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Works Issued by the Hakluyt Society
[Illustration: _Facsimile (reduced) of the_ COAT OF ARMS OF KING PHILIP
II., _From the Sarmiento MS., 1572, Göttingen University Library.
Reproduced and printed for the Hakluyt Society by Donald Macbeth._]
HISTORY OF THE INCAS
by
PEDRO SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA
Translated and Edited with Notes and an Introduction
by Sir Clements Markham, K.C.B. President of the Hakluyt Society.
Cambridge: Printed for the Hakluyt Society. MDCCCCVII. Cambridge:
Printed by John Clay, M.A. at the University Press.
COUNCIL OF THE HAKLUYT SOCIETY.
SIR CLEMENTS MARKHAM, K.C.B., F.R.S., _President_.
THE RIGHT HON. THE EARL OF LIVERPOOL, _Vice-President_.
THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD AMHERST OF HACKNEY, _Vice-President_.
THE RIGHT HON. THE LORD BELHAVEN AND STENTON.
THOMAS B. BOWRING.
COLONEL GEORGE EARL CHURCH.
SIR WILLIAM MARTIN CONWAY, M.A., F.S.A.
THE REV. CANON JOHN NEALE DALTON, C.M.G., C.V.O.
GEORGE WILLIAM FORREST, C.I.E.
WILLIAM FOSTER, B.A.
THE RIGHT HON. SIR GEORGE TAUBMIN GOLDIE, K.C.M.G., D.C.L., LL.D., F.R.S.,
_Pres. R.G.S._
ALBERT GRAY, K.C.
EDWARD HEAWOOD, M.A.
COLONEL SIR THOMAS HUNGERFORD HOLDICH, K.C.M.G., K.C.S.I., C.B., R.E.
JOHN SCOTT KELTIE, LL.D.
ADMIRAL SIR ALBERT HASTINGS MARKHAM, K.C.B.
ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET SIR FREDERICK WILLIAM RICHARDS, G.C.B.
ADMIRAL OF THE FLEET SIR EDWARD HONART SEYMOUR, G.C.B., O.M.
LIEUT.-COL. SIR RICHARD CARNAC TEMPLE, BART., C.L.E.
ROLAND VENABLES VERNON, B.A.
BASIL HARRINGTON SOULSBY, B.A., F.S.A., _Honorary Secretary_.
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Introduction
Dedicatory letter to King Philip II
I. Division of the history
II. The ancient division of the land
III. Description of the ancient Atlantic Island
IV. First inhabitants of the world and principally of
the Atlantic Island
V. Inhabitants of the Atlantic Island
VI. The fable of the origin of these barbarous Indians
of Peru, according to their blind opinions
VII. Fable of the second age, and creation of the
barbarous Indians according to their account
VIII. The ancient _Behetrias_ of these kingdoms of
Peru and their provinces
IX. The first settlers in the valley of Cuzco
X. How the Incas began to tyrannize over the lands
and inheritances
XI. The fable of the origin of the Incas of Cuzco
XII. The road which these companies of the Incas took
to the valley of Cuzco, and of the fables which
are mixed with their history
XIV. Entry of the Incas into the valley of Cuzco, and
the fables they relate concerning it
XIV. The difference between Manco Ccapac and the
Alcabisas, respecting the arable land
XV. Commences the life of Sinchi Rocca, the second Inca
XVI. The life of Lloqui Yupanqui, the third Inca
XVII. The life of Mayta Ccapac, the fourth Inca
XVIII. The life of Ccapac Yupanqui, the fifth Inca
XIX. The life of Inca Rocca, the sixth Inca
XX. The life of Titu Cusi Hualpa, vulgarly called
Yahuar-huaccac
XXI. What happened after the Ayarmarcas had stolen
Titu Cusi Hualpa
XXII. How it became known that Yahuar-huaccac was alive
XXIII. Yahuar-huaccac Inca Yupanqui commences his reign alone,
after the death of his father
XXIV. Life of Viracocha, the eighth Inca
XXV. The provinces and towns conquered by the eighth Inca
Viracocha
XXVI. Life of Inca Yupanqui or Pachacuti, the ninth Inca
XXVII. Coming of the Chancas against Cuzco
XXVIII. The second victory of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
over the Chancas
XXIX. The Inca Yupanqui assumes the sovereignty and takes
the fringe, without the consent of his father
XXX. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui rebuilds the city of Cuzco
XXXI. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui rebuilds the House of the Sun
and establishes new idols in it
XXXII. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui depopulates two leagues of
country near Cuzco
XXXIII. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui kills his elder brother
named Inca Urco
XXXIV. The nations which Pachacuti Inca subjugated and the
towns he took; and first of Tocay Ccapac, Sinchi of
the Ayamarcas, and the destruction of the Cuyos
XXXV. The other nations conquered by Inca Yupanqui, either
in person or through his brother Inca Rocca
XXXVI. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui endows the House of the Sun
with great wealth
XXXVII. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui conquers the province
of Colla-suyu
XXXVIII. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui sends an army to conquer
the province of Chinchay-suyu
XXXIX. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui plants _mitimaes_ in all
the lands he had conquered
XL. The Collas, sons of Chuchi Ccapac, rebel against
Inca Yupanqui to obtain their freedom
XLI. Amaru Tupac Inca and Apu Paucar Usnu continue the
conquest of the Collao and again subdue the Collas
XLII. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui nominates his son Tupac Inca
Yupanqui as his successor
XLIII. How Pachacuti armed his son Tupac Inca
XLIV. Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui sends his son Tupac Inca
Yupanqui to conquer Chinchay-suyu
XLV. How Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui visited the provinces
conquered for him by his captains
XLVI. Tupac Inca Yupanqui sets out, a second time, by
order of his father, to conquer what remained
unsubdued in Chinchay-suyu
XLVII. Death of Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui
XLVIII. The life of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, the tenth Inca
XLIX. Tupac Inca Yupanqui conquers the province of the Antis
L. Tupac Inca Yupanqui goes to subdue and pacify the Collas
LI. Tupac Inca makes the _Yanaconas_
LII. Tupac Inca Yupanqui orders a second visitation of the
land, and does other things
LIII. Tupac Inca makes the fortress of Cuzco
LIV. Death of Tupac Inca Yupanqui
LV. The life of Huayna Ccapac, eleventh Inca
LVI. They give the fringe of Inca to Huayna Ccapac, the
eleventh Inca
LVII. The first acts of Huayna Ccapac after he became Inca
LVIII. Huayna Ccapac conquers Chachapoyas
LIX. Huayna Ccapac makes a visitation of the whole empire
from Quito to Chile
LX. Huayna Ccapac makes war on the Quitos, Pastos,
Carangues, Cayambis, Huancavilcas
LXI. The Chirihuanas come to make war in Peru against
those conquered by the Incas
LXII. What Huayna Ccapac did after the-said wars
LXIII. The life of Huascar, the last Inca, and of Atahualpa
LXIV. Huascar Inca marches in person to fight Chalco
Chima and Quiz-quiz, the captains of Atahualpa
LXV. The battle between the armies of Huascar and
Atahualpa. Huascar made prisoner
LXVI. What Chalco Chima and Quiz-quiz did concerning
Huascar and those of his side in words
LXVII. The cruelties that Atahualpa ordered to be
perpetrated on the prisoners and conquered
of Huascar's party
LXVIII. News of the Spaniards comes to Atahualpa
LXIX. The Spaniards come to Caxamarca and seize
Atahualpa, who orders Huascar to be killed.
Atahualpa also dies
LXX. It is noteworthy how these Incas were tyrants
against themselves, besides being so against
the natives of the land
LXXI. Summary computation of the period that the
Incas of Peru lasted
Certificate of the proofs and verification of this history
* * * * *
Account of the Province of Vilcapampa and a narrative of
the execution of the Inca Tupac Amaru, by Captain
Baltasar de Ocampo
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
1. Map of Central Peru. 1907. By Graham Mackay, R.G.S
Six Facsimiles (reduced) from the Sarmiento MS., 1572
(Göttingen University Library):
2. _a_. Arms of Philip II of Spain. Coloured
3. _b_. Last page of Sarmiento's introductory Letter
to Philip II, with his autograph
4. _c_. Arms of Philip II. fol. 1
5. _d_. Title of the Sarmiento MS. fol. 2
6. _e_. Arms of Don Francisco de Toledo, Viceroy of
Peru, 1569--1581. fol. 132
7. _f_. Signatures of the attesting witnesses, 1572. fol. 138
8. Portrait of the Viceroy, Don Francisco de Toledo, at Lima.
From a sketch by Sir Clements Markham in 1853
9. Group of Incas, in ceremonial dresses, from figures in the
pictures in the Church of Santa Ana, Cuzco, A.D. 1570.
From a sketch by Sir Clements Markham in 1853
10. Portraits of the Incas. Facsimile of the Title-page of the
Fifth Decade of Antonio de Herrera's _Historia General de
los Hechos de los Castellanos en las Islas y Tierra Firme
del Mar Oceano_, Madrid, 1615. fol. From the Rev. C.M.
Cracherode's copy in the British Museum
11. Capture of Atahualpa, and Siege of Cuzco. From the
Title-page of the Sixth Decade of Antonio de Herrera
12. Map of Vilca-Pampa. 1907. By Graham Mackay, R.G.S
Plates 2--7 have been reproduced from the negatives, kindly lent
for the purpose by Professor Dr Richard Pietschmann, Director of
the Göttingen University Library.
[Illustration: 1907. Series II. Vol. XXII.
Reproduced and printed for the Hakluyt Society by Donald Macbeth.
PORTRAITS OF THE INCAS. From the Rev. C.M. Cracherode's copy in the
British Museum.]
INTRODUCTION.
The publication of the text of the Sarmiento manuscript in the Library
of Göttingen University, has enabled the Council to present the members
of the Hakluyt Society with the most authentic narrative of events
connected with the history of the Incas of Peru.
The history of this manuscript, and of the documents which accompanied
it, is very interesting. The Viceroy, Don Francisco de Toledo, who
governed Peru from 1569 to 1581, caused them to be prepared for the
information of Philip II. Four cloths were sent to the King from Cuzco,
and a history of the Incas written by Captain Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa.
On three cloths were figures of the Incas with their wives, on
medallions, with their _Ayllus_ and a genealogical tree. Historical
events in each reign were depicted on the borders. The fable of
Tampu-tocco was shown on the first cloth, and also the fables touching
the creations of Viracocha, which formed the foundation for the whole
history. On the fourth cloth there was a map of Peru, the compass lines
for the positions of towns being drawn by Sarmiento.
The Viceroy also caused reports to be made to him, to prove that the
Incas were usurpers. There were thirteen reports from Cuzco, Guamanga,
Xauxa, Yucay, and other places, forming a folio of 213 leaves, preserved
in the _Archivo de Indias_[1]. At Cuzco all the Inca descendants were
called upon to give evidence respecting the history of Peru under their
ancestors. They all swore that they would give truthful testimony. The
compilation of the history was then entrusted to Captain Pedro Sarmiento
de Gamboa, the cosmographer of Peru. When it was completed the book was
read to the Inca witnesses, chapter by chapter, in their own language.
They discussed each chapter, and suggested some corrections and
alterations which were adopted. It was then submitted to the Viceroy,
who caused the documents to be attested by the principal Spaniards
settled at Cuzco, who had been present at the conquest, or had taken a
leading part in the subsequent administration. These were Dr Loarte, the
licentiate Polo de Ondegardo[2], Alonso de Mena[3], Mancio Serra de
Leguisano[4], Pero Alonso Carrasco, and Juan de Pancorvo[5], in whose
house the Viceroy resided while he was at Cuzco. Mancio Serra de
Leguisano married Beatriz Ñusta, an Inca princess, daughter of Huayna
Ccapac. The Viceroy then made some final interpolations to vilify the
Incas, which would not have been approved by some of those who had
attested, certainly not by Polo de Ondegardo or Leguisano.
[Note 1: Printed in the same volume with Montesinos, and edited by
Jimenes de la Espada, _Informaciones acerca del señorio y gobierno de
los Ingas hechas por mandado de Don Francisco de Toledo,_ 1570--72.]
[Note 2: The accomplished lawyer, author, and statesman.]
[Note 3: One of the first conquerors. His house at Cuzco was in the
square of our Lady, near that of Garcilasso de la Vega.]
[Note 4: A generous defender of the cause of the Indians.]
[Note 5: One of the first conquerors. He occupied a house near the
square, with his friend and comrade Alonso de Marchena.]
Sarmiento mentions in his history of the Incas that it was intended to
be the Second Part of his work. There were to be three Parts. The First,
on the geography of Peru, was not sent because it was not finished. The
Third Part was to have been a narrative of the conquest.
The four cloths, and the other documents, were taken to Spain, for
presentation to the King, by a servant of the Viceroy named Geronimo
Pacheco, with a covering letter dated at Yucay on March 1st, 1572.
Of all these precious documents the most important was the history of
the Incas by Sarmiento, and it has fortunately been preserved. The
King's copy found its way into the famous library of Abraham Gronovius,
which was sold in 1785, and thence into the library of the University of
Göttingen, where it remained, unprinted and unedited, for 120 years. But
in August, 1906, the learned librarian, Dr Richard Pietschmann published
the text at Berlin, very carefully edited and annotated with a valuable
introduction. The Council of the Hakluyt Society is thus enabled to
present an English translation to its members very soon after the first
publication of the text. It is a complement of the other writings of the
great navigator, which were translated and edited for the Hakluyt
Society in 1895.
The manuscript consists of eight leaves of introduction and 138 of text.
The dedicatory letter to the King is signed by Sarmiento on March 4th,
1572. The binding was of red silk, under which there is another binding
of green leather. The first page is occupied by a coloured shield of the
royal arms, with a signature _el Capitã Sarmi de Gãboa_. On the second
page is the title, surrounded by an ornamental border. The manuscript is
in a very clear hand, and at the end are the arms of Toledo (_chequy
azure and argent_) with the date Cuzco, 29 Feb., 1572. There is also the
signature of the Secretary, Alvaro Ruiz de Navamuel[6].
[Note 6: Alvaro Ruiz and his brother Captain Francisco Ruiz were the
sons of Francisco Santiago Rodriguez de los Rios by Inez de Navamuel.
Both used their mother's name of Navamuel as their surname; and both
were born at Aquilar del Campo. Alonso Ruiz de Navamuel was Secretary to
the governments of five successive Viceroys. He wrote a _Relacion de las
cosas mas notables que hiza en el Peru, siendo Virev Don Francisco de
Toledo, 20 Dec. 1578_. He died in the year 1613. The descendants of his
son Juan de los Rios formed the _mayorazgos_ of Rios and Cavallero.
By his wife Angela Ortiz de Arbildo y Berriz, a Biscayan, he had a
daughter Inez married to her cousin Geronimo Aliaga, a son of the
Secretary's brother Captain Francisco Ruiz de Navamuel, the
_encomendero_ of Caracoto in the Collao, by Juana, daughter of Captain
Geronimo de Aliaga. His marriage, at which the Viceroy Toledo was
present, took place on November 23rd, 1578. From the marriage of the
younger Geronimo de Aliaga with Inez Navamuel, descend the Aliagas,
Counts of Luringancho in Peru.]
The history of the Incas by Sarmiento is, without any doubt, the most
authentic and reliable that has yet appeared. For it was compiled from
the carefully attested evidence of the Incas themselves, taken under
official sanction. Each sovereign Inca formed an _ayllu_ or "gens" of
his descendants, who preserved the memory of his deeds in _quipus_,
songs, and traditions handed down and learnt by heart. There were many
descendants of each of these _ayllus_ living near Cuzco in 1572, and the
leading members were examined on oath; so that Sarmiento had
opportunities of obtaining accurate information which no other writer
possessed. For the correct versions of the early traditions, and for
historical facts and the chronological order of events, Sarmiento is the
best authority.
But no one can supersede the honest and impartial old soldier, Pedro de
Cieza de Leon, as regards the charm of his style and the confidence to
be placed in his opinions; nor the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega as regards
his reminiscences and his fascinating love for his people. Molina and
Yamqui Pachacuti give much fuller details respecting the ceremonial
festivals and religious beliefs. Polo de Ondegardo and Santillana supply
much fuller and more reliable information respecting the laws and
administration of the Incas. It is in the historical narrative and the
correct order of events that Sarmiento, owing to his exceptional means
of collecting accurate information, excels all other writers.
There is one serious blemish. Sarmiento's book was written, not only or
mainly to supply interesting information, but with an object. Bishop Las
Casas had made Europe ring with the cruelties of the Spaniards in the
Indies, and with the injustice and iniquity of their conquests. Don
Francisco de Toledo used this narrative for the purpose of making a
feeble reply to the good bishop. Under his instructions Sarmiento stated
the Viceroy's argument, which was that the King of Spain was the
rightful sovereign of Peru because the Incas had usurped their power by
conquest and had been guilty of acts of cruelty. Hence the constant
repetition of such phrases as "cruel tyranny" and "usurping tyrant"; and
the numerous interpolations of the Viceroy himself are so obvious that I
have put them in italics within brackets. He goes back as far as the
first Inca to make out the usurpation, and he is always harping on
illegitimacy. If we go back as far as Sancho IV the title of Philip II
to Spain was voided by the grossest usurpation, while we need only go
back to Henry II to see how Philip's title was vitiated by illegitimacy.
As for cruelty, it would be a strange plea from the sovereign by whose
orders the Netherlands were devastated, the Moors of Granada almost
annihilated, and under whose rule the Inquisition was in full swing. It
is the old story of preaching without practice, as Dr Newman once
observed in quoting what James I said to George Heriot:
"O Geordie, jingling Geordie, it was grand to hear Baby Charles
laying down the guilt of dissimulation, and Steenie lecturing on
the turpitude of incontinence."
It is right to say that Philip never seems to have endorsed the argument
of his Viceroy, while his father prohibited the circulation of a book by
Dr Sepulveda which contained a similar argument; nor was the work of
Sarmiento published.
Barring this blemish, the history of the Incas, written by order of the
Viceroy Toledo, is a most valuable addition to the authorities who have
given us authentic accounts of Andean civilization; for we may have
every confidence in the care and accuracy of Sarmiento as regards his
collection and statement of historical facts, provided that we always
keep in mind the bias, and the orders he was under, to seek support for
the Viceroy's untenable argument.
I have given all I have been able to find respecting the life of
Sarmiento in the introduction to my edition of the voyages of that
celebrated navigator.
But the administration of the Viceroy Don Francisco de Toledo, from 1569
to 1581, forms a landmark in the history of Peru, and seems to call for
some notice in this place. He found the country in an unsettled state,
with the administrative system entirely out of gear. Though no longer
young he entered upon the gigantic task of establishing an orderly
government, and resolved to visit personally every part of the vast
territory under his rule. This stupendous undertaking occupied him for
five years. He was accompanied by ecclesiastics, by men well versed in
the language of the Incas and in their administrative policy, and by his
secretary and aide-de-camp. These were the Bishop of Popayan, Augustin
de la Coruña, the Augustine friars Juan Vivero and Francisco del Corral,
the Jesuit and well-known author, Joseph de Acosta, the Inquisitor Pedro
Ordoñez Flores, his brother, the Viceroy's chaplain and confessor, the
learned lawyer Juan Matienzo, whose work is frequently quoted by
Solorzano[7], the licentiate Polo de Ondegardo, who had been some years
in the country and had acquired an intimate knowledge of the laws of the
Incas, the secretary Alvaro Ruiz de Navamuel, and as aide-de-camp his
young nephew, Geronimo de Figueroa, son of his brother Juan, the
Ambassador at Rome[8].
[Note 7: In his _Politica Indiana_. There are two manuscripts of
Juan Matienzo de Peralta at the British Museum, _Govierno del Peru_ and
_Relacion del libro intitulado Govierno del Peru_, apparently one work
in two parts. _Add. MSS_. 5469, in Gayangos Catalogue, vol. II. p. 470.]
[Note 8: Some sons took the father's surname, others that of the
mother. The Viceroy had the name of his father, Francisco Alvarez de
Toledo, the third Count of Oropesa, while his brother Juan had the
surname of Figueroa, being that of his mother.]
Toledo was endowed with indefatigable zeal for the public service, great
energy, and extraordinary powers of application. He took the opinions of
others, weighed them carefully, and considered long before he adopted
any course. But he was narrow-minded and obstinate, and when he had once
determined on a measure nothing could alter him. His ability is
undoubted, and his appointment, at this particular juncture, is a proof
of Philip's sagacity.
The Viceroy's intercourse with Polo de Ondegardo informed him respecting
the administrative system of the Incas, so admirably adapted to the
genius of the people, and he had the wisdom to see that there was much
to learn from it. His policy was to collect the people, who, to a great
extent, were scattered over the country and hiding from the Spaniards,
in villages placed near the centres of their cultivated or pasture
lands. He fixed the numbers in each village at 400 to 500, with a priest
and Alcalde. He also ordered the boundaries of all the parishes to be
settled. Spanish Corregidors were to take the places of the _Tucuyricoc_
or governors of Inca times, and each village had an elected Alcalde
approved by the Corregidor. Under him there were to be two overseers, a
_Pichca pachaca_ over 500, and a _Pachaca_ as assistant. Another
important measure was the settlement of the tribute. The name "tribute"
was unfortunate. The system was that of the Incas, and the same which
prevailed throughout the east. The government was the landlord, and the
so-called "tribute" was rent. The Incas took two-thirds for the state
and for religion, and set apart one-third for the cultivators. Toledo
did much the same, assessing, according to the nature of the soil, the
crops, and other local circumstances. For the formation of villages and
the assessment of the tribute he promulgated a whole code of ordinances,
many of them intended to prevent local oppression in various forms.
The Viceroy next took up the questions of the position of _yana-cunas_
or domestic servants, and of forced service. Both these institutions
existed in Incarial times. All that was needed were moderate laws for
the protection of servants and conscripts, and the enforcement of such
laws. Toledo allowed a seventh of the adult male population in each
village to be made liable for service in mines or factories, fixed the
distance they could be taken from their homes, and made rules for their
proper treatment. It is true that the _mita_, as it was called, was
afterwards an instrument of cruel oppression, that rules were
disregarded, and that it depopulated the country. But this was not the
fault of Toledo.
The Viceroy gave much attention to the mining industry, promoted the
introduction of the use of mercury in the extraction of silver, and
founded the town of Huancavelica near the quick-silver mine. His
personality pervaded every department of the state, and his _tasas_ or
ordinances fill a large volume. He was a prolific legislator and a great
statesman.
His worst mistake was the policy he adopted with regard to the family of
the Incas. He desired to establish the position of the King of Spain
without a rival. He, therefore, sought to malign the preceding dynasty,
persecuted the descendants of the Incas, and committed one act of cruel
injustice.
When Atahualpa put his half-brother Huascar, the last reigning Inca, to
death, there remained three surviving sons of their father the great
Inca Huayna Ccapac, named Manco, Paullu, and Titu Atauchi, and several
daughters. After his occupation of Cuzco, Pizarro acknowledged Manco
Inca as the legitimate successor of his brother Huascar, and he was
publicly crowned, receiving all the insignia on March 24th, 1534. He
escaped from the Spaniards and besieged them in Cuzco at the head of a
large army. Forced to raise the siege he established his head-quarters
at Ollantay-tampu, where he repulsed an attack led by Hernando Pizarro.
He was, however, defeated by Orgoñiez, the lieutenant of Almagro, and
took refuge in the mountainous province of Vilcapampa on the left bank
of the Vilcamayu. From thence he made constant attacks on the Spaniards,
maintaining his independence in this small remnant of his dominions.
Some of the partisans of Almagro took refuge with him, and he was
accidentally killed by one of them in 1544, after a not inglorious reign
of ten years.
He left two legitimate sons, named Sayri Tupac and Tupac Amaru, by his
wife and niece the Princess Ataria Cusi Huarcay, daughter of his
ill-fated brother Huascar. This marriage was legalized by a bull of Pope
Paul III in the time of the Viceroy Marquis of Cañete, 1555--1561. He
had also an illegitimate son named Cusi Titu Yupanqui, and a daughter
named Maria Tupac Usca, married to Don Pedro Ortiz de Orue, one of the
first conquerors[9].
[Note 9: Diego Ortiz de Orue was born in the village of Getafe, near
Madrid. He went out to Peru in 1559, and at once began to study the
Quichua language. He was _encomendero_ of Maras, a village overlooking
the valley of Yucay. By the Inca princess he had a daughter named
Catalina married to Don Luis Justiniani of Seville, descended from the
Genoese family. Their son Luis was the grandfather of Dr Justo Pastor
Justiniani who married Manuela Cataño, descended from Tupac Inca
Yupanqui. Their son Don Pablo Justiniani was Cura of Laris until his
death in 1858, and was a great depository of Inca lore. He had a very
early copy of the Inca drama of Ollanta.]
Sayri Tupac succeeded as fourteenth Inca of Peru. On the arrival of the
Marquis of Cañete as Viceroy in 1555, he caused overtures to be made to
Sayri Tupac through his aunts, who were living at Cuzco with their
Spanish husbands, Juan Sierra de Leguisano and Diego Hernandez. It was
finally arranged that the Inca should receive 17000 _castellanos_ of
rent and the valley of Yucay. On October 7th, 1557, Sayri Tupac left
Vilcapampa with 300 followers, reaching Andahuaylas on November 5th. He
entered Lima on January 6th, 1558, was cordially greeted by the Viceroy
and received investiture, assuming the names of Manco Ccapac Pachacuti
Yupanqui. He went to live in the lovely vale of Yucay. He had been
baptized with the name of Diego, but he did not long survive, dying at
Yucay in 1560. His daughter Clara Beatriz married Don Martin Garcia
Loyola. Their daughter Lorenza was created Marchioness of Oropesa and
Yucay, with remainder to descendants of her great uncle Tupac Amaru. She
was the wife of Juan Henriquez de Borja, grandson of the Duke of Gandia.
On the death of Sayri Tupac, his illegitimate brother, Cusi Titu
Yupanqui assumed sovereignty, owing to the youth of the legitimate
brother Tupac Amaru, both remaining in Vilcapampa.
Paullu Tupac Yupanqui, the next brother of Manco Inca, was baptized with
the name of Cristóval. He accompanied Almagro in his expedition to
Chile, and was with young Almagro at the battle of Chupas. Eventually he
was allowed to fix his residence on the Colcampata of Cuzco, at the foot
of the fortress, and by the side of the church of San Cristóval. From
the terrace of the Colcampata there is a glorious view with the snowy
peak of Vilcañota in the far distance. Paullu died in May, 1549, and was
succeeded on the Colcampata by his son Carlos Inca. He had two other
sons named Felipe and Bartolomé. From the latter was descended the late
Archdeacon of Cuzco, Dr Justo Salmaraura Inca.
Titu Atauchi, the youngest son of Huayna Ccapac, had a son Alonso.
The princesses, daughters of Huayna Ccapac and sisters of Manco and
Paullu, were Beatriz Ñusta, married first to Martin de Mustincia, and
secondly to Diego Hernandez of Talavera; Leonor Ñusta, the wife of Juan
de Balsa, who was killed at the battle of Chupas on the side of young
Almagro, secondly of Francisco de Villacastin: Francisca Ñusta, niece of
Huayna Ccapac, married to Juan de Collantes, and was great-grandmother
of Bishop Piedrahita, the historian of Nueva Granada: another Beatriz
Ñusta married Mancio Sierra de Leguisano, the generous defender of the
natives; and Inez Ñusta married first Francisco Pizarro and had a
daughter Francisca, who has descendants, and secondly to Francisco
Ampuero. Angelina, daughter of Atahualpa, was married to Juan de
Betanzos, the author and Quichua scholar. The brother of Huayna Ccapac,
named Hualpa Tupac Yupanqui, had a daughter, Isabel Ñusta Yupanqui, the
wife of Garcilasso de la Vega, and mother of the Inca Garcilasso de la
Vega[10], the historian, author of the _Comentarios Reales_.
[Note 10: The Inca Garcilasso was a third cousin of the regicide
Viceroy Toledo. Their great grandfathers were brothers.]
This then was the position of the Inca family when the Viceroy,
Francisco de Toledo, came to Cuzco in 1571. Cusi Titu Yupanqui and Tupac
Amaru, sons of the Inca Manco were in the mountains of Vilcapampa, the
former maintaining his independence. Carlos Inca, son of Paullu, was
baptized, and living on the Colcampata at Cuzco with his wife Maria de
Esquivel. Seven Inca princesses had married Spaniards, most of them
living at Cuzco with their husbands and children.
The events, connected with the Inca family, which followed on the
arrival of the Viceroy Toledo at Cuzco, will be found fully described in
this volume. It need only be stated here that the inexorable tyrant,
having got the innocent young prince Tupac Amaru into his power,
resolved to put him to death. The native population was overwhelmed with
grief. The Spaniards were horrified. They entreated that the lad might
be sent to Spain to be judged by the King. The heads of religious orders
and other ecclesiastics went down on their knees. Nothing could move the
obstinate narrow-minded Viceroy. The deed was done.
When too late Toledo seems to have had some misgivings. The judicial
murder took place in December, 1571. The history of the Incas was
finished in March, 1572. Yet there is no mention of the death of Tupac
Amaru. For all that appears he might have been still in Vilcapampa.
Nevertheless the tidings reached Philip II, and the Viceroy's conduct
was not approved.
There was astonishing audacity on the part of Toledo, in basing
arguments on the alleged cruelty and tyranny of the Incas, when the man
was actually red-handed with the blood of an innocent youth, and engaged
in the tyrannical persecution of his relations and the hideous torture
of his followers. His arguments made no impression on the mind of Philip
II. The King even showed some favour to the children of Tupac Amaru by
putting them in the succession to the Marquisate of Oropesa. In the Inca
pedigrees Toledo is called "el execrable regicidio." When he presented
himself on his return from Peru the King angrily exclaimed: "Go away to
your house; for I sent you to serve kings; and you went to kill
kings[11]."
[Note 11: "Idos a vuestra casa, que yo os envie a servir reyes; y
vos fuiste a matar reyes."]
All his faithful services as a legislator and a statesman could not
atone for this cruel judicial murder in the eyes of his sovereign. He
went back to his house a disgraced and broken-hearted man, and died soon
afterwards.
The history of the Incas by Sarmiento is followed, in this volume, by a
narrative of the execution of Tupac Amaru and of the events leading to
it, by an eye-witness, the Captain Baltasar de Ocampo. It has been
translated from a manuscript in the British Museum.
The narrative of Ocampo, written many years after the event, is
addressed to the Viceroy Marquis of Montes Claros. Its main object was
to give an account of the province of Vilcapampa, and to obtain some
favours for the Spanish settlers there.
Vilcapampa is a region of very special historical and geographical
interest, and it is one of which very little is known. It is a
mountainous tract of country, containing the lofty range of Vilcacunca
and several fertile valleys, between the rivers Apurimac and Vilcamayu,
to the north of Cuzco. The mountains rise abruptly from the valley of
the Vilcamayu below Ollantay-tampu, where the bridge of Chuqui-chaca
opened upon paths leading up into a land of enchantment. No more lovely
mountain scenery can be found on this earth. When Manco Inca escaped
from the Spaniards he took refuge in Vilcapampa, and established his
court and government there. The Sun temple, the convent of virgins, and
the other institutions of the Incas at Cuzco, were transferred to this
mountain fastness. Even handsome edifices were erected. Here the Incas
continued to maintain their independence for 35 years.
Ocampo opens his story with a very interesting account of the baptism of
Melchior Carlos, son of Carlos Inca, who had become a Christian, and
lived in the palace on the Colcampata at Cuzco. He then describes the
events which culminated in the capture, of the Inca Tupac Amaru, and
gives a pathetic and touching account of the judicial murder of that
ill-fated young prince. Ocampo was an actor in these events and an
eye-witness. The rest of his narrative consists of reminiscences of
occurrences in Vilcapampa after it was occupied by the Spaniards. He
owned property there, and was a settler holding official posts. He tells
of the wealth and munificence of a neighbour. He gives the history of an
expedition into the forests to the northward, which will form material
for the history of these expeditions when it is written. He tells the
story of an insurrection among the negro labourers, and complains of the
spiritual destitution of his adopted land. He finally returns to Cuzco
and gives an account of a very magnificent pageant and tilting match.
But this story should have preceded the mournful narrative of the fate
of Tupac Amaru; for the event took place at the time of the baptism of
Melchior Carlos, and before the Viceroy Toledo became a regicide.
Ocampo's story is that of an honest old soldier, inclined to be
garrulous, but an eye-witness of some most interesting events in the
history of Peru.
I think it is an appropriate sequel to the history by Sarmiento, because
it supplies material for judging whether the usurpation and tyranny were
on the side of the Incas or of their accuser.
[Illustration: _Facsimile (reduced) of_ PAGE II OF THE SARMIENTO MS. 1572.
_From the original, Göttingen University Library.
Reproduced and printed for the Hakluyt Society by Donald Macbeth._]
THE
SECOND PART
OF THE
GENERAL HISTORY
CALLED
"INDICA"
WHICH WAS COMPOSED
BY
THE CAPTAIN PEDRO SARMIENTO DE GAMBOA
BY ORDER OF
THE MOST EXCELLENT LORD DON FRANCISCO DE TOLEDO VICEROY GOVERNOR AND
CAPTAIN-GENERAL OF THE KINGDOMS OF PERU AND MAYOR-DOMO OF THE ROYAL
HOUSEHOLD OF CASTILLE
1572
[Illustration: _Facsimile (reduced) of_ PAGE I OF THE SARMIENTO MS. 1572.
_From the original, Göttingen University Library_.
_Reproduced and printed for the Hakluyt Society by Donald Macbeth_.]
TO HIS SACRED CÆSARIAN MAJESTY THE KING, DON FELIPE, OUR LORD.
Among the excellencies, O sovereign and catholic Philip, that are the
glorious decorations of princes, placing them on the highest pinnacle of
estimation, are, according to the father of Latin eloquence, generosity,
kindness, and liberality. And as the Roman Consuls held this to be the
principal praise of their glory, they had this title curiously
sculptured in marble on the Quirinal and in the forum of Trajan---"Most
powerful gift in a Prince is liberality[12]." For this kings who desired
much to be held dear by their own people and to be feared by strangers,
were incited to acquire the name of liberal. Hence that royal sentence
became immortal "It is right for kings to give." As this was a quality
much valued among the Greeks, the wise Ulysses, conversing with
Antinous[13], King of the Phæacians, said---"You are something like a
king, for you know how to give, better than others." Hence it is certain
that liberality is a good and necessary quality of kings.
[Note 12: "Primum signum nobilitatis est liberalitas."]
[Note 13: Alcinous.]
I do not pretend on this ground, most liberal monarch, to insinuate to
your Majesty the most open frankness, for it would be very culpable on
my part to venture to suggest a thing which, to your Majesty, is so
natural that you would be unable to live without it. Nor will it happen
to so high minded and liberal a lord and king, what befell the Emperor
Titus who, remembering once, during supper time, that he had allowed one
day to pass without doing some good, gave utterance to this laudable
animadversion of himself. "O friends! I have lost a day[14]." For not
only does your Majesty not miss a day, but not even an hour, without
obliging all kinds of people with benefits and most gracious liberality.
The whole people, with one voice, says to your Majesty what Virgil sang
to Octavianus Augustus:
"Nocte pluit tota, redeunt spectacula mane,
Divisum imperium cum Jove Cæsar habet."
[Note 14: "Amici! diem perdidi." Suetonius.]
But what I desire to say is that for a king who complies so well with
the obligation of liberality, and who gives so much, it is necessary
that he should possess much; for nothing is so suitable for a prince as
possessions and riches for his gifts and liberalities, as Tully says, as
well as to acquire glory. For it is certain, as we read in Sallust that
"in a vast empire there is great glory[15]"; and in how much it is
greater, in so much it treats of great things. Hence the glory of a king
consists in his possessing many vassals, and the abatement of his glory
is caused by the diminution of the number of his subjects.
[Note 15: Proem of Catiline.]
Of this glory, most Christian king, God Almighty gives you so large a
share in this life that all the enemies of the holy catholic church of
Christ our Lord tremble at your exalted name; whence you most justly
deserve to be named the strength of the church. As the treasure which
God granted that your ancestors should spend, with such holy
magnanimity, on worthy and holy deeds, in the extirpation of heretics,
in driving the accursed Saracens out of Spain, in building churches,
hospitals and monasteries, and in an infinite number of other works of
charity and justice, with the zeal of zealous fathers of their country,
not only entitled them to the most holy title of catholics, but the most
merciful and almighty God, whom they served with all their hearts, saw
fit to commence repayment with temporal goods, in the present age. It is
certain that "He who grants celestial rewards does not take away
temporal blessings[16]," so that they earned more than the mercies they
received. This was the grant to them of the evangelical office, choosing
them from among all the kings of this world as the evangelizers of his
divine word in the most remote and unknown lands of those blind and
barbarous gentiles. We now call those lands the Indies of Castille,
because through the ministry of that kingdom they will be put in the way
of salvation, God himself being the true pilot. He made clear and easy
the dark and fearful Atlantic sea which had been an awful portent to the
most ancient Argives, Athenians, Egyptians, and Phoenicians, and what is
more to the proud Hercules, who, having come to Cadiz from the east, and
seen the wide Atlantic sea, he thought this was the end of the world and
that there was no more land. So he set up his columns with this
inscription "Ultra Gades nil" or "Beyond Cadiz there is nothing." But as
human knowledge is ignorance in the sight of God, and the force of the
world but weakness in his presence, it was very easy, with the power of
the Almighty and of your grandparents, to break and scatter the mists
and difficulties of the enchanted ocean. Laughing with good reason at
Alcides and his inscription, they discovered the Indies which were very
populous in souls to whom the road to heaven could be shown. The Indies
are also most abundant in all kinds of inestimable treasures, with which
the heavy expenses were repaid to them, and yet remained the richest
princes in the world, and thus continued to exercise their holy and
Christian liberality until death. By reason of this most famous
navigation, and new and marvellous discovery, they amended the
inscription on the columns of Hercules, substituting "Plus ultra" for
"Ultra Gades nil"; the meaning was, and with much truth, that further on
there are many lands. So this inscription, "Plus ultra," remained on the
blazon of the arms and insignia of the Indies of Castille.
[Note 16: From the poem of Coelius Sedulius, a Christian poet who
flourished about A.D. 450. The passage is--"Hostis Herodes impie
Christum venire quod timeo? Non eripit mortalia qui regna dat
coelestia." (Note by Dr Peitschmann.)]
As there are few who are not afflicted by the accursed hunger for gold,
and as good successes are food for an enemy, the devil moved the bosoms
of some powerful princes with the desire to take part in this great
business. Alexander VI, the Vicar of Jesus Christ, considering that this
might give rise to impediments in preaching the holy evangel to the
barbarous idolaters, besides other evils which might be caused, desired
of his own proper motion, without any petition from the catholic kings,
by authority of Almighty God, to give, and he gave and conceded for
ever, the islands and main lands which were then discovered and which
might hereafter be discovered within the limits and demarcation of 180°
of longitude, which is half the world, with all the dominions, rights,
jurisdictions and belongings, prohibiting the navigation and trading in
those lands from whatever cause, to the other princes, kings, and
emperors from the year 1493, to prevent many inconveniences.
But as the devil saw that this door was shut, which he had begun to open
to introduce by it dissensions and disturbances, he tried to make war by
means of the very soldiers who resisted him, who were the same
preachers. They began to make a difficulty about the right and title
which the kings of Castille had over these lands. As your invincible
father was very jealous in matters touching his conscience, he ordered
this point to be examined, as closely as possible, by very learned
doctors who, according to the report which was given out, were indirect
and doubtful in their conclusions. They gave it as their opinion that
these Incas, who ruled in these kingdoms of Peru, were and are the true
and natural lords of that land. This gave a handle to foreigners, as
well catholics as heretics and other infidels, for throwing doubt on the
right which the kings of Spain claim and have claimed to the Indies.
Owing to this the Emperor Don Carlos of glorious memory was on the point
of abandoning them, which was what the enemy of the faith of Christ
wanted, that he might regain the possession of the souls which he had
kept in blindness for so many ages.
All this arose owing to want of curiosity on the part of the governors
in those lands, at that time, who did not use the diligence necessary
for ascertaining the truth, and also owing to certain reports of the
Bishop of Chiapa who was moved to passion against certain conquerors in
his bishoprick with whom he had persistent disputes, as I knew when I
passed through Chiapa and Guatemala[17]. Though his zeal appears holy
and estimable, he said things on the right to this country gained by the
conquerors of it, which differ from the evidence and judicial proofs
which have been seen and taken down by us, and from what we who have
travelled over the Indies enquiring about these things, leisurely and
without war, know to be the facts[18].
[Note 17: See the introduction to my _Voyages of Sarmiento_ p. x.]
[Note 18: Sarmiento here refers to the efforts of Las Casas to
protect the natives from the tyranny and cruelties of the Spanish
settlers. He appears to have been in Guatemala when Las Casas arrived to
take up his appointment as Bishop of Chiapas, and encountered hostility
and obstruction from certain "conquistadores de su obispado," as
Sarmiento calls them. On his return to Spain, the good Las Casas found
that a certain Dr Sepulveda had written a treatise maintaining the right
of Spain to subdue the natives by war. Las Casas put forward his
_Historia Apologetica_ in reply. A Junta of theologians was convoked at
Valladolid in 1550, before which Sepulveda attacked and Las Casas
defended the cause of the natives. Mr. Helps (_Spanish conquest in
America_, vol. iv. Book xx. ch. 2) has given a lucid account of the
controversy. Sarmiento is quite wrong in saying that Las Casas was
ignorant of the history of Peru. The portion of his _Historia
Apologetica_ relating to Peru, entitled _De las antiguas gentes del
Peru_, has been edited and published by Don Marcos Jimenez de la Espada
in the "Coleccion de libros Españoles raros ó curiosos" (1892). It shows
that Las Casas knew the works of Xeres, Astete, Cieza de Leon, Molina,
and probably others; and that he had a remarkably accurate knowledge of
Peruvian history.]
This chaos and confusion of ignorance on the subject being so spread
over the world and rooted in the opinions of the best informed literary
men in Christendom, God put it into the heart of your Majesty to send
Don Francisco de Toledo, Mayor-domo of your royal household, as Viceroy
of these kingdoms[19]. When he arrived, he found many things to do, and
many things to amend. Without resting after the dangers and long voyages
in two seas which he had suffered, he put the needful order into all the
things undertook new and greater labours, such as no former viceroys or
governors had undertaken or even thought of. His determination was to
travel over this most rugged country himself, to make a general
visitation of it, during which, though it is not finished, it is certain
that he has remedied many and very great faults and abuses in the
teaching and ministry of the Christian doctrine, giving holy and wise
advice to its ministers that they should perform their offices as
becomes the service of God, and the discharge of your royal conscience,
reducing the people to congregations of villages formed on suitable and
healthy sites which had formerly been on crags and rocks where they were
neither taught nor received spiritual instruction. In such places they
lived and died like wild savages, worshipping idols as in the time of
their Inca tyrants and of their blind heathenism. Orders were given to
stop their public drinking bouts, their concubinage and worship of their
idols and devils, emancipating and freeing them from the tyrannies, of
their _curacas_, and finally giving them a rational life, which was
before that of brutes in their manner of loading them as such.
[Note 19: Don Francisco de Toledo was Viceroy of Peru, from Nov.
16th, 1569, to Sept. 28th, 1581, and in some respects a remarkable man.
He was a younger son of the third Count of Oropesa who had a common
ancestor with the Dukes of Alva. His mother was Maria de Figueroa
daughter of the Count of Feria. Through her he was directly descended
from the first Duke of Alva. He was a first cousin of that Duke of Feria
who made a love match with Jane Dormer, the friend and playmate of our
Edward VI. Moreover Don Francisco was a third cousin of Charles V. Their
great grandmothers were sisters, daughters of Fadrique Henriquez, the
Admiral of Castille.