named Huayna Capac, was on the throne. He is said to have been a great
prince, as much distinguished by his wisdom and benevolence as for his
martial talents. He subdued Quito, and thus added to his dominions
a country nearly as large in extent and resources as his own. This
city became another capital of his realm, and here he often resided.
Contrary to the law, which forbade the intermarriage of the Incas with
others than their own race, he wedded a daughter of the King of Quito.
He died in the year 1529, leaving Atahualpa, his son by the princess
of Quito, heir to that kingdom. The rest of his dominions he left to
Huascar, his eldest son by another wife of the race of the Incas.
This procedure was so contrary to all the laws and usages of the
empire, that the Peruvians, though they revered in the highest degree
their deceased monarch, who had added such lustre to his reign, could
not contentedly submit to the division of the empire. They urged on
Huascar, therefore, to require his brother to renounce his claim to the
government of Quito, and acknowledge him as his liege lord. Atahualpa,
however, had already gained a large body of Peruvian troops, who had
followed his father to Quito, and who were the best portion of the
army. He therefore not only refused to comply with his brother’s
demand, but marched against him with a chosen army. A civil war ensued.
Atahualpa, being superior in force, triumphed over Huascar, the
rightful monarch; and, conscious that he was only partially descended
from the Incas, he sought to confirm himself by utterly exterminating
all the children of the sun, or the descendants of Manco Capac. To
establish yet further his own authority, he kept his brother alive, in
whose name he issued his own orders to the various parts of the empire.
The effect of this civil war was most disastrous to this hitherto
prosperous empire. It rent it asunder at the very time when a crafty
foe was preparing its subjugation, and when the force of united
counsels and efforts were needed for the safety of the nation. Had the
Spaniards entered Peru under the reign of Huayna Capac, they would have
found a far different state of things, and possibly Peru might, for
many succeeding years, have enjoyed prosperity under the sway of her
own beneficent monarchs, instead of being trampled under the foot of a
foreign invader.
When Pizarro, with Almagro and De Luque, first established a colony at
the mouth of the River Piura, in 1532, he had already acquired some
knowledge of the unnatural contest in which the brothers had been
engaged. He had been advancing gradually, for three or four years,
from Panama, till he had gained the very heart of the empire, without
the contending parties apparently being aware that the common enemy
was on his march for their ruin. Huascar, having finally learned of
this event, sent messengers to Pizarro to entreat his aid against his
usurping brother. The wily Spaniard at once saw the advantage he might
derive from the intestine divisions of the empire, and hastened forward
without waiting for the reinforcements he was expecting from Panama.
He began his march from his new colony, called St. Michael, where he
left a garrison, with only sixty-two horsemen and one hundred and two
foot soldiers, of whom twenty were armed with cross-bows, and three
with muskets. He marched for Caxamalca, a small town at the distance
of twelve days’ march from St. Michael. Here Atahualpa was encamped
with a considerable number of troops. While Pizarro was on his way,
a messenger met him from that prince, offering his alliance, and an
assurance of his friendly reception at Caxamalca. Pizarro, seizing upon
the occasion, returned answer that he came from a powerful monarch,
with the design of offering his aid to Atahualpa to sustain him against
those who disputed his right to the throne.
The Peruvians were utterly at a loss how to account for the sudden
appearance of the Spaniards. They viewed them as superior beings, but,
as was the case with the inhabitants of Cholula, in respect to Cortés,
they could not decide whether they were to be regarded as possessed of
beneficent or cruel intentions. The conduct of the Spaniards did not
apparently agree with their professions; for while they declared that
their object was to enlighten the natives in the truth, and render them
more happy, they were often guilty of flagrant outrage and cruelty.
The Inca, however, satisfied by the message of Pizarro, was prepared
to repose unbounded confidence in his expected visiter. The Spaniards
were allowed to cross the desert, where they might have been easily
checked on their march, and to pass in safety through the defiles of
the mountains, which were so narrow and difficult of entrance, that a
few men might have maintained their ground against a large force. They
also took possession of a fortress erected there for the defence of the
country, and then advanced to Caxamalca.
As they approached, Atahualpa sent them messengers with more costly
presents than before. Pizarro entered the city with his troops, and
took possession of a large court, having on one side of it the palace
of the Inca, and on the other a temple of the sun. Around the whole was
a strong rampart, or wall of earth. Atahualpa was in his camp about
three miles from the city. Messengers, therefore, were despatched
immediately to him by Pizarro, with the same declarations and
assurances as before, to request an interview, that he might in person
more fully inform him respecting his design in visiting his empire.
These messengers were astonished at the appearance of order and decency
which reigned at the Peruvian court, and still more at the display of
gold and silver which everywhere met their view. They were received
with the utmost cordiality, and hospitably entertained. On their
return to Pizarro, the account they gave of the splendor with which
their eyes had been dazzled, led him to form the perfidious resolution
of seizing the monarch, as Cortés had done Montezuma, in the very
heart of his empire. He deliberately formed his plan, regardless of
the character of ambassador which he had assumed, or of the confidence
that Atahualpa reposed in his promises, and made all the requisite
preparations for executing it at once. Dividing his horsemen into three
small squadrons or companies, he selected from his infantry twenty men
of the most tried courage, whom he retained as his body-guard and to
aid him in his attempt, while he posted his artillery and cross-bowmen
opposite the avenue by which Atahualpa was to make his approach.
Early on the morning of the 16th of November, Atahualpa made
preparations for visiting the new comers. Desirous to impress on his
visitors the strongest sense of his greatness and splendor, the day was
far advanced before the procession began its march, and so slow was its
progress, that Pizarro finally became apprehensive lest the monarch had
penetrated his treacherous designs, and determined not to place himself
within his reach. To quiet such fears, if any existed, the Spaniard
sent him still another embassy to assure him of his friendship and
kind intentions. Finally the Inca made his appearance with the pomp
of a mighty monarch. He was preceded by 400 men in a uniform dress,
to prepare his way, and sitting on a throne adorned with beautiful
plumes, almost covered with plates of gold and silver, and enriched
with precious stones, he was borne on the shoulders of a number of his
principal attendants. After him followed his chief officers, carried
in a similar manner; bands of singers and dancers also mingling in the
procession, and troops to the number, it is said, of 30,000 men.
The Spanish priest, Valverde, met him, on his approach to Pizarro, with
a crucifix in his hand, and, discoursing to him on various doctrines
of the Catholic faith, demanded of him an acknowledgment of the Pope
and the monarch of Castile as his spiritual and temporal liege lords,
on penalty of war and vengeance. Atahualpa, even with the aid of
interpretation, was unable to comprehend this harangue so entirely
unexpected to himself, and when made acquainted with a portion of it,
was most indignant at such an attack on his rights as an independent
ruler of his realm. He calmly replied, however, that he was possessed
of his dominions by hereditary succession; that no pope or priest could
grant his realm to another without his consent; that he had no wish to
renounce the worship of his country’s god, the sun, to embrace that of
the Spaniards. As for what the priest had assured him of, he desired to
know where these extraordinary matters were to be found.
“In this book,” replied Valverde, reaching out his breviary. The Inca,
opening it, and turning over its leaves, applied it to his ear. “This,”
said he, “is silent, it tells me nothing,” and threw it contemptuously
to the ground. The monk, roused to the utmost pitch of indignation,
ran towards the Spaniards, crying out, “To arms, to arms, Christians,
the word of God is insulted; avenge the profanation of these impious
heathen dogs.” Pizarro, who had hitherto restrained his soldiery,
though inflamed with the desire of plundering the wealth which met
their view, now gave the signal of assault. The sound of the martial
music, the roar of the cannon and musketry, with the charge of horse,
and the impetuosity of the attack, all combined at once, threw the
Peruvians into confusion. They fled in dismay, without the slightest
attempt at defence, while Pizarro, with his chosen band, at once
pressed forward to the royal seat, and piercing the crowd of devoted
nobles, who sacrificed themselves to protect him, seized on the Inca,
dragged him to the ground, and led him off prisoner to the Spanish
quarters. The flying troops were pursued with the most unrelenting
fury, and they continued to fall victims to their merciless invaders
till the day closed. More than 4,000 Peruvians are said to have
perished; not a single Spaniard was killed, and but one was wounded.
The captive Inca was miserably dejected in spirit, though Pizarro
affected to treat him with kindness and respect. Gradually becoming
acquainted with the ruling passion of the invaders, he offered, on
condition of his being liberated, to fill the room in which he was
confined, which was twenty-two feet long and sixteen broad, with
vessels of gold, as high as he could reach. Pizarro agreed to the
proposal, and marked out the requisite height by a line on the walls.
The Inca, accordingly, sent out orders for the ransom to be gathered
from Quito and Cuzco, where the greatest quantities of gold and
silver were amassed in the temples. The commands of the monarch were
respected and obeyed, and persons were instantly employed in bringing
together the needed treasure. While this was going on, Pizarro received
information of the approach of a reinforcement. This was a new source
of alarm to the captive sovereign, especially as he also learned that
some Spaniards had visited his brother Huascar in his prison, who had
promised them, if they would take his part, far greater wealth than
Atahualpa had done. To prevent this, he determined to have his brother
put to death, and his commands to that effect were executed accordingly.
The promised treasure was now collected, but Pizarro, with unexampled
treachery, not only refused to release his prisoner, but determined
to put him to death. To this he was instigated not only by the newly
arrived Spaniards, but by an Indian, his interpreter, whom he had
carried off some years before from beyond Panama, and who had conceived
a passion for one of the wives of Atahualpa. He also alarmed the
Spaniard with accounts of forces assembling in various parts of the
empire, and imputed these preparations for war, to the commands of the
captive monarch. Atahualpa himself, by his own imprudence, brought
about the fatal result. Attaching himself especially to Ferdinand
Pizarro and De Soto, persons superior, both in birth and education, to
Pizarro himself, and who treated him with kindness and attention, he
began gradually to regard Pizarro with contempt. He appears to have
been a prince of no mean talents, and, observing the mode by which the
Spaniards communicated their thoughts to each other by writing, he
greatly admired the art, but was at a loss to determine whether it was
a natural or an acquired one.
To satisfy himself on this point, he requested one of the soldiers
to write the name of God on the nail of his thumb. This he showed to
numbers of the Spaniards, asking its meaning, and, to his astonishment,
they all told him the same thing. At length, when Pizarro came, he
put the question to him, and the illiterate adventurer, blushing with
shame, was compelled to acknowledge his ignorance. Ever after this,
Atahualpa regarded the Spanish commander with a degree of contempt,
and the consciousness of this fact, rankling in the breast of Pizarro,
fixed his purpose of putting his royal captive to death.
To give some color to his injustice, a species of trial was instituted.
The monarch was arraigned on the charges of usurping the throne, of
putting his brother and sovereign to death, of having commanded human
sacrifices, of maintaining many concubines or wives, and having wasted
treasures since his captivity which belonged to the Spaniards. Beside
all these charges, he was accused of having excited his subjects to
rebellion against his conquerors. On such accusations as these, before
the self-constituted tribunal who had already doomed their victim, the
wretched Atahualpa was found guilty and condemned to be burned alive.
He besought Pizarro to send him to Spain to be tried, and condemned, if
he must be so, by a king. But this was not part of Pizarro’s plan, and
he gave orders for his immediate execution. To save himself from the
cruel death which was prepared for him, the miserable victim of perfidy
and cruelty asked to be baptized; in consideration of which he was
strangled at the stake, instead of being burned alive.
A son of the murdered Inca was then proclaimed by Pizarro as monarch
of Peru, in the hope that he might thus control the empire as he
pleased. But the people of Cuzco and the country in that vicinity
chose Manco Capac, a brother of Huascar, as the Inca, and rightful
successor to the supreme authority. Civil wars at once followed, and
the government was rent in pieces. Usurpers and aspirants sprung up in
various parts of the realm, claiming independent power; the general of
the late sovereign at Quito, seized the brother and children of his
master, put them to death, and claimed the throne for himself.
These intestine divisions, as they weakened the Peruvian power,
prepared the way for Pizarro to advance to Cuzco. Several battles
were fought, but the city was finally reached and taken without
resistance. The son of Atahualpa died on the march, and the Peruvians
seem generally to have admitted the claim of Manco Capac to the
vacant throne. Quito also soon fell into the hands of another band
of invaders, who were led on by the officer whom Pizarro had left
as governor of St. Michael. The Spaniards, however, found to their
disappointment, that the city was stripped of its treasures, the people
having carried them away.
Once in possession of Peru, Pizarro devoted himself to the arranging
of its districts, to the appointment of officers, the establishing
of regulations for the administration of justice, the collection
of revenue, and the working of the mines. Here the Peruvians, the
former masters, were driven as slaves to toil for their oppressors.
Multitudes of adventurers from Spain now flocked to the conquered
country, and forming themselves into various small bands, each led by
some adventurous officer, they set forth for the invasion of different
provinces of the empire, which were yet unsubdued.
Manco Capac was not a listless observer of these proceedings.
Perceiving that but a few troops remained in Cuzco, where he resided,
jealously watched by the Spaniards, he secretly issued his commands
for his subjects to assemble at a short distance from the capital,
where he obtained leave to go to attend a solemn festival. As soon
as he appeared, the banner was unfurled, and the war began. All the
warriors were gathered, and the whole country from Quito to Chili was
soon in arms. Many of the Spaniards, scattered over the country, and
not expecting such an attack, were cut off. An army, according to the
Spanish writers, of 200,000 men assaulted Cuzco, which was defended
by only 170 Spaniards. At the same time, Pizarro’s new city of Lima
was besieged, while he was obliged to remain within. All communication
between the two cities was cut off; and the besieged in either place
were in utter ignorance of the fate of each other.
The Inca commanded in person at Cuzco, and here it was that the
Peruvians made their greatest efforts. For nine whole months, they
carried on the siege, displaying great skill, and profiting by their
observations on the discipline of their enemies. To render their
efforts yet more successful, they armed some of their most valiant
men with the swords, spears, and bucklers which they had taken from
the Spaniards whom they had put to death throughout the country. Some
even made trial of the Spanish muskets, and charged their foe, mounted
on horses, and led by the Inca in person. In spite of the most active
defence, Manco Capac gained possession of one half of his capital, and
probably nothing but the sudden appearance of Almagro’s troops saved
the dispirited Spaniards from quitting Cuzco, or perishing in battle.
The force of Almagro was regarded by both parties as the umpire of
the contest, and both sought his aid. He and the Pizarros had been
at variance, as the Peruvians knew, and Manco Capac at first sought
his friendship; but at length, despairing of success in this way, he
attacked him by surprise. This decided the question. The Peruvians
unable to effect their purpose, were defeated with great slaughter, and
their army was mostly dispersed.
Soon after this, Pizarro, having dispersed the Peruvians, who had held
him shut up in Lima, and having received also reinforcements from
Spain, advanced towards Cuzco. After fruitless negotiations, a terrible
battle was fought between himself and his brothers, and Almagro, in
which the latter was defeated and put to death. The Peruvians who seem
at first to have resolved to profit by the divisions of the Spaniards,
instead of falling on the exhausted troops of the victors, as they
should have done, retired quietly after the battle, perhaps more than
ever impressed with a sense of the superiority of their discipline.
This bloody engagement took place on the 26th of April, 1538.
In the following ten or twelve years, there were a succession of
contests for power between different parties of the Spaniards,
during which time we lose sight of Manco Capac and the Peruvians,
except that we know that these people, pressed by hard service, were
rapidly wasting away. The representations of the benevolent Las
Casas at length reached the Spanish monarch, and influenced him to
avert some of the evils with which the natives were threatened, by
the establishment of a more firm and equitable government. This was
finally accomplished by the wisdom of the viceroy, Pedro de la Gasca,
after the entire defeat and death of the last of the Pizarros, who had
rebelled against the king’s appointment, in 1549. This officer made
regulations concerning the treatment of the Indians, by which they
might be protected from oppression, and be instructed in the principles
of religion. Still they were obliged to labor for the Spaniards, being
attached to the land itself, and apportioned out to the various persons
who owned the estates.
Like almost all conquered and enslaved people, their numbers have
lessened, while they have been subjected to the fluctuations of ages.
They are now said to be feeble and depressed beyond any people of
America, seeming scarcely capable of bold and manly exertion. Some
whole districts, especially in the ancient kingdom of Quito, have
continued to be occupied almost entirely by the Indians. In some places
they exercise the mechanic arts, and belong to the lower class of the
population. Some of them have become converts to the Roman Catholic
priests; while some still remember and reverence the institutions of
their fathers, and sometimes secretly assemble and engage in ancient
idolatrous rites.
Robertson computed the number of native Indians in Peru at the time he
wrote to be 2,449,120. They are said to have “small features, little
feet, sleek, coarse, black hair, and scarcely any beard.” They have
been represented as sunk in apathy and insensibility, but the shy,
reserved, and gloomy, though tame aspect which they present, is the
fruit of long oppression, and accumulated wrongs. They still retain the
deepest and most mournful recollections of the Inca, and celebrate his
death by a sort of rude drama, accompanied by the most melting strains
of music.
[Illustration]
FOOTNOTE:
[2] In the “Lives of Famous Indians,” we have offered a few suggestions
on this subject. If the reader perceives some repetition of facts in
this article, to be found in that just mentioned, he will consider
that it is a part of our design to render each volume of the “Cabinet
Library,” complete in itself.
THE ARAUCANIANS.
The Araucanians inhabit the southern part of Chili, and derive their
name from the province of Arauco. They are a nation enthusiastically
attached to freedom, and pride themselves in the appellation of _Auca_,
which signifies free. They are muscular, robust, of great strength
of constitution, and often attain the age of 90 or 100 years. They
are bold and warlike, and have ever been most determined foes to all
the Spanish invaders of their native country; and, by their warlike
disposition and fiery courage, have occasioned great trouble to the
Spaniards ever since they became acquainted with them. All attempts to
subjugate them to the sway of the Europeans have been unsuccessful.
Their military system is greatly superior to that of the surrounding
nations, and the degree of discipline they had gained enabled them to
carry on long and bloody wars with the Spaniards who overrun Chili,
in the early part of the sixteenth century. Their state was divided
into four nearly equal portions, to which they gave the name of the
_maritime_ country, the _plain_ country, the country _at the foot of
the Andes_, and that of the _Andes_. Each of these great divisions was
also subdivided into five smaller ones, and each of these in turn into
nine still less. These divisions of Araucania were existing previous to
the arrival of the Spaniards.
The government, which is aristocratic, is said to be a sort of state,
in which there are three orders of nobility, with gradations of rank,
called the _toquis_, the _asse-ulmenes_, and the _ulmenes_, all of whom
have their vassals. Each order has its badge, and the triple power that
constitutes the sovereign authority is vested in a general diet, or
grand council, which is usually held in some large plain, where they
feast and deliberate. The grand council elect a commander-in-chief
to lead them in war, who may belong to the inferior ranks, if he is
thought of greater ability than any one in the superior ranks. The
Puelches, a hardy race of mountaineers, formerly a distinct people,
have been united with the Araucanians, under the same government, and
this part of the nation are considered entitled to have the vice-toqui
chosen from among them.