MISSION OF MOSES IN THE WEST.
Proceeding still further eastward Moses landed on the western coast of
North America. He found the natives inhabiting this vast tract of land
as savage as those he had left on the continent and the adjacent
islands of Asia—profoundly ignorant of God, living like the animals
around them, and going about as nude as in the day when they were first
created. The god-like Lawgiver founded an extensive empire in this
wilderness, and brought these savages under subjection, and taught them
all things necessary for their happiness and well-being. This empire
was Mexico.
In this new empire he constructed monuments resembling those of Upper
and Lower Egypt, Nubia and Ethiopia; he set up statues, built pyramids,
aqueducts, palaces, and bridges. His works he embellished with
sculpture portraying the battles his forces had fought with the
different nations that opposed their landing to occupy the country. And
he brought his new subjects to the same state of civilization as the
ancient Egyptians of his time. The following extracts are from the work
of a modern traveller, concerning the pyramids and other ruins of
Mexico:—[64]
“We arrived at Chollula after a pleasant ride over plains covered with
corn-fields, interspersed with plantations of the _Agava Americana_.
This city was, before the conquest, one of the most considerable
belonging to the ancient Mexicans. It was famed for its idols, its
sanctity, and its pagan worship.
“The Teocalli or temple is composed of alternate layers of clay and
sun-burnt brick, forming an immense pyramid, divided into regular
stages, or platforms; but time, and the growth of the prickly pear, the
tuna, or nopal, and other vegetables, have left but little of its
original form visible, and it now resembles a natural hill; the high
road from Puebla is cut through a part of it, which serves to show its
internal structure.
“We ascended by a steep winding road, partly cut into steps, to a level
area of 140 (one hundred and forty) feet long, on which stands a very
neat church, ninety feet in length, with two towers and a dome; from
this exalted platform the spectator enjoys a most lovely landscape. We
descended with reluctance the side of this pyramid, whose base is more
extensive than that of the Great Pyramid of Egypt. It is covered with
trees of great variety, some species of which I had never before seen;
but they had evidently been planted there.
“On our descent to the plains we visited two detached masses,
constructed, like the great pyramid, of unburnt brick and clay. The one
to the north-east had been cut or taken away; its broken sides were so
perpendicular as to prevent access to its summit. The other detached
piece has been engraved by Humbolt, whose figure of the great pyramid
conveys an idea of its ancient rather than its present state, nor is
the church on its summit like the original.
“The corner-stone of the building now occupied by the lottery-office,
and fronting the market for shoes, is the head of the serpent-idol, of
great magnitude, which I should judge was not, when entire, less than
seventy-feet in length. Under the gateway of the house, nearly opposite
the entrance to the mint, is a fine statue, in a recumbent posture, of
a deity, bearing the human form, and ornamented with various symbols;
it is about the size of life, and was found a few years since in
digging a well.
“The house at the corner of a street at the south-east of the great
square is built upon and in part supported by a fine circular altar of
black basalt, ornamented with the tail and claws of a gigantic reptile.
In the cloisters behind the Dominican Convent is a noble specimen of
the great serpent idol, almost perfect, and of fine workmanship; this
monstrous divinity is represented in the act of swallowing a human
victim, which is seen crushed and struggling in its horrid jaws.
“The only works of art of the inhabitants of the city of Mexico before
the conquest, then called Tenochtitlan, now publicly seen, are the
great Calendar Stone, popularly called Montezuma’s watch, and the
Sacrificial Stone, or the grand altar, once standing in the great
temple before the principal idol. The former measures twelve feet in
diameter, and is cut from one large block of porous basaltic stone. It
is supposed to have been placed in the roof of the great temple in the
same manner as the Zodiac was in the temple of Tentyra in Upper
Egypt.[65] It now stands against the north-west wall of the cathedral,
and is an attractive object of antiquarian research, and a striking
proof of the perfection the nation to which it belonged had attained in
some of the sciences; few persons, even of the most enlightened cities
of Europe, of the present day, would be capable of executing such a
work.
“From the first moment I beheld it I determined, if possible, to convey
to Europe a fac-simile of so fine a specimen of Aztec skill. Through
the influence of Don Lucas Alarman, the prime minister, I obtained
permission of the clergy to erect a scaffold against the cathedral, and
took an impression of it in plaster, which was afterwards carefully
packed up, and with some difficulty conveyed to Vera Cruz. It has
fortunately arrived safely in England, and now forms one of the
subjects of the exhibition of Ancient Mexico to be seen in the Egyptian
Hall.
“The Sacrificial Stone, or altar, is buried in the square of the
cathedral, within a hundred yards of the Calendar Stone. The upper
surface only is exposed to view, which seems to have been done
designedly. As I had been informed that the sides were covered with
historical sculpture, I applied to the clergy for the further
permission of having the earth removed from around it, which they not
only granted, but moreover had it performed for me at their own expense.
“I then took casts of the whole. It is twenty-five feet in
circumference, and consists of fifteen groups of figures, representing
the conquests of the warriors of Mexico over different cities, the
names of which are written over them.
“After a pleasant ride over a country not very fertile, we reached the
gates of Tescuco. Some time before approaching the immediate vicinity
of the city, you are apprised that you are near a place of great
antiquity. You pass the large aqueduct for the supply of the town,
which is still in use, and you also pass the ruins of several stone
buildings of great strength.
“On entering the gates, to the right are seen those artificial tumuli,
the teocalli of unburnt brick so common in most Indian towns, supposed
to be temples, tombs, or places of defence, or perhaps serving for all
these purposes. The foundations and ruins of temples, fortresses,
palaces, and other extensive buildings, are alone sufficient to attest
its former consequence and splendour; but it is likewise well known to
have been in earlier times the seat of Mexican literature and art. It
was the Athens of America, and the residence of historians, orators,
poets, artists, and the great men of every department of the sciences
who existed in those days.
“What a subject for contemplation does this collection of ruins present
to the reflecting mind! The seat of a powerful monarch, whose subjects
(if we may judge from their works) were probably an enlightened people,
existing and flourishing long before the continent of America was known
to Europe, and yet a people whose customs, costume, religion, and
architecture strongly resembled those of an enlightened nation of
Africa.”
Mr. Bullock continues:—
“We soon arrived at the foot of the largest pyramid (at Otumba), and
began to ascend. It was less difficult than we expected, although, the
whole way up, lime and cement are mixed with fallen stones.[66] The
terraces are perfectly visible, particularly the second, which is about
thirty-eight feet wide, covered with a coat of red cement eight or ten
inches thick, composed of small pebble-stones and lime. In many places,
as you ascend, the nopal trees have destroyed the regularity of the
steps, but nowhere injured the general figure of the square, which is
as perfect in this respect as the Great Pyramid of Egypt.
“We everywhere observed broken pieces of instruments like knives, arrow
and spear-heads, &c. composed of obsidian, the same as those found on
the small hills of Chollula; and, on reaching the summit, we found a
flat surface of considerable size, but which has been much broken and
disturbed. On the north-east side, about half-way down, at some remote
period, an opening has been attempted.
“Dr. Oteyza, who has given us the measure of these Pyramids, makes the
base of the largest six hundred and forty-five feet in length, and one
hundred and seventy-one in perpendicular height. I should certainly
consider that the latter measurement is considerably under the mark,
and that its altitude must be half its breadth.”
There is no doubt that these Mexican pyramids were built by Moses for
the same purpose as those in Egypt; and that these were similarly
finished off with casing-stones, to preserve the corn from the effects
of the elements, like their prototypes throughout Egypt. Dr. Robertson
in his _History of North and South America_, says:—
“As far as one can gather from their obscure and inaccurate
descriptions, the great temple of Mexico, the most famous in New Spain,
which has been represented as a magnificent building, raised to such a
height that the ascent to it was by a flight of a hundred and fourteen
steps, was a solid mass of earth of a square form, faced partly with
stone. Its base on each side extended ninety feet, and decreasing
gradually as it advanced in height, it terminated in a quadrangle of
about thirty feet.”
In its original state this building would have terminated in a sharp
point, instead of a quadrangle of such extent; and have been faced
entirely with stone, smoothly polished, from base to summit—resembling
the Egyptian pyramids.
When the Spaniards under Cortes, visited Mexico, “the Empire[67] was at
a pitch of grandeur to which no society ever attained in so short a
period. Its dominion extended from the North to the South sea, over
territories stretching, with some small interruption, above five
hundred leagues from east to west, and more than two hundred from north
to south, comprehending provinces, not inferior in fertility,
population, and opulence, to any in the torrid zone.
“The people were warlike and enterprising, the authority of the monarch
unbounded, and his revenues considerable. If, with the forces which
might have been suddenly assembled in such an empire, Montezuma had
fallen upon the Spaniards whilst encamped on a barren unhealthy coast,
unsupported by any ally, without a place of retreat, and destitute of
provisions, it seems to be impossible, even with all the advantages of
their superior discipline and arms, that they could have stood the
shock, and they must either have perished in such an unequal contest,
or have abandoned the enterprise.”
The Spaniards were received by Montezuma in the city of Mexico, and Dr.
Robertson goes on to say:—
“When they drew near the city, about a thousand persons, who appeared
to be of distinction, came forth to meet them, adorned with plumes and
clad in mantles of fine cotton. Each of these, in his order, passed by
Cortes, and saluted him according to the mode deemed most respectful
and submissive in their country. They announced the approach of
Montezuma himself, and soon after his harbingers came in sight.
“There appeared first two hundred persons in an uniform dress, with
large plumes of feathers, alike in fashion, marching two and two, in
deep silence, bare-footed, with their eyes fixed on the ground. These
were followed by a company of higher rank, in their most showy apparel,
in the midst of whom was Montezuma, in a chair or litter richly
ornamented with gold and feathers of various colours.
“Four of his principal favourites carried him on their shoulders,
others supported a canopy of curious workmanship over his head. Before
him marched three officers with rods of gold in their hands, which they
lifted up on high at certain intervals, and at that signal all the
people bowed their heads, and hid their faces, as unworthy to look on
so great a monarch.
“When he drew near, Cortes dismounted, advancing towards him with
officious haste, and in a respectful posture. At the same time
Montezuma alighted from his chair, and leaning on the arms of two of
his near relations, approached with a slow and stately pace, his
attendants covering the street with cotton cloths, that he might not
touch the ground.
“Cortes accosted him with profound reverence, after the European
fashion. He returned the salutation, according to the mode of his
country, by touching the earth with his hand, and then kissing it. This
ceremony, the customary expression of veneration from inferiors towards
those who were above them in rank, appeared such amazing condescension
in a proud monarch, who scarcely deigned to consider the rest of
mankind as of the same species with himself, that all his subjects
firmly believed those persons, before whom he humbled himself in this
manner, to be something more than human.
“Montezuma conducted Cortes to the quarters which he had prepared for
his reception, and immediately took leave of him, with a politeness not
unworthy of a court more refined. ‘You are now,’ says he, ‘with your
brothers in your own house; refresh yourselves after your fatigue, and
be happy until I return.’
“The place allotted to the Spaniards for their lodging was a house
built by the father of Montezuma. It was surrounded by a stone wall,
with towers at proper distances, which served for defence as well as
for ornament, and its apartments and courts were so large as to
accommodate both the Spaniards and their Indian allies.
“In the evening, Montezuma returned to visit his guests with the same
pomp as in their first interview, and brought presents of such value,
not only to Cortes and to his officers, but even to the private men, as
proved the liberality of the monarch to be suitable to the opulence of
his kingdom. A long conference ensued, in which Cortes learned what was
the opinion of Montezuma with respect to the Spaniards.
“It was an established tradition, he told him, among the Mexicans, that
their ancestors came originally from a remote region, and conquered the
provinces now subject to his dominion: that after they were settled
there, the great captain who conducted this colony returned to his own
country, promising that at some future period his descendants should
visit them, assume the government, and reform their constitution and
laws; that from what he had heard and seen of Cortes and his followers
he was convinced they were the very persons whose appearance the
Mexican traditions and prophecies taught them to expect; that
accordingly he had received them, not as strangers, but as relations of
the same blood and parentage, and desired that they might consider
themselves as masters in his dominions, for both himself and his
subjects should be ready to comply with their will, and even to prevent
their wishes.
“Cortes made a reply in his usual style, with respect to the dignity
and power of his sovereign, and his intention in sending him into that
country; artfully endeavouring so to frame his discourse that it might
coincide as much as possible with the idea which Montezuma had formed
concerning the origin of the Spaniards.
“Mexico, or Tenuchtitlan, as it was anciently called by the natives, is
situated in a large plain, environed by mountains of such height, that,
though within the torrid zone, the temperature of its climate is mild
and healthful. All the moisture which descends from the high grounds is
collected in several lakes, the two largest of which, of about ninety
miles in circuit, communicate with each other. The waters of the one
are fresh, those of the others brackish. On the banks of the latter,
and on some small islands adjoining to them, the capital of Montezuma’s
empire was built.
“The access to the city was by artificial causeways or streets formed
of stones and earth, about thirty feet in breadth. As the waters of the
lake during the rainy season overflowed the flat country, these
causeways were of considerable length. That of Tacuba, on the west,
extended a mile and a half; that of Tepeaca, on the north-west, three
miles; that of Cuoyacan, towards the south, six miles.
“On the east there was no causeway, and they could be approached only
by canoes. In each of these causeways were openings at proper
intervals, through which the waters flowed, and over these beams of
timber were laid, which, being covered with earth, the causeway or
street had everywhere an uniform appearance.
“As the approaches to the city were singular, its construction was
remarkable. Not only the temples of their gods, but the houses
belonging to the monarch, and to persons of distinction, were of such
dimensions, that, in comparison with any other buildings which had been
hitherto discovered in America, they might be termed magnificent. The
habitations of the common people were mean, resembling the huts of
other Indians. But they were all placed in a regular manner, on the
banks of the canals which passed through the city in some of its
districts, or in the sides of the streets which intersected it in other
quarters.
“In several places were large openings or squares, one of which,
allotted for the great market, is said to have been so spacious that
forty or fifty thousand persons carried on traffic there. In this city,
the pride of the New World, and the noblest monument of the industry
and art of man, the Spaniards reckon that there were at least sixty
thousand inhabitants.”
The explanation given to the Spaniards by the King of Mexico of his
conduct in receiving them in the manner he did—humbling himself in the
presence of his European visitors—proves that the founders of the
Mexican Empire were white men, similar to the Spaniards; and, in firm
belief in the promise of the great chief—that at some future time his
descendants would visit the Mexicans—the king made up his mind to
deliver the empire into the hands of Cortes, as the representative of
that chief.
So that, even when Montezuma was kept a prisoner, and ill-treated by
these Spaniards, he submitted with the utmost humility to every
indignity without offering the slightest opposition. He only discovered
his mistake regarding the identity of these men when Cortes tried to
impose the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, and placed the image
of the Virgin Mary in their great temple in Mexico. Then, and only
then, did he resent, and allow the Mexican nobles to assert their
liberty, and to take up arms against their cruel invaders, who had
broken every international law, and usurped the power of their kingdom.
The cruelty and the superstition of the Spaniards in New Spain are well
known throughout the civilized world, so that it is needless to recount
them here. These usurpers did all in their power to destroy every
monument of the ancient Mexicans, under the ignorant impression that
every building was a heathen temple, and every statue the image of a
pagan god, to whom prayers and sacrifices were offered. They even built
churches on the tops of some of the large Pyramids, thinking that these
were temples, erected for the performance of idolatrous worship!
The inspired Law-giver, after establishing a firm government, with good
laws and regulations for its continuance, left a colony in power over
the conquered natives of the soil, and, departing from Mexico, landed
on the shores of the southern continent of America, where he founded
the extensive Empire of Peru.
At the time of Pizarro’s arrival in Peru the dominion of its sovereign
extended in length, from north to south, above fifteen hundred miles
along the Pacific Ocean; its breadth from east to west was much less,
it being uniformly bounded by the vast ridge of the Andes, stretching
from one extremity of the country to the other.
When Moses and his followers landed, the country was inhabited, like
the rest of the primitive world, by independent tribes of savages,
differing from each other in manners, and in their rude forms of
polity. He, however, brought them all under his government; imparted to
them the knowledge of God; gave them laws; and instructed the men in
agriculture and other useful arts, while the women were taught to spin
and weave, as in China and other kingdoms and empires that he had
already founded. So that, as by the labour of the one sex subsistence
became less precarious, by that of the other life was rendered more
comfortable.
There is a tradition preserved among the Peruvians, that when their
ancestors were mere savages roaming the woods, without clothing, or any
settled place of residence, their condition became changed under the
following circumstances:—
“After they had struggled for several ages with the hardships and
calamities which are inevitable in such a state, and when no
circumstance seemed to indicate the approach of any uncommon effort
towards improvement, we are told that there appeared, on the banks of
the Lake Titiaca, a man and a woman of majestic form, 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,
to instruct and to 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, received their
commands as heavenly injunctions, and followed them to Cuzco, where
they settled and began to lay the foundations of a city.
“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.
“After securing the objects 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
institutions 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 their
jurisdiction maintained with such a steady hand, that the society in
which he presided soon assumed the aspect of a regular and well
governed state.
“Thus, according to the Indian tradition, was founded the empire of the
Incas, or Lords of Peru. At first its extent was small. The territory
of Manco Capac did not reach above eight leagues from Cuzco. But within
its narrow precincts he exercised absolute and 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 assume. 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 conquest, if we may believe the
accounts of their countrymen, that prompted the Incas to extend their
dominions, 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.”[68]
At the time Pizarro arrived in Peru there was a civil war between two
Incas; and he was invited by one of these to visit Caxamalca as a
friend and ally. The following is an account of his visit:—
“On entering Caxamalca, Pizarro took possession of a large court, on
one side of which was a house which the Spanish historians call a
palace of the Inca, and on the other a temple of the sun, the whole
surrounded with a strong rampart or wall of earth. When he had posted
his troops in this advantageous station, he dispatched his brother
Ferdinand and Hernando Soto to the camp of Atahualpa, which was about a
league distant from the town.
“He instructed them to confirm the declaration which he had formerly
made of his pacific disposition, and to desire an interview with the
Inca, that he might explain more fully the intention of the Spaniards
in visiting his country. They were treated with all the respectful
hospitality usual among the Peruvians in the reception of their most
cordial friends, and Atahualpa promised to visit the Spanish commander
next day in his quarters.
“The decent deportment of the Peruvian monarch, the order of his court,
and the reverence with which his subjects approached his person and
obeyed his commands, astonished those Spaniards who had never met in
America with anything more dignified than the petty cazique of a
barbarous tribe. But their eyes were still more powerfully attracted by
the vast profusion of wealth which they observed in the Inca’s camp.
“The rich ornaments worn by him and his attendants, the vessels of gold
and silver in which the repast offered to them was served up, the
multitude of utensils of every kind formed of those precious metals,
opened prospects far exceeding any idea of opulence that a European of
the sixteenth century could form.
“Early in the morning the Peruvian camp was all in motion. But as
Atahualpa was so solicitous to appear with the greatest splendour and
magnificence in his first interview with the strangers, the
preparations for this were so tedious, that the day was far advanced
before he began his march. Even then, lest the order of the procession
should be deranged, he moved so slowly, that the Spaniards became
impatient, and apprehensive that some suspicion of their intention
might be the cause of this delay. In order to remove this, Pizarro
despatched one of his officers with fresh assurances of his friendly
disposition.
“At length the Inca approached. First of all appeared four hundred men,
in a uniform dress, as harbingers to clear the way before him. He
himself, sitting on a throne or couch adorned with plumes of various
colours, and almost covered with plates of gold and silver enriched
with precious stones, was carried on the shoulders of his principal
attendants.
“Behind him came some chief officers of his court, carried in the same
manner. Several bands of singers and dancers accompanied the cavalcade,
and the whole plain was covered with troops, amounting to more than
thirty thousand men.
“As the Inca drew near the Spanish quarters, Father Vincent Valverde,
chaplain to the expedition, advanced, with a crucifix in one hand and a
breviary in the other, and in a long discourse explained to him the
doctrine of the Creation, the fall of Adam, the incarnation, the
sufferings and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the appointment of St.
Peter as God’s vicegerent on earth, the transmission of his apostolic
power by succession to the popes, the donation made to the King of
Castile, by Pope Alexander, of all the regions of the New World.
“In consequence of all this, he required Atahualpa to embrace the
Christian faith, to acknowledge the supreme jurisdiction of the Pope,
and to submit to the King of Castile as his lawful sovereign;
promising, if he complied instantly with this requisition, that the
Castilian monarch would protect his dominions, and permit him to
continue in the exercise of his royal authority; but if he should
impiously refuse to obey this summons, he denounced war against him in
his master’s name, and threatened him with the most dreadful effects of
his vengeance.
“This strange harangue, unfolding deep mysteries, and alluding to
unknown facts, of which no power of eloquence could have conveyed at
once a distinct idea to an American, was so lamely translated by an
unskilful interpreter, little acquainted with the idiom of the Spanish
tongue, and incapable of expressing himself with propriety in the
language of the Inca, that its general tenor was altogether
incomprehensible to Atahualpa. Some parts in it, of more obvious
meaning, filled him with astonishment and indignation.
“His reply, however, was temperate. He began with observing that he was
lord of the dominions over which he reigned by hereditary succession;
and added, that he could not conceive how a foreign priest should
pretend to dispose of territories which did not belong to him; that if
such a preposterous grant had been made, he, who was the rightful
possessor, refused to confirm it; that he had no inclination to
renounce the religious institutions established by his ancestors; nor
would he forsake the service of the sun, the immortal divinity whom he
and his people revered, in order to worship the god of the Spaniards,
who was subject to death; that with respect to other matters contained
in his discourse, as he had never heard of them before, and did not
understand their meaning, he desired to know where the priest had
learned things so extraordinary.
“‘In this book,’ answered Valverde, reaching out to him his breviary.
The Inca opened it eagerly, and turning over the leaves, lifted it to
his ear. ‘This,’ says he, ‘is silent; it tells me nothing’; and threw
it with disdain to the ground. The enraged monk, running towards his
countrymen, cried out, ‘To arms, Christians! to arms! the word of God
is insulted; avenge this profanation on those impious dogs!’
“Pizarro, who, during this long conference, had with difficulty
restrained his soldiers, eager to seize the rich spoils of which they
had now so near a view, immediately gave the signal of assault. At once
the martial music struck up, the cannon and muskets began to fire, the
horse sallied out fiercely to the charge, the infantry rushed on sword
in hand.
“The Peruvians, astonished at the suddenness of an attack which they
did not expect, and dismayed with the destructive effect of the
fire-arms, and the irresistible impression of the cavalry, fled with
universal consternation on every side, without attempting either to
annoy the enemy or to defend themselves.
“Pizarro, at the head of his chosen band, advanced directly towards the
Inca; and though his nobles crowded around him with officious zeal, and
fell in numbers at his feet, while they vied one with another in
sacrificing their own lives, that they might cover the sacred person of
their sovereign, the Spaniards soon penetrated to the royal seat; and
Pizarro, seizing the Inca by the arm, dragged him to the ground, and
carried him as a prisoner to his quarters.
“The fate of the monarch increased the precipitate flight of his
followers. The Spaniards pursued them towards every quarter, and with
deliberate and unrelenting barbarity continued to slaughter wretched
fugitives who never once offered to resist. The carnage did not cease
until the close of the day. About four thousand Peruvians were killed.
Not a single Spaniard fell, nor was one wounded but Pizarro himself,
whose hand was slightly hurt by one of his own soldiers, while
struggling eagerly to lay hold on the Inca.
“The plunder of the field was rich beyond any idea which the Spaniards
had yet formed concerning the wealth of Peru, and they were so
transported with the value of the acquisition, as well as the greatness
of their success, that they passed the night in the extravagant
exultation natural to indigent adventurers on such an extraordinary
change of fortune.
“At first the captive monarch could hardly believe a calamity, which he
so little expected, to be real. But he soon felt all the misery of his
fate, and the dejection into which he sank was in proportion to the
height of grandeur from which he had fallen. Pizarro, afraid of losing
all the advantages which he hoped to derive from the possession of such
a prisoner, laboured to console him with professions of kindness and
respect, that corresponded ill with his actions.
“By residing among the Spaniards, the Inca quickly discovered their
ruling passion, which, indeed, they were nowise solicitous to conceal,
and, by applying to that, made an attempt to recover his liberty. He
offered as a ransom what astonished the Spaniards, even after all they
now knew concerning the opulence of his kingdom. The apartment in which
he was confined was twenty-two feet in length and sixteen in breadth;
he undertook to fill it with vessels of gold as high as he could reach.
“Pizarro closed eagerly with the tempting proposal, and a line was
drawn upon the walls of the chamber, to mark the stipulated height to
which the treasure was to rise. Atahualpa, transported with having
obtained some prospect of liberty, took measures instantly for
fulfilling his part of the agreement, by sending messengers to Cuzco,
Quito, and other places, where gold had been amassed in largest
quantities, either for adorning the temples, or the houses of the Inca,
to bring what was necessary for completing his ransom directly to
Caxamalca. Though Atahualpa was now in the custody of his enemies, yet
so much were the Peruvians accustomed to respect every mandate issued
by their sovereign, that his orders were executed with the greatest
alacrity.
“Soothed with hopes of recovering his liberty by this means, the
subjects of the Inca were afraid of endangering his life by forming any
other scheme for his relief; and though the force of the empire was
still entire, no preparations were made and no army assembled to avenge
their own wrongs or those of their monarch. The Spaniards remained in
Caxamalca tranquil and unmolested. Small detachments of their number
marched into remote provinces of the empire, and instead of meeting
with any opposition, were everywhere received with marks of the most
submissive respect.
“The Indians daily arrived at Caxamalca from different parts of the
kingdom, loaded with treasure. A great part of the stipulated quantity
was now amassed, and Atahualpa assured the Spaniards that the only
thing which prevented the whole from being brought in was the
remoteness of the provinces where it was deposited.
“But such vast piles of gold presented continually to the view of needy
soldiers, had so inflamed their avarice, that it was impossible any
longer to restrain their impatience to obtain possession of this rich
booty. Orders were given for melting down the whole, except some pieces
of curious fabric, reserved as a present for the Emperor. After setting
apart the fifth due to the crown, and a hundred thousand pesos as a
donation to the soldiers which arrived with Almagro, there remained one
million five hundred and twenty-eight thousand five hundred pesos to
Pizarro and his followers.
“The festival of St. James, the patron saint of Spain, was the day
(July 25, A.D. 1533) chosen for the partition of this enormous sum, and
the manner of conducting it strongly marks the strange alliance of
fanaticism and avarice, which I have more than once had occasion to
point out as a striking feature in the character of the conquerors of
the New World. Though assembled to divide the spoils of an innocent
people, procured by deceit, extortion, and cruelty, the transaction
began with a solemn invocation of the name of God, as if they could
have expected the guidance of Heaven in distributing those wages of
iniquity.
“In this division above eight thousand pesos, at that time not inferior
in effective value to as many pounds sterling in the present century,
fell to the share of each horseman, and half that sum to each
foot-soldier. Pizarro himself, and his officers, received dividends in
proportion to the dignity of their rank.
“The Spaniards having divided among them the treasure amassed for the
Inca’s ransom, he insisted with them to fulfil their promise of setting
him at liberty. But nothing was further from Pizarro’s thoughts. During
his long service in the New World, he had imbibed those ideas and
maxims of his fellow soldiers, which led them to consider its
inhabitants as an inferior race, neither worthy of the name nor
entitled to the rights of men. In his compact with Atahualpa, he had no
other object than to amuse his captive with such a prospect of
recovering his liberty as might induce him to lend all the aid of his
authority towards collecting the wealth of his kingdom. Having now
accomplished this, he no longer regarded his plighted faith; and at the
very time when the credulous prince hoped to be replaced on his throne,
he had secretly resolved to bereave him of life.
“Many circumstances seemed to have concurred in prompting him to this
action, the most criminal and atrocious that stains the Spanish name,
amidst all the deeds of violence committed in carrying on the conquest
of the New World. Though Pizarro had seized the Inca, in imitation of
Cortes’s conduct towards the Mexican monarch, he did not possess
talents for carrying on the same artful plan of policy. Destitute of
the temper and address requisite for gaining the confidence of his
prisoner, he never reaped all the advantages which might have been
derived from being master of his person and authority.
“Atahualpa was, indeed, a prince of greater abilities and discernment
than Montezuma, and seems to have penetrated more thoroughly into the
character and intentions of the Spaniards. Mutual suspicion and
distrust accordingly took place between them. The strict attention with
which it was necessary to guard a captive of such importance, greatly
increased the fatigue of military duty. The utility of keeping him
appeared inconsiderable; and Pizarro felt him as an encumbrance from
which he wished to be delivered.
“But in order to give some colour of justice to this violent action,
and that he himself might be exempted from standing singly responsible
for the commission of it, Pizarro resolved to try the Inca with all the
formalities observed in the criminal courts of Spain. Pizarro himself,
and Almagro, with two assistants, were appointed judges, with full
power to acquit or to condemn; an attorney-general was named to carry
on the prosecution in the King’s name; counsellors were chosen to
assist the prisoner in his defence, and clerks were ordered to record
the proceedings of court.
“Before this strange tribunal, a charge was exhibited still more
amazing. It consisted of various articles: that Atahualpa, though a
bastard, had dispossessed the rightful owner of the throne, and usurped
the regal power; that he had put his brother and lawful sovereign to
death; that he was an idolater, and had not only permitted, but
commanded the offering of human sacrifices; that he had a great number
of concubines; that since his imprisonment he had wasted and embezzled
the treasures which now belonged of right to the conquerors; that he
had incited his subjects to take arms against the Spaniards.
“On these heads of accusation, some of which are so ludicrous, others
so absurd, that the effrontery of Pizarro in making them the foundation
of a serious procedure is not less surprising than his injustice, did
this strange court go on to try the sovereign of a great empire, over
whom he had no jurisdiction. With respect to each of the articles,
witnesses were examined; but as they delivered their evidence in their
native tongue, Philippillo had it in his power to give their words
whatever turn best suited his malevolent intentions. To judges
predetermined in their opinion, this evidence appeared sufficient. They
pronounced Atahualpa guilty, and condemned him to be burnt alive. Friar
Valverde prostituted the authority of his sacred function to confirm
this sentence, and by his signature warranted it to be just.
“Astonished at his fate, Atahualpa endeavoured to avert it by tears, by
promises, and by entreaties that he might be sent to Spain, where a
monarch would be the arbiter of his lot. But pity never touched the
unfeeling heart of Pizarro. He ordered him to be led instantly to
execution; and, what added to the bitterness of his last moments, the
same monk who had just ratified his doom offered to console, and
attempted to convert him. The most powerful argument Valverde employed
to prevail with him to embrace the Christian faith, was a promise of
mitigation in his punishment. The dread of a cruel death extorted from
the trembling victim a desire of receiving baptism. The ceremony was
performed; and Atahualpa, instead of being burnt, was strangled at the
stake!
“On the death of Atahualpa, Pizarro invested one of his sons with the
ensigns of royalty, hoping that a young man without experience might
prove a more passive instrument in his hands than an ambitious monarch,
who had been accustomed to independent command.”
These accounts of the wealth and the fate of these two monarchs—the
one of the extensive empire of Mexico, and the other of the equally
powerful dominions of Peru—recall to mind the power and wealth of
Solomon, the King of Israel. These three kingdoms were founded by
Moses, and peopled and ruled by the descendants of Abraham. The wealth
of Solomon was so great that it is recorded in the Bible that “he made
silver and gold at Jerusalem as plenteous as stones, and cedar trees
made he as the sycamore trees that are in the vale for abundance.”
The display made by the two American sovereigns of their grandeur and
riches before foreigners, and the consequences of their pride and
ostentation, have a parallel in the scriptures.
“At that time Berodach-baladan, the son of Baladan, King of Babylon,
sent letters and a present unto Hezekiah; for he had heard that
Hezekiah had been sick. And Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed
them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold, and
the spices, and the precious ointment, and all the house of his armour,
and all that was found in his treasures; there was nothing in his
house, nor in all his dominion, that Hezekiah shewed them not.
“Then came Isaiah the prophet unto King Hezekiah, and said unto him,
What said these men? and from whence came they unto thee? And Hezekiah
said, They are come from a far country, even from Babylon. And he said,
What have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the
things that are in mine house have they seen; there is nothing among my
treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah,
Hear the word of the Lord. Behold, the days come that all that is in
thine house, and all that which thy fathers have laid up in store unto
this day, shall be carried into Babylon; nothing shall be left, saith
the Lord.”[69]
The words of Isaiah the prophet, addressed to King Hezekiah, could have
been as appositely addressed to King Montezuma and to his neighbour and
kinsman Atahualpa; for they were equally applicable, and the words came
true in all three cases. As the Babylonians conquered and took
possession of Judea, so did the Spaniards in Mexico and Peru.
Moses, the founder of these several empires in different parts of the
earth, foresaw the power and opulence to which they would attain in the
course of time, and forbade the colonists from having intercourse with
the outer world, who were strangers to them, knowing that they would be
envied by them. For wherever indigent adventurers have been admitted by
the rulers of these empires, they have been deceived, and their
possessions carried away, as the prophet so graphically described to
King Hezekiah.
The historian of North and South America continues:—
“The violent convulsions into which the empire had been thrown, first
by the civil war between the two brothers, and then by the invasion of
the Spaniards, had not only deranged the order of the Peruvian
Government, but almost dissolved its frame. When they beheld their
monarch a captive in the power of strangers, and at last suffering an
ignominious death, the people in several provinces, as if they had been
set free from every restraint of law and decency, broke out in the most
licentious excesses.
“So many descendants of the sun, after being treated with the utmost
indignity, had been cut off by Atahualpa that not only their influence
in the state diminished with their number, but the accustomed reverence
for that sacred race sensibly decreased. In consequence of this state
of things, ambitious men in different parts of the empire aspired to
independent authority, and usurped jurisdiction to which they had no
title. The general who commanded for Atahualpa in Quito, seized the
brother and children of his master, put them to a cruel death, and,
disclaiming any connection with either Inca, endeavoured to establish a
separate kingdom for himself.”[70]
The Spaniards eventually became masters of the whole empire, and in
their endeavours to obliterate every record of its past history they
burned everything they found which had any hieroglyphics or painting on
it. Though only the ruins of monuments remain, yet these attest the
superior ingenuity of the Peruvians. Ruins of sacred or royal buildings
are found in every province of the empire, and by their great number
demonstrate that they are monuments of a powerful people. They appear
to have been edifices of various dimensions; some of a moderate size,
many of immense extent, but all remarkable for solidity, and resembling
each other in style of architecture.
“The temple of Pachacamac, together with a palace of the Inca, and a
fortress, were so connected together as to form one great structure,
above half a league in circuit. In this prodigious pile the same
singular taste in building is conspicuous as in other works of the
Peruvians.”
The land of the Peruvians and the Mexicans contained the precious
metals in greater abundance than any other part of America; and Moses
taught them to obtain gold by searching in the channels of rivers, or
washing the earth in which particles of it were contained. But in order
to procure silver, under his instruction, they exerted no
inconsiderable degree of skill and invention. They hollowed deep
caverns in the banks of rivers, and the sides of mountains, and
exhausted such veins as did not dip suddenly beyond their reach. In
other places, where the vein lay near the surface, they dug pits to
such a depth that the person who worked below could throw out the ore,
or hand it up in baskets. Moses taught them, moreover, the art of
smelting and refining, either by the simple application of fire, or,
where the ore was more stubborn, and impregnated with foreign
substances, by placing it in small ovens or furnaces, so constructed on
high ground that the draught of air performed the functions of a
bellows. By this simple device the purer ores were smelted with
facility; and the quantity of silver in Peru was so considerable that
many of the utensils commonly employed were made of it.
In the land of Midian, where the Law-giver dwelt for many years, there
are remains of similar caverns and pits where mines of the precious
metal have been worked, which attest his ingenuity and skill.
“In the armoury[71] of the royal palace at Madrid are shown suits of
armour, which are called Montezuma’s. They are composed of thin
lacquered copper-plates. In the opinion of very intelligent judges,
they are evidently eastern. The forms of the silver ornaments upon
them, representing dragons, &c., may be considered as confirmation of
this.
“The only unquestionable specimen of Mexican art that I know of in
Great Britain, is a cup of very fine gold, which is said to have
belonged to Montezuma. It weighs 5 oz. 12 dwt. Three drawings of it
were exhibited to the Society of Antiquaries, June 10, 1765. A man’s
head is represented on the cup. On one side the full face, on the other
the profile, on the third the back parts of the head. The relievo is
said to have been produced by pinching the inside of the cup, so as to
make the representation of a face on the outside. The features are
gross, but represented with some degree of art. This cup was purchased
by Edward, Earl of Orford, while he lay in the harbour of Cadiz with
the fleet under his command, and is now in the possession of his
grandson, Lord Archer. I am indebted for this information to my
respectable and ingenious friend Mr. Barrington.
“As the Mexican paintings are the most curious monument extant of the
earliest mode of writing, it will not be improper to give some account
of the means by which they were preserved from the general wreck of
every work of art in America, and communicated to the public. For the
most early and complete collection of these published by Purchas, we
are indebted to the attention of that curious inquirer, Hakluyt.
“Don Antonio Mendoza, viceroy of New Spain, having deemed those
paintings a proper present for Charles V., the ship in which they were
sent to Spain was taken by a French cruiser, and they came into the
possession of Thevet, the King’s geographer, who, having travelled
himself into the New World, and described one of its provinces, was a
curious observer of whatever tended to illustrate the manners of the
Americans.
“On his death they were purchased by Hakluyt, at that time chaplain of
the English ambassador to the French court; and being left by him to
Purchas, were published at the desire of the learned antiquary Sir
Henry Spelman. They were translated from English into French by
Melchizedeck Thevenot, and published in his collection of voyages, A.D.
1683.
“The second specimen of Mexican picture-writing was published by Dr.
Francis Gemelli Carreri, in two copper-plates. The first is a map, or
representation of the progress of the ancient Mexicans[72] on their
first arrival in the country, and of the various stations in which they
settled, before they founded the capital of their empire in the lake of
Mexico. The second is a chronological wheel, or circle, representing
the manner in which they computed and marked their cycle of fifty-two
years. He received both from Don Carlos de Siguenza y Congorra, a
diligent collector of ancient Mexican documents.
“But as it seems now to be a received opinion (founded, as far as I
know, on no good evidence) that Carreri was never out of Italy, and
that his famous _Giro del Mundo_ is an account of a fictitious voyage,
I have not mentioned these paintings in the text. They have, however,
manifestly the appearance of being Mexican productions, and are allowed
to be so by Boturini, who was well qualified to determine whether they
were genuine or supposititious. Mr. Clavigero likewise admits them to
be genuine paintings of the ancient Mexicans. To me they always
appeared to be so, though, from my desire to rest no part of my
narrative upon questionable authority, I did not refer to them.
“The style of painting in the former is considerably more perfect than
any other specimen of Mexican design; but as the original is said to
have been much defaced by time, I suspect that it has been improved by
some touches from the hand of an European artist. The chronological
wheel is a just delineation of the Mexican mode of computing time, as
described by Acosta. It seems to resemble one which that learned Jesuit
had seen; and if it be admitted as a genuine monument, it proves that
the Mexicans had artificial or arbitrary characters, which represented
several things besides numbers. Each month is there represented by a
symbol expressive of some work or rite peculiar to it.
“The third specimen of Mexican painting was discovered by another
Italian. In 1736, Lorenzo Boturini Benaduci set out for New Spain, and
was led by several incidents to study the language of the Mexicans, and
to collect the remains of their historical monuments. He persisted nine
years in his researches, with the enthusiasm of a projector and the
patience of an antiquary.
“In 1746 he published, at Madrid, _Idea de una Nueva Historia General
de la America Septentrional_, containing an account of the result of
his inquiries; and he added to it a catalogue of his American
historical Museum, arranged under thirty-six different heads. His idea
of a New History appears to me the work of a whimsical, credulous man.
But his catalogue of Mexican maps, paintings, tribute-rolls, calendars,
&c., is much larger than one could have expected. Unfortunately a ship,
in which he had sent a considerable part of them to Europe, was taken
by an English privateer during the war between Great Britain and Spain,
which commenced in the year 1739; and it is probable that they perished
by falling into the hands of ignorant captors.
“Boturini himself incurred the displeasure of the Spanish court, and
died in an hospital in Madrid. The history, of which the _Idea, &c._,
was only a prospectus, was never published. The remainder of his Museum
seems to have been dispersed. Some part of it came into the possession
of the present Archbishop of Toledo, when he was primate of New Spain;
and he published from it that curious tribute-roll which I have
mentioned.
“The only other collection of Mexican paintings, as far as I can learn,
is in the Imperial Library at Vienna. By order of their imperial
majesties, I have obtained such a specimen of these as I desired, in
eight paintings made with so much fidelity that I am informed the
copies could hardly be distinguished from the originals. According to a
note in this Codex Mexicanus, it appears to have been a present from
Emanuel, King of Portugal, to Pope Clement VII., who died A.D. 1533.
After passing through the hands of several illustrious proprietors, it
fell into those of Cardinal of Saxe-Eisenach, who presented it to the
Emperor Leopold. These paintings are manifestly Mexican, but they are
in a style very different from any of the former. An engraving has been
made of one of them. Were it an object of sufficient importance, it
might, perhaps, be possible, by recourse to the plates of Purchas, and
the Archbishop of Toledo, as a key, to form plausible conjectures
concerning the meaning of this picture. Many of the figures are
evidently similar. The targets and darts, are almost in the same form
with those published by Purchas. The figures of temples, nearly
resemble those in Purchas and in Lorenzana. A bale of mantles, or
cotton cloths, is also shown, the figure of which occurs almost in
every plate of Purchas and Lorenzana; and there appear to be Mexican
captains in their war-dress, the fantastic ornaments of which resemble
the figures in Purchas. I should suppose this picture to be a
tribute-roll, as the mode of noting numbers occurs frequently.
“According to Boturini the mode of computation by the number of knots
was known to the Mexicans as well as to the Peruvians, and the manner
in which the number of units is represented in the Mexican paintings in
my possession seems to confirm this opinion. They plainly resemble a
string of knots on a cord or slender rope.
“Since I published the former edition, Mr. Waddilove, who is still
pleased to continue his friendly attention to procure me information,
has discovered, in the library of the Escurial, a volume in folio,
consisting of forty sheets of a kind of paste-board, each the size of a
common sheet of writing-paper, with great variety of uncouth and
whimsical figures of Mexican painting, in very fresh colours, and with
an explanation in Spanish to most of them. The first twenty-two sheets
are the signs of the months, days, &c. About the middle of each sheet
are two or more large figures for the month, surrounded by the signs of
the days. The last eighteen sheets are not so filled with figures. They
seem to be signs of deities, and images of various objects.
“According to this Calendar in the Escurial, the Mexican year contained
286 days, divided into 22 months of 13 days. Each day is represented by
a different sign, taken from some natural object, a serpent, a dog, a
lizard, a reed, a house, &c. The signs of days in the Calendar of the
Escurial are precisely the same with those mentioned by Boturini,
_Idea, &c._, p. 45.
“But, if we may give credit to that author, the Mexican year contained
360 days, divided into 18 months of 20 days. The order of days in every
month was computed, according to him, first by what he calls a
tridecenary progression of days from one to thirteen, in the same
manner as in the Calendar of the Escurial, and then by a septenary
progression of days from one to seven, making in all twenty. In this
Calendar not only the signs which distinguish each day, but the
qualities supposed to be peculiar to each month, are marked.
“The paste-board, or whatever substance it may be on which the Calendar
in the Escurial is painted, seems, by Mr. Waddilove’s description of
it, to resemble nearly that in the Imperial Library in Vienna. In
several particulars the figures bear some likeness to those in the
plate which I have published. The figures ... which induced me to
conjecture that this painting might be a tribute-roll similar to those
published by Purchas and the Archbishop of Toledo, Mr. Waddilove
supposed to be signs of days; and I have such confidence in the
accuracy of his observations as to conclude his opinion to be well
founded.
“It appears, from the characters in which the explanations of the
figures are written, that this curious monument of Mexican art had been
obtained soon after the conquest of the Empire. It is singular that it
should never have been mentioned by any Spanish author.”
The following are the various modes in which the Mexicans contributed
towards the support of government, modes resembling the revenue system
of Egypt in ancient times. Some persons of the first order were
exempted from payment of tribute, but at the same time were bound to
personal service in war, and to follow the banner of their sovereign
with their vassals. The immediate vassals of the crown not only
contributed by personal military service, but also paid a certain
proportion of the produce of their lands in kind. Those who held
offices of honour or trust paid a certain share of the emoluments
derived therefrom.
Each “association” cultivated some part of the common field allotted to
it, for the behoof of the crown, and deposited the produce in the royal
granaries. Some part of whatever was brought to the public markets,
whether fruits of the earth or the various productions of artists and
manufacturers, was demanded for the public use, and the merchants who
paid this tax were exempted from every other. The peasants were bound
to cultivate certain districts in every province, which may be
considered as crown lands, and brought the increase into public
storehouses.
Thus the sovereign received some part of whatever was useful or
valuable in the country, whether it was the natural production of the
soil, or the result of the industry of the people. Yet what each
contributed towards the support of government was inconsiderable, the
value of it in money being not more than about eighteen-pence or two
shillings per head.