History of the Conquest of Peru: With a Preliminary View of the Civilization of the IncasPrescott, William Hickling
History
History of the Conquest of Peru: With a Preliminary View of the Civilization of the Incas
Prescott, William Hickling
Incas; Peru -- History -- Conquest, 1522-1548
[Footnote 18: Ondegardo, Rel. Prim., Ms.
Yet sometimes the sovereign would recompense some great chief, or
even some one among the people, who had rendered him a service,
by the grant of a small number of llamas, - never many. These
were not to be disposed of or killed by their owners, but
descended as common property to their heirs. This strange
arrangement proved a fruitful source of litigation after the
Conquest. Ibid., ubi supra.]
[Footnote 19: See especially the account of the Licentiate
Ondegardo, who goes into more detail than any contemporary
writer, concerning the management of the Peruvian flocks. Rel.
Seg., Ms.]
At the appointed season, they were all sheared, and the wool was
deposited in the public magazines. It was then dealt out to each
family in such quantities as sufficed for its wants, and was
consigned to the female part of the household, who were well
instructed in the business of spinning and weaving When this
labor was accomplished, and the family was provided with a coarse
but warm covering, suited to the cold climate of the mountains, -
for, in the lower country, cotton, furnished in like manner by
the Crown, took the place, to a certain extent, of wool, - the
people were required to labor for the Inca. The quantity of the
cloth needed, as well as the peculiar kind and quality of the
fabric, was first determined at Cuzco. The work was then
apportioned among the different provinces. Officers, appointed
for the purpose, superintended the distribution of the wool, so
that the manufacture of the different articles should be
intrusted to the most competent hands. *20 They did not leave the
matter here but entered the dwellings, from time to time, and saw
that the work was faithfully executed. This domestic inquisition
was not confined to the labors for the Inca. It included, also,
those for the several families; and care was taken that each
household should employ the materials furnished for its own use
in the manner that was intended, so that no one should be
unprovided with necessary apparel. *21 In this domestic labor all
the female part of the establishment was expected to join.
Occupation was found for all, from the child five years old to
the aged matron not too infirm to hold a distaff. No one, at
least none but the decrepit and the sick, was allowed to eat the
bread of idleness in Peru. Idleness was a crime in the eye of
the law, and, as such, severely punished; while industry was
publicly commended and stimulated by rewards. *22
[Footnote 20: Ondegardo, Rel. Prim. et Seg., Mss.
The manufacture of cloths for the Inca included those for the
numerous persons of the blood royal, who wore garments of a finer
texture than was permitted to any other Peruvian. Garcilasso,
Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 5, cap. 6.]
[Footnote 21: Ondegardo, Rel. Seg., Ms - Acosta, lib. 6, cap.
15.]
[Footnote 22: Ondegardo, Rel. Seg., Ms - Garcilasso, Com. Real.,
Parte 1 lib. 5, cap. 11.]
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