at Cuzco, that they might be all able to converse with the sovereign. In this language the sounds of _b, d, f, g_, and _r_, are said to have been wanting; and yet that of the _r_ occurs in the names of several of their kings. Garcila.s.so says that this letter had a guttural sound, perhaps resembling the burr, or _parler gras_ of the French: And it is alleged that this language of a comparatively barbarous people was nearly as copious and as artificial as the Greek. The following specimens are given in the Modern Geography, III.

585, to which are added two examples of what are called Peruvian poetry, from Garcila.s.so de la Vega, p. 50. The nouns in this language are declined by altering the terminations thus; _Runa_, a man; _Runap_, of a man; _Runapac_, to a man, &c. The verbs have also moods and tenses, the terminations often extending to a great length.

1. Huc 5. Chumpi, picheca. 9. Yscon.

2. Yscay 6. Zocta. 10. Chunca.

3. Quimza 7. Canchis. 100. Pachac.

4. Tahua 8. Puzac. 1000. Huaranca.

The Andes....Anti A Hog.........Cuchi The Arm......Ricra A House.......Huaci Bad..........Mana alli[A] A Husband.....Coza The Beard....Zunca Iron..........Quellay Beauty.......Zumay A King........Capac, Inca The Belly....Vicza A Lake........Cocha A Brother....Huauquey A Lance.......Chuqui A Canoe......Huampu Land..........Allpa To Die.......Huauny, pitini Little........Huchuy A Dog........Alles Love..........Cuyay, munay To Drink.....Upiana A man.........Runa The Ears.....Rinri The Moon......Quilla Eared, or having Mother........Mama great ears...Ringrim A Mountain....Puna, acha To Eat.......Micuni The Mouth.....Simi An Emerald...Umina No............Maria The Eye......Naui The Nose......Cenca A Family.....Ayllu A Queen, or Father.......Mayu Princess...Coya Fire.........Nina A Sacrifice...Arpay Many fires...Ninanina Sand..........Aco A Fish.......Challhua The Sea.......Atun cocha[B]

Flesh........Aycha .......Mama cocha[C]

A Foot.......Chaqui A Ship........Huampu[D]

A Friend.....Cocho Silver........Collqui Good.........Alli A Sister......Panay Gold.........Cori Snow..........Riti Gold dust....Chichi cori A Son.........Churi Great........Hatun A Stone.......Rumi A Hatchet....Avri, champi The Sun.......Inti The Hair.....Caspa Water.........Unu, yaco The Hand.....Maqui Woman.........Huami The Head.....Uma Yes...........Y

_Specimen of Peruvian poetry_.

_Caylla Llapi_ To the Song _Pununqui_ I will Sleep, _Chaupitua_ At Midnight _Samusac_ I will come.

[A] Not good.

[B] Great Lake.

[C] Mother Lake.

[D] Huampu likewise signifies a canoe, and probably a ship might be named Atun huampu, a great canoe.--E.

[1] In a note of the French edition of 1742, it is said that, in the folio edition of Zarate printed at Seville in 1677, Luque was called the father of Almagro, and that no mention is made of that ecclesiastic having taken any part in the expedition. Robertson, in his History of America, II. 273, says that Pizarro was the natural son of a gentleman of honourable family by a low woman, and that his education was so entirely neglected that he could neither read nor write. He adds that, after serving some years in Italy, he embarked for America, where he greatly distinguished himself. In our last chapter, Diaz makes frequent mention of Pizarro as serving with reputation under Cortes, in the early part of the expedition to Mexico; but gives no account of his quitting the service of Cortes; to whom he was probably somehow related, as the mother of Cortes was named Catalina Pizarro Altamirano.

Almagro, according to Robertson, was a foundling, and bred like Pizarro in the army. Luque acted as priest and schoolmaster at Panama, and had ama.s.sed considerable riches.--E.

[2] Named Pedrarias by Robertson.--E.

[3] Chinchama, by the map in Zarate is that part of the western coast of Tierra Firma or Darien, opposite the Isla del Rey. The poor province of Peru, beyond or to the southwards of Cinchama, is that now called Biruquete; and the Pueblo quemada, or Burnt People, must be looked for in the province of Novita, perhaps Nounamas, immediately to the south of which is the river of St Juan.--E.

[4] Tacamez, otherwise called the district of _Esmeraldas_, or of emeralds, is in the kingdom of Quito near the equinoctial line.--E.