The execution of Atahuallpa completed the Conquest of Peru. The sovereignty of the Inca emperor had been too absolute for its own well-being, and in the hour of peril, the humble subjects, who had responded with such perfect obedience to the will of an autocrat, were powerless to move without his guiding finger, possessing in themselves neither initiative nor self-reliance, qualities that thrive only in the free air of independence, under the sunlight of hope. That the despotism of the Incas was a mighty power, exercised with genius and worthiness, cannot be denied; industry was the basis of its greatness, and protection the keynote to its prosperity; every subject of the Children of the Sun must earn his bread by honest labor, though he was always sure of being fed. But the very fact that such a despotism could be annihilated by a mere handful of adventurers, and that, within the space of a few months, its institutions could fall to pieces and its people be made slaves to this band of invaders whom they outnumbered by millions, proves that it was not a system strong enough to hold its own in the progress of nations. One cannot help regretting, however, that such a flourishing empire was not permitted to fulfil its own destiny; perhaps it might have developed, through the refining influence of the national ideals, from an absolute theocracy to a more liberal form of government. With the overthrow of the Incas, the land that had bloomed perennially with the fruits of husbandry became a scene of anarchy and a neglected waste; the highroads, instead of presenting a pleasant spectacle in groups of contented farm laborers, on their way to fulfil the daily tasks that were to bring them both bodily and spiritual reward, were thronged with heavy-hearted, over-worked, and poorly fed slaves. [Illustration: AUTOGRAPHS OF THE FIRST OFFICIALS WHO GOVERNED LIMA WITH PIZARRO.]