Peru At The Time Of The Conquest--Reign Of Huayna Capac-
The Inca Brothers--Conquest For The Empire-
Triumph And Cruelties Of Atahuallpa
Before accompanying the march of Pizarro and his followers into the
country of the Incas, it is necessary to make the reader acquainted with
the critical situation of the kingdom at that time. For the Spaniards
arrived just at the consummation of an important revolution,--at a crisis
most favorable to their views of conquest, and but for which, indeed, the
conquest, with such a handful of soldiers, could never have been
achieved.
In the latter part of the fifteenth century died Tupac Inca Yupanqui, one
of the most renowned of the "Children of the Sun," who, carrying the
Peruvian arms across the burning sands of Atacama, penetrated to the
remote borders of Chili, while in the opposite direction he enlarged the
limits of the empire by the acquisition of the southern provinces of
Quito. The war in this quarter was conducted by his son Huayna Capac,
who succeeded his father on the throne, and fully equalled him in
military daring and in capacity for government.
Under this prince, the whole of the powerful state of Quito, which
rivalled that of Peru itself in wealth and refinement, was brought under
the sceptre of the Incas; whose empire received, by this conquest, the
most important accession yet made to it since the foundation of the
dynasty of Manco Capac. The remaining days of the victorious monarch
were passed in reducing the independent tribes on the remote limits of
his territory, and, still more, in cementing his conquests by the
introduction of the Peruvian polity. He was actively engaged in
completing the great works of his father, especially the high-roads which
led from Quito to the capital. He perfected the establishment of posts,
took great pains to introduce the Quichua dialect throughout the empire,
promoted a better system of agriculture, and, in fine, encouraged the
different branches of domestic industry and the various enlightened plans
of his predecessors for the improvement of his people. Under his sway,
the Peruvian monarchy reached its most palmy state; and under both him
and his illustrious father it was advancing with such rapid strides in the
march of civilization as would soon have carried it to a level with the
more refined despotisms of Asia, furnishing the world, perhaps, with
higher evidence of the capabilities of the American Indian than is
elsewhere to be found on the great western continent.--But other and
gloomier destinies were in reserve for the Indian races.
The first arrival of the white men on the South American shores of the
Pacific was about ten years before the death of Huayna Capac, when
Balboa crossed the Gulf of St. Michael, and obtained the first clear
report of the empire of the Incas. Whether tidings of these adventurers
reached the Indian monarch's ears is doubtful. There is no doubt,
however, that he obtained the news of the first expedition under Pizarro
and Almagro, when the latter commander penetrated as far as the Rio de
San Juan, about the fourth degree north. The accounts which he received
made a strong impression on the mind of Huayna Capac. He discerned
in the formidable prowess and weapons of the invaders proofs of a
civilization far superior to that of his own people. He intimated his
apprehension that they would return, and that at some day, not far
distant, perhaps, the throne of the Incas might be shaken by these
strangers, endowed with such incomprehensible powers.1 To the vulgar
eye, it was a little speck on the verge of the horizon; but that of the
sagacious monarch seemed to descry in it the dark thunder-cloud, that
was to spread wider and wider till it burst in fury on his nation!
There is some ground for believing thus much. But other accounts,
which have obtained a popular currency, not content with this, connect
the first tidings of the white men with predictions long extant in the
country, and with supernatural appearances, which filled the hearts of the
whole nation with dismay. Comets were seen flaming athwart the
heavens. Earthquakes shook the land; the moon was girdled with rings
of fire of many colors; a thunderbolt fell on one of the royal palaces and
consumed it to ashes; and an eagle, chased by several hawks, was seen,
screaming in the air, to hover above the great square of Cuzco, when,
pierced by the talons of his tormentors, the king of birds fell lifeless in
the presence of many of the Inca nobles, who read in this an augury of
their own destruction! Huayna Capac himself, calling his great officers
around him, as he found he was drawing near his end, announced the
subversion of his empire by the race of white and bearded strangers, as
the consummation predicted by the oracles after the reign of the twelfth
Inca, and he enjoined it on his vassals not to resist the decrees of
Heaven, but to yield obedience to its messengers.2
Such is the report of the impressions made by the appearance of the
Spaniards in the country, reminding one of the similar feelings of
superstitious terror occasioned by their appearance in Mexico. But the
traditions of the latter land rest on much higher authority than those of
the Peruvians, which, unsupported by contemporary testimony, rest
almost wholly on the naked assertion of one of their own nation, who
thought to find, doubtless, in the inevitable decrees of Heaven, the best
apology for the supineness of his countrymen.
It is not improbable that rumors of the advent of a strange and
mysterious race should have spread gradually among the Indian tribes
along the great table-land of the Cordilleras, and should have shaken the
hearts of the stoutest warriors with feelings of undefined dread, as of
some impending calamity. In this state of mind, it was natural that
physical convulsions, to which that volcanic country is peculiarly
subject, should have made an unwonted impression on their minds; and
that the phenomena, which might have been regarded only as
extraordinary, in the usual seasons of political security, should now be
interpreted by the superstitious soothsayer as the handwriting on the
heavens, by which the God of the Incas proclaimed the approaching
downfall of their empire.
Huayna Capac had, as usual with the Peruvian princes, a multitude of
concubines, by whom he left a numerous posterity. The heir to the
crown, the son of his lawful wife and sister, was named Huascar.3 At the
period of the history at which we are now arrived, he was about thirty
years of age. Next to the heir-apparent, by another wife, a cousin of the
monarch's, came Manco Capac, a young prince who will occupy an
important place in our subsequent story. But the best-beloved of the
Inca's children was Atahuallpa. His mother was the daughter of the last
Scyri of Quito, who had died of grief, it was said, not long after the
subversion of his kingdom by Huayna Capac. The princess was
beautiful, and the Inca, whether to gratify his passion, or, as the
Peruvians say, willing to make amends for the ruin of her parents,
received her among his concubines. The historians of Quito assert that
she was his lawful wife; but this dignity, according to the usages of the
empire, was reserved for maidens of the Inca blood.
The latter years of Huayna Capac were passed in his new kingdom of
Quito. Atahuallpa was accordingly brought up under his own eye,
accompanied him, while in his tender years, in his campaigns, slept in
the same tent with his royal father, and ate from the same plate.4 The
vivacity of the boy, his courage and generous nature, won the affections
of the old monarch to such a degree, that he resolved to depart from the
established usages of the realm, and divide his empire between him and
his elder brother Huascar. On his death-bed, he called the great officers
of the crown around him, and declared it to be his will that the ancient
kingdom of Quito should pass to Atahuallpa, who might be considered as
having a natural claim on it, as the dominion of his ancestors. The rest
of the empire he settled on Huascar; and he enjoined it on the two
brothers to acquiesce in this arrangement, and to live in amity with each
other. This was the last act of the heroic monarch; doubtless, the most
impolitic of his whole life. With his dying breath he subverted the
fundamental laws of the empire; and, while he recommended harmony
between the successors to his authority, he left in this very division of it
the seeds of inevitable discord.5
His death took place, as seems probable, at the close of 1525, not quite
seven years before Pizarro's arrival at Puna.6 The tidings of his decease
spread sorrow and consternation throughout the land; for, though stern
and even inexorable to the rebel and the long-resisting foe, he was a
brave and magnanimous monarch, and legislated with the enlarged views
of a prince who regarded every part of his dominions as equally his
concern. The people of Quito, flattered by the proofs which he had
given of preference for them by his permanent residence in that country,
and his embellishment of their capital, manifested unfeigned sorrow at
his loss; and his subjects at Cuzco, proud of the glory which his arms and
his abilities had secured for his native land, held him in no less
admiration;7 while the more thoughtful and the more timid, in both
countries, looked with apprehension to the future, when the sceptre of
the vast empire, instead of being swayed by an old and experienced
hand, was to be consigned to rival princes, naturally jealous of one
another, and, from their age, necessarily exposed to the unwholesome
influence of crafty and ambitious counsellors. The people testified their
regret by the unwonted honors paid to the memory of the deceased Inca.
His heart was retained in Quito, and his body, embalmed after the
fashion of the country, was transported to Cuzco, to take its place in the
great temple of the Sun, by the side of the remains of his royal ancestors.
His obsequies were celebrated with sanguinary splendor in both the
capitals of his far-extended empire; and several thousand of the imperial
concubines, with numerous pages and officers of the palace, are said to
have proved their sorrow, or their superstition, by offering up their own
lives, that they might accompany their departed lord to the bright
mansions of the Sun.8
For nearly five years after the death of Huayna Capac, the royal brothers
reigned, each over his allotted portion of the empire, without distrust of
one another, or, at least, without collision. It seemed as if the wish of
their father was to be completely realized, and that the two states were to
maintain their respective integrity and independence as much as if they
had never been united into one. But, with the manifold causes for
jealousy and discontent, and the swarms of courtly sycophants, who
would find their account in fomenting these feelings, it was easy to see
that this tranquil state of things could not long endure. Nor would it
have endured so long, but for the more gentle temper of Huascar, the
only party who had ground for complaint. He was four or five years
older than his brother, and was possessed of courage not to be doubted;
but he was a prince of a generous and easy nature, and perhaps, if left to
himself, might have acquiesced in an arrangement which, however
unpalatable, was the will of his deified father. But Atahuallpa was of a
different temper. Warlike, ambitious, and daring, he was constantly
engaged in enterprises for the enlargement of his own territory, though
his crafty policy was scrupulous not to aim at extending his acquisitions
in the direction of his royal brother. His restless spirit, however, excited
some alarm at the court of Cuzco, and Huascar, at length, sent an envoy
to Atahuallpa, to remonstrate with him on his ambitious enterprises, and
to require him to render him homage for his kingdom of Quito.
This is one statement. Other accounts pretend that the immediate cause
of rupture was a claim instituted by Huascar for the territory of
Tumebamba, held by his brother as part of his patrimonial inheritance. It
matters little what was the ostensible ground of collision between
persons placed by circumstances in so false a position in regard to one
another, that collision must, at some time or other, inevitably occur.
The commencement, and, indeed, the whole course, of hostilities which
soon broke out between the rival brothers are stated with irreconcilable,
and, considering the period was so near to that of the Spanish invasion,
with unaccountable discrepancy. By some it is said, that, in Atahuallpa's
first encounter with the troops of Cuzco, he was defeated and made
prisoner near Tumebamba, a favorite residence of his father in the
ancient territory of Quito, and in the district of Canaris. From this
disaster he recovered by a fortunate escape from confinement, when,
regaining his capital, he soon found himself at the head of a numerous
army, led by the most able and experienced captains in the empire. The
liberal manners of the young Atahuallpa had endeared him to the
soldiers, with whom, as we have seen, he served more than one campaign
in his father's lifetime. These troops were the flower of the great army of
the Inca, and some of them had grown gray in his long military career,
which had left them at the north, where they readily transferred their
allegiance to the young sovereign of Quito. They were commanded by
two officers of great consideration, both possessed of large experience in
military affairs, and high in the confidence of the late Inca. One of them
was named Quizquiz; the other, who was the maternal uncle of
Atahuallpa, was called Chalicuchima.
With these practised warriors to guide him, the young monarch put
himself at the head of his martial array, and directed his march towards
the south. He had not advanced farther than Ambato, about sixty miles
distant from his capital, when he fell in with a numerous host, which had
been sent against him by his brother, under the command of a
distinguished chieftain, of the Inca family. A bloody battle followed,
which lasted the greater part of the day; and the theatre of combat was
the skirts of the mighty Chimborazo.9
The battle ended favorably for Atahuallpa, and the Peruvians were
routed with great slaughter, and the loss of their commander. The prince
of Quito availed himself of his advantage to push forward his march until
he arrived before the gates of Tumebamba, which city, as well as the
whole district of Canaris, though an ancient dependency of Quito, had
sided with his rival in the contest. Entering the captive city like a
conqueror, he put the inhabitants to the sword, and razed it with all its
stately edifices, some of which had been reared by his own father, to the
ground. He carried on the same war of extermination, as he marched
through the offending district of Canaris. In some places, it is said, the
women and children came out, with green branches in their hands, in
melancholy procession, to deprecate his wrath; but the vindictive
conqueror, deaf to their entreaties, laid the country waste with fire and
sword, sparing no man capable of bearing arms who fell into his
hands.10
The fate of Canaris struck terror into the hearts of his enemies, and one
place after another opened its gates to the victor, who held on his
triumphant march towards the Peruvian capital. His arms experienced a
temporary check before the island of Puna, whose bold warriors
maintained the cause of his brother. After some days lost before this
place, Atahuallpa left the contest to their old enemies, the people of
Tumbez, who had early given in their adhesion to him, while he resumed
his march and advanced as far as Caxamalca, about seven degrees south.
Here he halted with a detachment of the army, sending forward the main
body under the command of his two generals, with orders to move
straight upon Cuzco. He preferred not to trust himself farther in the
enemy's country, where a defeat might be fatal. By establishing his
quarters at Caxamalca, he would be able to support his generals, in case
of a reverse, or, at worst, to secure his retreat on Quito, until he was
again in condition to renew hostilities.
The two commanders, advancing by rapid marches, at length crossed the
Apurimac river, and arrived within a short distance of the Peruvian
capital.--Meanwhile, Huascar had not been idle. On receiving tidings of
the discomfiture of his army at Ambato, he made every exertion to raise
levies throughout the country. By the advice, it is said, of his priests--the
most incompetent advisers in times of danger--he chose to await the
approach of the enemy in his own capital; and it was not till the latter had
arrived within a few leagues of Cuzco, that the Inca, taking counsel of
the same ghostly monitors, sallied forth to give him battle.
The two armies met on the plains of Quipaypan, in the neighborhood of
the Indian metropolis. Their numbers are stated with the usual
discrepancy; but Atahuallpa's troops had considerably the advantage in
discipline and experience, for many of Huascar's levies had been drawn
hastily together from the surrounding country. Both fought, however,
with the desperation of men who felt that every thing was at stake. It was
no longer a contest for a province, but for the possession of an empire.
Atahuallpa's troops, flushed with recent success, fought with the
confidence of those who relied on their superior prowess; while the loyal
vassals of the Inca displayed all the self-devotion of men who held their
own lives cheap in the service of their master.
The fight raged with the greatest obstinacy from sunrise to sunset; and
the ground was covered with heaps of the dying and the dead, whose
bones lay bleaching on the battle-field long after the conquest by the
Spaniards. At length, fortune declared in favor of Atahuallpa; or rather,
the usual result of superior discipline and military practice followed.
The ranks of the Inca were thrown into irretrievable disorder, and gave
way in all directions. The conquerors followed close on the heels of the
flying. Huascar himself, among the latter, endeavored to make his
escape with about a thousand men who remained round his person. But
the royal fugitive was discovered before he had left the field; his little
party was enveloped by clouds of the enemy, and nearly every one of the
devoted band perished in defence of their Inca. Huascar was made
prisoner, and the victorious chiefs marched at once on his capital, which
they occupied in the name of their sovereign.11
These events occurred in the spring of 1532, a few months before the
landing of the Spaniards. The tidings of the success of his arms and the
capture of his unfortunate brother reached Atahuallpa at Caxamalca. He
instantly gave orders that Huascar should be treated with the respect due
to his rank, but that he should be removed to the strong fortress of
Xauxa, and held there in strict confinement. His orders did not stop
here,--if we are to receive the accounts of Garcilasso de la Vega, himself
of the Inca race, and by his mother's side nephew of the great Huayna
Capac.
According to this authority, Atahuallpa invited the Inca nobles
throughout the country to assemble at Cuzco in order to deliberate on the
best means of partitioning the empire between him and his brother.
When they had met in the capital, they were surrounded by the soldiery
of Quito, and butchered without mercy. The motive for this perfidious
act was to exterminate the whole of the royal family, who might each one
of them show a better title to the crown than the illegitimate Atahuallpa.
But the massacre did not end here. The illegitimate offspring, like
himself, half-brothers of the monster, all, in short, who had any of the
Inca blood in their veins, were involved in it; and with an appetite for
carnage unparalleled in the annals of the Roman Empire or of the French
Republic, Atahuallpa ordered all the females of the blood royal, his
aunts, nieces, and cousins, to be put to death, and that, too, with the most
refined and lingering tortures. To give greater zest to his revenge, many
of the executions took place in the presence of Huascar himself, who was
thus compelled to witness the butchery of his own wives and sisters,
while, in the extremity of anguish, they in vain called on him to protect
them! 12
Such is the tale told by the historian of the Incas, and received by him, as
he assures us, from his mother and uncle, who, being children at the
time, were so fortunate as to be among the few that escaped the massacre
of their house.13 And such is the account repeated by many a Castilian
writer since, without any symptom of distrust. But a tissue of
unprovoked atrocities like these is too repugnant to the principles of
human nature,--and, indeed, to common sense, to warrant our belief in
them on ordinary testimony.
The annals of semi-civilized nations unhappily show that there have been
instances of similar attempts to extinguish the whole of a noxious race,
which had become the object of a tyrant's jealousy; though such an
attempt is about as chimerical as it would be to extirpate any particular
species of plant, the seeds of which had been borne on every wind over
the country. But, if the attempt to exterminate the Inca race was actually
made by Atahuallpa, how comes it that so many of the pure descendants
of the blood royal--nearly six hundred in number--are admitted by the
historian to have been in existence seventy years after the imputed
massacre?14 Why was the massacre, instead of being limited to the
legitimate members of the royal stock, who could show a better title to
the crown than the usurper, extended to all, however remotely, or in
whatever way, connected with the race? Why were aged women and
young maidens involved in the proscription, and why were they
subjected to such refined and superfluous tortures, when it is obvious
that beings so impotent could have done nothing to provoke the jealousy
of the tyrant? Why, when so many were sacrificed from some vague
apprehension of distant danger, was his rival Huascar, together with his
younger brother Manco Capac, the two men from whom the conqueror
had most to fear, suffered to live? Why, in short, is the wonderful tale
not recorded by others before the time of Garcilasso, and nearer by half a
century to the events themselves?15
That Atahuallpa may have been guilty of excesses, and abused the rights
of conquest by some gratuitous acts of cruelty, may be readily believed;
for no one, who calls to mind his treatment of the Canaris,-which his own
apologists do not affect to deny,16--will doubt that he had a full measure
of the vindictive temper which belongs to
"Those souls of fire, and Children of the Sun,
With whom revenge was virtue."
But there is a wide difference between this and the monstrous and most
unprovoked atrocities imputed to him; implying a diabolical nature not to
be admitted on the evidence of an Indian partisan, the sworn foe of his
house, and repeated by Castilian chroniclers, who may naturally seek, by
blazoning the enormities of Atahuallpa, to find some apology for the
cruelty of their countrymen towards him.
The news of the great victory was borne on the wings of the wind to
Caxamalca; and loud and long was the rejoicing, not only in the camp of
Atahuallpa, but in the town and surrounding country; for all now came
in, eager to offer their congratulations to the victor, and do him homage.
The prince of Quito no longer hesitated to assume the scarlet borla, the
diadem of the Incas. His triumph was complete. He had beaten his
enemies on their own ground; had taken their capital; had set his foot on
the neck of his rival, and won for himself the ancient sceptre of the
Children of the Sun. But the hour of triumph was destined to be that of
his deepest humiliation. Atahuallpa was not one of those to whom, in the
language of the Grecian bard, "the Gods are willing to reveal
themselves." 17 He had not read the handwriting on the heavens. The
small speck, which the clear-sighted eye of his father had discerned on
the distant verge of the horizon, though little noticed by Atahuallpa,
intent on the deadly strife with his brother, had now risen high towards
the zenith, spreading wider and wider, till it wrapped the skies in
darkness, and was ready to burst in thunders on the devoted nation.