History of the Conquest of PeruPrescott, William Hickling
History
History of the Conquest of Peru
Prescott, William Hickling
Incas; Peru -- History -- Conquest, 1522-1548
Pizarro's next concern was to organize a municipal government for
Cuzco, like those in the cities of the parent country. Two alcaldes were
appointed, and eight regidores, among which last functionaries were his
brothers Gonzalo and Juan. The oaths of office were administered with
great solemnity, on the twenty-fourth of March, 1534, in presence both
of Spaniards and Peruvians, in the public square; as if the general were
willing by this ceremony to intimate to the latter, that, while they
retained the semblance of their ancient institutions, the real power was
henceforth vested in their conquerors.3 He invited Spaniards to settle in
the place by liberal grants of land and houses, for which means were
afforded by the numerous palaces and public buildings of the Incas; and
many a cavalier, who had been too poor in his own country to find a
place to rest in, now saw himself the proprietor of a spacious mansion
that might have entertained the retinue of a prince.4 From this time, says
an old chronicler, Pizarro, who had hitherto been distinguished by his
military title of "Captain-General," was addressed by that of "Governor."
5 Both had been bestowed on him by the royal grant.
Nor did the chief neglect the interests of religion. Father Valverde,
whose nomination as Bishop of Cuzco not long afterwards received the
Papal sanction, prepared to enter on the duties of his office. A place was
selected for the cathedral of his diocese, facing the plaza. A spacious
monastery subsequently rose on the ruins of the gorgeous House of the
Sun; its walls were constructed of the ancient stones; the altar was raised
on the spot where shone the bright image of the Peruvian deity, and the
cloisters of the Indian temple were trodden by the friars of St. Dominic.6
To make the metamorphosis more complete, the House of the Virgins of
the Sun was replaced by a Roman Catholic nunnery.7 Christian churches
and monasteries gradually supplanted the ancient edifices, and such of
the latter as were suffered to remain, despoiled of their heathen insignia,
were placed under the protection of the Cross.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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