distance of twenty leagues from us, in a town called Jauja. I sent to
tell him to come and see me, and he replied that I should take the road
to Cajamarca, and that he would take another road and meet me. The
Governor, on hearing that the captain was for peace and that he was
ready to come with me, wrote to me to tell me to return; and he sent
three Christians to Cuzco, which is fifty leagues beyond Jauja, to take
possession and to see the country. I returned by the road of Cajamarca,
and by another road, where the captain of Atahualpa was to join me. But
he had not started; and I learned from certain chiefs that he had not
moved, and that he had taken me in. So I went back to the place where he
was, and the road was very rugged, and so obstructed with snow that it
cost us much labor to get there. Having reached the royal road, and come
to a place called Bombon, I met a captain of Atahualpa with five
thousand armed Indians whom Atahualpa had sent on pretence of conquering
a rebel chief; but, as it afterward appeared, they were assembled to
kill the Christians. Here we found five hundred thousand pesos of gold
that they were taking to Cajamarca. This captain told me that the
captain-general remained in Jauja, that he knew of our approach, and was
much afraid. I sent a messenger to him to tell him to remain where he
was and to fear nothing. I also found a negro here who had gone with the
Christians to Cuzco, and he told me that these fears were feigned; for
that the captain-general had many well-armed men with him, that he
counted them by his knots in presence of the Christians, and that they
numbered thirty-five thousand Indians. So we went to Jauja, and, when we
were half a league from the town, and found that the captain did not
come out to receive us, a chief of Atahualpa, whom I had with me and
whom I had treated well, advised me to advance in order of battle,
because he believed that the captain intended to fight. We went up a
small hill overlooking Jauja, and saw a large black mass in the plaza,
which appeared to be something that had been burned. I asked what it
was, and they told me it was a crowd of Indians. The plaza is large, and
has a length of a quarter of a league. As no one came to receive us on
reaching the town, our people advanced in the expectation of having to
fight the Indians. But, at the entrance of the square, some principal
men came out to meet us with offers of peace, and told us that the
captain was not there, as he had gone to reduce certain chiefs to
submission. It would seem that he had gone out of fear, with some of his
troops, and had crossed a river near the town by a bridge of network. I
sent to tell him to come to me peaceably or else the Christians would
destroy him. Next morning the people came who were in the square. They
were Indian servants, and it is true that they numbered over a hundred
thousand souls. We remained here five days, and during all that time
they did nothing but dance and sing and hold great drinking-feasts. The
captain did not wish to come with me, but when he saw that I was
determined to make him he came of his own accord. I left the chief who
came with me as captain there. This town of Jauja is very fine and
picturesque, with very good level approaches, and it has an excellent
river-bank. In all my travels I did not see a better site for a
Christian settlement, and I believe that the Governor intends to form
one there, though some think that it would be more convenient to select
a position near the sea, and are, therefore, of an opposite opinion. All
the country, from Jauja to Cajamarca, by the road we returned, is like
that of which I have already given a description.
After returning to Cajamarca and reporting my proceedings to the
Governor, he ordered me to go to Spain and to give an account to his
majesty of this and other things which appertain to his service. I took,
from the heap of gold, one hundred thousand castellanos for his majesty,
being the amount of his fifth. The day after I left Cajamarca, the
Christians, who had gone to Cuzco, returned, and brought one million
five hundred thousand of gold. After I arrived at Panama, another ship
came in, with some knights. They say that a distribution of the gold was
made; and that the share of his majesty, besides the one hundred
thousand pesos and the five thousand marcos of silver that I bring, was
another one hundred sixty-five thousand castellanos and seven thousand
or eight thousand marcos of silver; while to all those of us who had
gone, a further share of gold was sent.
After my departure, according to what the Governor writes to me, it
became known that Atahualpa had assembled troops to make war on the
Christians, and justice was done upon him. The Governor made his
brother, who was an enemy, lord in his place. Molina comes to this city,
and from him your worships may learn anything else that you may desire
to know. The shares of the troops were, to the horsemen nine thousand
castellanos, to the Governor six thousand, to me three thousand. The
Governor has derived no other profit from that land, nor has there been
deceit or fraud in the account. I say this to your worships because, if
any other statement is made, this is the truth. May our lord long guard
and prosper the magnificent persons of your worships.
Done in this city, November, 1533. At the service of your worships,
HERNANDO PIZARRO.
WILLIAM H. PRESCOTT
The clouds of the evening had passed away, and the sun rose bright on
the following morning, the most remarkable epoch in the annals of Peru.
It was Saturday, November 16, 1532. The loud cry of the trumpet called
the Spaniards to arms with the first streak of dawn; and Pizarro,
briefly acquainting them with the plan of the assault, made the
necessary dispositions.
The plaza was defended on its three sides by low ranges of buildings,
consisting of spacious halls with wide doors or vomitories opening into
the square. In these halls he stationed his cavalry in two divisions,
one under his brother Hernando, the other under De Soto. The infantry he
placed in another of the buildings, reserving twenty chosen men to act
with himself as occasion might require. Pedro de Candia, with a few
soldiers and the artillery, comprehending under this imposing name two
small pieces of ordnance called falconets, he established in the
fortress. All received orders to wait at their posts till the arrival of
the Inca. After his entrance into the great square, they were still to
remain under cover, withdrawn from observation, till the signal was
given by the discharge of a gun, when they were to cry their war-cries,
to rush out in a body from their covert, and, putting the Peruvians to
the sword, bear off the person of the Inca. The arrangements of the
immense halls, opening on a level with the plaza, seemed to be contrived
on purpose for a _coup de theatre_. Pizarro particularly inculcated
order and implicit obedience, that in the hurry of the moment there
should be no confusion. Everything depended on their acting with
concert, coolness, and celerity.
The chief next saw that their arms were in good order, and that the
breastplates of their horses were garnished with bells, to add by their
noise to the consternation of the Indians. Refreshments were also
liberally provided, that the troops should be in condition for the
conflict. These arrangements being completed, mass was performed with
great solemnity by the ecclesiastics who attended the expedition; the
God of battles was invoked to spread his shield over the soldiers who
were fighting to extend the empire of the cross; and all joined with
enthusiasm in the chant, "_Exsurge, Domine_" ("Rise, O Lord! and judge
thine own cause"). One might have supposed them a company of martyrs
about to lay down their lives in defence of their faith, instead of a
licentious band of adventurers, meditating one of the most atrocious
acts of perfidy on the record of history; yet, whatever were the vices
of the Castilian cavalier, hypocrisy was not among the number. He felt
that he was battling for the Cross, and under this conviction, exalted
as it was at such a moment as this into the predominant impulse, he was
blind to the baser motives which mingled with the enterprise. With
feelings thus kindled to a flame of religious ardor, the soldiers of
Pizarro looked forward with renovated spirits to the coming conflict;
and the chieftain saw with satisfaction that in the hour of trial his
men would be true to their leader and themselves.
It was late in the day before any movement was visible in the Peruvian
camp, where much preparation was making to approach the Christian
quarters with due state and ceremony. A message was received from
Atahualpa, informing the Spanish commander that he should come with his
warriors fully armed, in the same manner as the Spaniards had come to
his quarters the night preceding. This was not an agreeable intimation
to Pizarro, though he had no reason, probably, to expect the contrary.
But to object might imply distrust, or perhaps disclose, in some
measure, his own designs. He expressed his satisfaction, therefore, at
the intelligence, assuring the Inca that, come as he would, he would be
received by him as a friend and brother.
It was noon before the Indian procession was on its march, when it was
seen occupying the great causeway for a long extent. In front came a
large body of attendants, whose office seemed to be to sweep away every
particle of rubbish from the road. High above the crowd appeared the
Inca, borne on the shoulders of his principal nobles, while others of
the same rank marched by the sides of his litter, displaying such a
dazzling show of ornaments on their persons that, in the language of one
of the conquerors, "they blazed like the sun." But the greater part of
the Inca's forces mustered along the fields that lined the road, and
were spread over the broad meadows as far as the eye could reach.
When the royal procession had arrived within half a mile of the city, it
came to a halt; and Pizarro saw, with surprise, that Atahualpa was
preparing to pitch his tents as if to encamp there. A messenger soon
after arrived, informing the Spaniards that the Inca would occupy his
present station the ensuing night and enter the city on the following
morning.
This intelligence greatly disturbed Pizarro, who had shared in the
general impatience of his men at the tardy movements of the Peruvians.
The troops had been under arms since daylight, the cavalry mounted, and
the infantry at their post, waiting in silence the coming of the Inca. A
profound stillness reigned throughout the town, broken only at intervals
by the cry of the sentinel from the summit of the fortress, as he
proclaimed the movements of the Indian army. Nothing, Pizarro well knew,
was so trying to the soldiers as prolonged suspense in a critical
situation like the present; and he feared lest his ardor might
evaporate, and be succeeded by that nervous feeling natural to the
bravest soul at such a crisis, and which, if not fear, is near akin to
it. He returned an answer, therefore, to Atahualpa, deprecating his
change of purpose, and adding that he had provided everything for his
entertainment, and expected him that night to sup with him.
This message turned the Inca from his purpose; and, striking his tents
again, he resumed his march, first advising the general that he should
leave the greater part of his warriors behind, and enter the place with
only a few of them, and without arms, as he preferred to pass the night
at Cajamarca. At the same time he ordered accommodations to be provided
for himself and his retinue in one of the large stone buildings, called,
from a serpent sculptured on the walls, the "House of the Serpent". No
tidings could have been more grateful to the Spaniards. It seemed as if
the Indian monarch was eager to rush into the snare that had been spread
for him! The fanatical cavalier could not fail to discern in it the
immediate finger of Providence.
It is difficult to account for this wavering conduct of Atahualpa, so
different from the bold and decided character which history ascribes to
him. There is no doubt that he made his visit to the white men in
perfect good faith, though Pizarro was probably right in conjecturing
that this amiable disposition stood on a very precarious footing. There
is as little reason to suppose that he distrusted the sincerity of the
strangers, or he would not thus unnecessarily have proposed to visit
them unarmed. His original purpose of coming with all his force was
doubtless to display his royal state, and perhaps, also, to show greater
respect for the Spaniards; but when he consented to accept their
hospitality and pass the night in their quarters, he was willing to
dispense with a great part of his armed soldiery, and visit them in a
manner that implied entire confidence in their good faith. He was too
absolute in his own empire easily to suspect; and he probably could not
comprehend the audacity with which a few men, like those now assembled
in Cajamarca, meditated an assault on a powerful monarch in the midst of
his victorious army. He did not know the character of the Spaniard.
It was not long before sunset when the van of the royal procession
entered the gates of the city. First came some hundreds of the menials,
employed to clear the path from every obstacle, and singing songs of
triumph as they came, "which, in our ears," says one of the conquerors,
"sounded like the songs of hell!" Then followed other bodies of
different ranks and dressed in different liveries. Some wore a showy
stuff, checkered white and red, like the squares of a chess-board.
Others were clad in pure white, bearing hammers or maces of silver or
copper; and the guards, together with those in immediate attendance on
the Prince, were distinguished by a rich azure livery, and a profusion
of gay ornaments, while the large pendants attached to the ears
indicated the Peruvian noble.
Elevated high above his vassals came the Inca Atahualpa, borne on a
sedan or open litter, on which was a sort of throne made of massive gold
of inestimable value. The palanquin was lined with the richly colored
plumes of tropical birds, and studded with shining plates of gold and
silver. The monarch's attire was much richer than on the preceding
evening. Round his neck was suspended a collar of emeralds of uncommon
size and brilliancy. His short hair was decorated with golden ornaments,
and the imperial _borla_ encircled his temples. The bearing of the Inca
was sedate and dignified; and from his lofty station he looked down on
the multitudes below with an air of composure, like one accustomed to
command.
As the leading lines of the procession entered the great square--larger,
says an old chronicler, than any square in Spain--they opened to the
right and left for the royal retinue to pass. Everything was conducted
with admirable order. The monarch was permitted to traverse the plaza in
silence, and not a Spaniard was to be seen. When some five or six
thousand of his people had entered the place, Atahualpa halted, and,
turning round with an inquiring look, demanded, "Where are the
strangers?"
At this moment Fray Vicente de Valverde, a Dominican friar, Pizarro's
chaplain, and afterward Bishop of Cuzco, came forward with his breviary,
or, as other accounts say, a Bible, in one hand and a crucifix in the
other, and, approaching the Inca, told him that he came by order of his
commander to expound to him the doctrines of the true faith, for which
purpose the Spaniards had come from a great distance to his country. The
friar then explained, as clearly as he could, the mysterious doctrine of
the Trinity, and, ascending high in his account, began with the creation
of man, thence passed to his fall, to his subsequent redemption by Jesus
Christ, to the Crucifixion, and the Ascension, when the Saviour left the
apostle Peter as his vicegerent upon earth.
This power had been transmitted to the successors of the apostle, good
and wise men, who, under the title of popes, held authority over all
powers and potentates on earth. One of the last of these popes had
commissioned the Spanish Emperor, the most mighty monarch in the world,
to conquer and convert the natives in this western hemisphere; and his
general, Francisco Pizarro, had now come to execute this important
mission. The friar concluded with beseeching the Peruvian monarch to
receive him kindly, to abjure the errors of his own faith and embrace
that of the Christians now proffered to him, the only one by which he
could hope for salvation; and, furthermore, to acknowledge himself a
tributary of the emperor Charles, who, in that event, would aid and
protect him as his loyal vassal.
Whether Atahualpa possessed himself of every link in the curious chain
of argument by which the monk connected Pizarro with St. Peter, may be
doubted. It is certain, however, that he must have had very incorrect
notions of the Trinity if, as Garcilasso states, the interpreter,
Felipillo, explained it by saying that "the Christians believed in three
gods and one God, and that made four." But there is no doubt he
perfectly comprehended that the drift of the discourse was to persuade
him to resign his sceptre and acknowledge the supremacy of another.
The eyes of the Indian monarch flashed fire and his dark brow grew
darker as he replied: "I will be no man's tributary! I am greater than
any prince upon earth. Your Emperor may be a great prince; I do not
doubt it when I see that he has sent his subjects so far across the
waters; and I am willing to hold him as a brother. As for the Pope of
whom you speak, he must be crazy to talk of giving away countries which
do not belong to him. For my faith," he continued, "I will not change
it. Your own God, as you say, was put to death by the very men whom he
created. But mine," he concluded, pointing to his deity--then, alas!
sinking in glory behind the mountains--"my God still lives in the
heavens and looks down on his children."
He then demanded of Valverde by what authority he had said these things.
The friar pointed to the book which he held as his authority. Atahualpa,
taking it, turned over the pages a moment; then, as the insult he had
received probably flashed across his mind, he threw it down with
vehemence and exclaimed: "Tell your comrades that they shall give me an
account of their doings in my land. I will not go from here till they
have made me full satisfaction for all the wrongs they have committed."
The friar, greatly scandalized by the indignity offered to the sacred
volume, stayed only to pick it up, and, hastening to Pizarro, informed
him of what had been done, exclaiming at the same time: "Do you not see
that, while we stand here wasting our breath in talking with this dog,
full of pride as he is, the fields are filling with Indians? Set on at
once! I absolve you." Pizarro saw that the hour had come. He waved a
white scarf in the air, the appointed signal. The fatal gun was fired
from the fortress. Then, springing into the square, the Spanish captain
and his followers shouted the old war-cry of "St. Iago and at them!"
It was answered by the battle-cry of every Spaniard in the city, as,
rushing from the avenues of the great halls in which they were
concealed, they poured into the plaza, horse and foot, each in his own
dark column, and threw themselves into the midst of the Indian crowd.
The latter, taken by surprise, stunned by the report of artillery and
muskets, the echoes of which reverberated like thunder from the
surrounding buildings, and blinded by the smoke which rolled in
sulphurous volumes along the square, were seized with a panic. They knew
not whither to fly for refuge from the coming ruin. Nobles and
commoners, all were trampled down under the fierce charge of the
cavalry, who dealt their blows right and left without sparing; while
their swords, flashing through the thick gloom, carried dismay into the
hearts of the wretched natives, who now, for the first time, saw the
horse and his rider in all their terrors.
They made no resistance, as, indeed, they had no weapons with which to
make it. Every avenue to escape was closed, for the entrance to the
square was choked up with the dead bodies of men who had perished in
vain efforts to fly; and such was the agony of the survivors under the
terrible pressure of their assailants that a large body of Indians, by
their convulsive struggles, burst through the wall of stone and dried
clay which formed part of the boundary of the plaza! It fell, leaving an
opening of more than a hundred paces, through which multitudes now found
their way into the country, still hotly pursued by the cavalry, who,
leaping the fallen rubbish, hung on the rear of the fugitives, striking
them down in all directions.
Meanwhile the fight, or rather massacre, continued hot around the Inca,
whose person was the great object of the assault. His faithful nobles,
rallying about him, threw themselves in the way of the assailants, and
strove, by tearing them from their saddles, or, at least, by offering
their own bosoms as a mark for their vengeance, to shield their beloved
master. It is said by some authorities that they carried weapons
concealed under their clothes. If so, it availed them little, as it is
not pretended that they used them. But the most timid animal will defend
itself when at bay. That they did not so in the present instance is
proof that they had no weapons to use. Yet they still continued to force
back the cavaliers, clinging to their horses with dying grasp, and, as
one was cut down, another taking the place of his fallen comrade with a
loyalty truly affecting.
The Indian monarch, stunned and bewildered, saw his faithful subjects
falling round him without hardly comprehending his situation. The litter
on which he rode heaved to and fro as the mighty press swayed backward
and forward; and he gazed on the overwhelming ruin, like some forlorn
mariner, who, tossed about in his bark by the furious elements, sees the
lightning's flash and hears the thunder bursting around him, with the
consciousness that he can do nothing to avert his fate. At length, weary
with the work of destruction, the Spaniards, as the shades of evening
grew deeper, felt afraid that the royal prize might, after all, elude
them; and some of the cavaliers made a desperate effort to end the
affray at once by taking Atahualpa's life. But Pizarro, who was nearest
his person, called out with stentorian voice, "Let no one who values his
life strike at the Inca"; and, stretching out his arm to shield him,
received a wound on the hand from one of his own men--the only wound
received by a Spaniard in the action.
The struggle now became fiercer than ever round the royal litter. It
reeled more and more, and at length, several of the nobles who supported
it having been slain, it was overturned, and the Indian prince would
have come with violence to the ground, had not his fall been broken by
the efforts of Pizarro and some other of the cavaliers, who caught him
in their arms. The imperial borla was instantly snatched from his
temples by a soldier named Estete, and the unhappy monarch, strongly
secured, was removed to a neighboring building, where he was carefully
guarded.
All attempt at resistance now ceased. The fate of the Inca soon spread
over town and country. The charm which might have held the Peruvians
together was dissolved. Every man thought only of his own safety. Even
the soldiery encamped on the adjacent fields took alarm, and, learning
the fatal tidings, were seen flying in every direction before their
pursuers, who, in the heat of triumph, showed no touch of mercy. At
length night, more pitiful than man, threw her friendly mantle over the
fugitives, and the scattered troops of Pizarro rallied once more to the
sound of the trumpet in the bloody square of Cajamarca.
CALVIN IS DRIVEN FROM PARIS
HE MAKES GENEVA THE STRONGHOLD OF PROTESTANTISM
A.D. 1533
A. M. FAIRBAIRN
JEAN M. V. AUDIN
Among what may be called the second generation of Protestant
reformers, the great leader was John Calvin. By his
writings, and by his directive and administrative work, he
exerted a strong influence upon the reformed churches in his
own day and upon the theology and polity of later times. He
was born in France in 1509, and while still in early
manhood, having become familiar with classical learning,
with law, and especially with theology, he ardently embraced
the Protestant faith and began to preach the reformed
doctrines.
Calvin spent some time in Paris, then a centre of the "New
Learning" and of religious ferment, and there he felt the
effects of raging persecution. The publication of his great
work, the _Institutes of the Christian Religion_, marked an
epoch in the history of Protestantism. Though differing on
certain points from the teachings of Luther, it was a
powerful exposition of the Protestant faith as Calvin
understood it, severely logical in form, and especially
distinguished by its stern doctrines relating to divine
sovereignty.
When in 1536 Calvin went to live in Geneva, it was already a
Protestant city. He became virtually its ruler and made it a
kind of theocracy, or rather a "religious republic," which
he administered with vigorous laws enforced with the
greatest strictness. Zealous Protestants from many countries
gathered at Geneva, and from there the influence of Calvin,
somewhat modified by that of his Swiss predecessor Zwingli,
spread rapidly into France, England, Scotland, and Germany.
At the time of Calvin's death (1564) there were three types
of Protestantism established in the world--his own, and
those of Luther and Zwingli. In Great Britain, and afterward
in America, the Calvinistic type came to play a most
important part in religious and national development.
Two estimates of Calvin, the first from a Protestant point
of view, the second that of a Roman Catholic writer, are
here presented.
A. M. FAIRBAIRN