History of the Conquest of PeruPrescott, William Hickling
History
History of the Conquest of Peru
Prescott, William Hickling
Incas; Peru -- History -- Conquest, 1522-1548
I have already spoken of the person and the qualities of Atahuallpa. He
had a handsome countenance, though with an expression somewhat too
fierce to be pleasing. His frame was muscular and well-proportioned; his
air commanding; and his deportment in the Spanish quarters had a
degree of refinement, the more interesting that it was touched with
melancholy. He is accused of having been cruel in his wars, and bloody
in his revenge.33 It may be true, but the pencil of an enemy would be
likely to overcharge the shadows of the portrait. He is allowed to have
been bold, high-minded, and liberal.34 All agree that he showed
singular penetration and quickness of perception. His exploits as a
warrior had placed his valor beyond dispute. The best homage to it is
the reluctance shown by the Spaniards to restore him to freedom. They
dreaded him as an enemy, and they had done him too many wrongs to
think that he could be their friend. Yet his conduct towards them from
the first had been most friendly; and they repaid it with imprisonment,
robbery, and death.
The body of the Inca remained on the place of execution through the
night. The following morning it was removed to the church of San
Francisco, where his funeral obsequies were performed with great
solemnity. Pizarro and the principal cavaliers went into mourning, and
the troops listened with devout attention to the service of the dead from
the lips of Father Valverde.35 The ceremony was interrupted by the
sound of loud cries and wailing, as of many voices at the doors of the
church. These were suddenly thrown open, and a number of Indian
women, the wives and sisters of the deceased, rushing up the great aisle,
surrounded the corpse. This was not the way, they cried, to celebrate the
funeral rites of an Inca; and they declared their intention to sacrifice
themselves on his tomb, and bear him company to the land of spirits.
The audience, outraged by this frantic behaviour, told the intruders that
Atahuallpa had died in the faith of a Christian, and that the God of the
Christians abhorred such sacrifices. They then caused the women to be
excluded from the church, and several, retiring to their own quarters, laid
violent hands on themselves, in the vain hope of accompanying their
beloved lord to the bright mansions of the Sun.36
Atahuallpa's remains, notwithstanding his request, were laid in the
cemetery of San Francisco.37 But from thence, as is reported, after the
Spaniards left Caxamalca, they were secretly removed, and carried, as he
had desired, to Quito. The colonists of a later time supposed that some
treasures might have been buried with the body. But, on excavating the
ground, neither treasure nor remains were to be discovered.38
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account