INTRODUCTION

Pedro de Cieza de León was, on the whole, the most important historian, and is now the best authority, on ancient Peru, so far as his work has reached us; for he was a great traveller, and an eye-witness of much that he described. For all the events at which he was not present he received evidence from many actors in them. He was an intelligent observer, humane and conscientious, striving after impartiality; and though an enthusiastic admirer of the valour and endurance of his countrymen, he was horrified at their acts of cruelty, which he denounces in no measured terms.

Unfortunately only one part of his great work was published near the time; other parts long lost have been found and published in recent years, and some yet remain to be discovered. I, the first part, published in 1553, was the "Cronica," which is mainly geographical. II, the second part, was the History and Religion of the Incas; III, the Conquest of Peru; IV, V, VI, and VII, the Civil Wars, viz.—1 War of Las Salinas, 2 War of Chupas, 3 War of Quito, and 4 War of Huarina and Sacsahuana. III and VII are still lost to us. Cieza de León also wrote a book entitled "Libro de Funda[xxvi]ciones," to which he frequently refers the reader for fuller details respecting habits and customs of Indian tribes and other particulars. That work is also lost.

The Council of the Hakluyt Society selected the first part of the "Cronica" of Cieza de León to form a volume of its series in 1864, and the translation and editing were entrusted to me. It is a valuable contribution to the geography of the Cauca valley in Colombia, and of Peru; while the author's account of the coast almost amounts to a book of sailing directions. In 1880, II, the history of the Incas, was brought to light, and texts were printed by the late Dr. González Rosa in 1873, and also by Jiménez de la Espada in 1880. This exceedingly valuable account of Inca civilization was known to Mr. Prescott, and he frequently quotes from it; but he was not aware of Cieza de León being the author.[2] This part was chosen by the Council to be included in the Hakluyt Society's series in 1883, and I again undertook the work of translation and editing.

Quite recently three of the volumes on the Civil Wars of Peru by Cieza de León have been discovered in manuscript, and published at Madrid. "The War of Quito," covering the period from the arrival of the Viceroy Blasco Nú?ez Vela to his death at[xxvii] Anaquito, was translated and edited by me, forming one of the Hakluyt Society's volumes for 1912. I have also translated and edited the "War of Las Salinas," giving a detailed account of the dispute between Pizarro and Almagro, which ended with the battle of Las Salinas and the execution of Almagro by Hernando Pizarro.

The present volume, by Cieza de León, is entitled "The War of Chupas," and contains a detailed narrative of events from the battle of Las Salinas to the final overthrow of the Almagro faction at the battle of Chupas, including the murder of Pizarro, the arrival of Vaca de Castro as governor, the campaign against Almagro the younger, the promulgation of the New Laws, and the appointment of Blasco Nú?ez Vela as viceroy to enforce them.

These Civil War volumes contain a great deal that is of geographical interest, especially in the detailed accounts of expeditions of discovery into the forests to the east of the Andes, which to this day are not fully explored. Cieza de León gives connected narratives of the expedition of Pedro de Candía into the monta?a of Paucartambo, of that of Pedro Anzures de Camporredondo who entered by Marcapata and returned by one of the Caravaya ravines, of Diego de Rojas into the Gran Chaco, of Alvarado and Mercadillo in the valleys of the Mara?ón and the Huallaga, and of Gonzalo Pizarro into the "land of cinnamon." I translated and edited for the Hakluyt Society in 1858 the account of this last expedition in the Royal Commentaries of Gar[xxviii]cilaso Inca de la Vega. The independent account by Cieza de León contains many details obtained by him at Quito from members of the expedition very soon after the event, and is therefore of special interest.

The present volume opens with an account of the extensive journey from Cuzco to the Collao made by Francisco Pizarro, who had been created a Marquis for his great services, and treats of his visit to Arequipa when he founded that city. He had founded Guamanga previous to this journey. He returned, prematurely old and broken with disease, to welcome rest in his house at Lima, or Los Reyes, as the city was then called, devoting himself mainly to business connected with the grants of estates to his followers and with the improvement of the city he had founded, interesting himself in the introduction and cultivation of new plants, the erection of mills, and the supply of provisions.

Cieza de León then, in the next fifteen chapters, makes a digression which must be acknowledged as such, for these chapters have nothing to do with the war of Chupas. They contain a narrative of discoveries and conquests in the region of the Upper Cauca, with Popayán and Cali as bases of operations, chiefly conducted by a leader named Jorge Robledo. They are to a certain extent connected with the history of Peru, because Pizarro nominated the governors who despatched the expeditions. The real cause of the digression was that Cieza de León was serving in these expeditions himself. He was[xxix] an eye-witness of the events he describes in detail. This gives them a very special interest, and may well be accepted as a sufficient excuse for the digression. The story of the famous expedition of Gonzalo Pizarro follows, and our author then enters upon the events at Lima which led up to the murder of the Marquis Pizarro.[3]

In the question between Pizarro and Almagro our author strove hard to be impartial, as well as in his account of the murder of the Marquis; but his bias on the side of Almagro is apparent. In the case of Pizarro he tells the authentic story, but he adds any lying gossip that reaches his ears. In the case of Almagro he never does.

I should be the last to defend Pizarro as the destroyer of the Inca empire. As such I execrate his memory. He had no right to execute Atahualpa, although that ruthless usurper and fratricide richly deserved his fate. Pizarro was guilty of several acts of cruelty, his worst crime being the order to put Manco's wife to a cruel death when he was enraged at receiving defiance from the Inca; but I feel that in affairs connected with his countrymen his memory should receive even justice, and that he has been misjudged.

[xxx]

Pizarro was no longer the ruthless soldier of the days of Pedrarias. With great responsibilities and a great position he rose to the occasion. His proceedings were statesmanlike; his efforts to govern wisely the country entrusted to him were able and judicious. In the question which arose when the Spanish king resolved to divide the vast conquered area between Almagro and himself, he was in the right throughout. Almagro, with a number of captains anxious for opportunities to enrich themselves, had set out on an expedition to Chile. Before starting Almagro took a solemn oath on the Sacrament that he would maintain his friendship for Pizarro and never injure him or his interests. Meanwhile there was a great native rising. Pizarro himself was besieged in Lima, while his three brothers held Cuzco against a great army led by the Inca Manco. Pizarro received aid from Mexico and Santo Domingo. The siege of Lima was raised, and Pizarro sent a force under Alonso de Alvarado to help his brothers at Cuzco, of whom he had received no news.

It was at this time that the royal order arrived for the division. The northern part of the conquered empire was to be called New Castille, and to be governed by Pizarro. The southern half, to be called New Toledo, was to be Almagro's government. The boundary between them was to be fixed by a royal arbitrator, not of course by one of the parties concerned. The rules for the guidance of the arbitrator were clear and precise. A certain position on the[xxxi] coast north of the equator was to be fixed by observations for the latitude. A direct line was then to be taken on a meridian due south for a given number of leagues; at the end of that line there were to be other latitude observations, and from the point thus fixed the line west to east was to be the boundary. Mr. Prescott says that there was ambiguity in the document, that it was not clear whether the line was to be along the coast or on a meridian, and he appears to think there were, therefore, excuses for Almagro's conduct; but there was no ambiguity. The instructions were quite clear, and it is distinctly stated that the line was to be on a meridian.[4] Mr. Prescott could not have seen the original document, which is given in full by Cieza de León. Besides, this begs the question. The point is that the boundary was to be decided by a special arbitrator, not by Almagro.

A copy was at once sent to Almagro, who was then returning from Chile, his captains being much disappointed with the region they had visited in the northern part of that country. They thought that the provinces of Cuzco would offer much better chances of enriching themselves, so they at once declared, and induced Almagro to declare, that Cuzco was within the boundary of New Toledo. No positions had been fixed, no line measured, no observa[xxxii]tions taken; but Almagro and his needy followers wanted Cuzco—therefore it was in New Toledo. They even claimed Lima also. The point is not what Almagro thought; for the decision was not entrusted to him, but to the royal arbitrator. In point of fact, Cuzco was well within the boundary of Pizarro's province of New Castille. Long afterwards the Governor Vaca de Castro caused careful observations to be taken, and Cuzco was found to be fifteen leagues north of the boundary.[5]

Hernando Pizarro and his brother Gonzalo, having lost their brother Juan in the siege, were resting after a long, toilsome, and hazardous defence of Cuzco. Hernando was in a perfectly legal position as the Marquis Pizarro's deputy at Cuzco until the boundary should be settled by the arbitrator.

Suddenly the army of Almagro appeared before the city of Cuzco, claiming it as part of the province of New Toledo. Hernando Pizarro, terribly outnumbered, prepared to defend it. A truce was agreed upon, and Hernando for the first time for many days took off his armour and went to bed. His brother Gonzalo and a handful of attendants were in the house with him.

Almagro perjured himself, broke into Cuzco in the dead of night, and attacked the Pizarros in their[xxxiii] house.[6] They made a heroic defence, which is well described by Cieza de León.[7] Finally they were seized and thrown into prison; while Orgó?ez, Almagro's chief captain, incessantly urged him to behead them. By this time Alvarado was nearing Cuzco with succour for Hernando Pizarro. Almagro attacked and routed him, throwing him into prison, and threatening him with death.

It can hardly be contended that Almagro was not guilty of perjury, and of numerous acts of illegality, tyranny, and treason.

The Marquis Pizarro was very anxious to receive tidings from Cuzco, for he had heard nothing even of the results of the siege. He had gone southward along the coast to Nasca. There he received the astounding news that Almagro had seized Cuzco and imprisoned his brothers. The report of the defeat and imprisonment of Alvarado quickly followed. The Governor hurried back to Lima, expecting an attack from his false and perjured friend. It was not long in coming. Almagro marched down to the coast and advanced as far as Chincha, on the way to Lima. He was induced to agree to an arbitration to establish a modus vivendi until the royal arbitrator should arrive and fix the boundary line. The Provincial of the Fathers of Mercy (Mercedarios) named[xxxiv] Bobadilla, was selected by Almagro himself. There could only be one fair decision. It was that Almagro should retire from Cuzco until the boundary was fixed by the royal arbitrator, that the starting point for measuring the meridional line should have its latitude fixed by careful observations, and that the illegal imprisonment of Hernando Pizarro should cease. Almagro refused to abide by this arbitration, although he had solemnly promised to do so and the choice of an arbitrator was his own. Soon afterwards Captain Pedro Anzures brought out a royal order to the same effect, that both Governors should remain well within their respective provinces, until the boundary was fixed. Almagro again refused to obey.

The Marquis Pizarro was in great anxiety for the safety of his brother Hernando. He knew him to be in danger, as Orgó?ez was incessantly urging Almagro to put him to death. At this time the Marquis, in his well-founded anxiety for his brother's safety, was certainly guilty of making some concessions, verbally, which he had no intention of observing.

Almagro was very efficient in his prime, as Pizarro's partner and assistant, but he was now bowed down by age, as well as by infirmities the seeds of which he had contracted during a dissolute youth. His good qualities, which endeared him to his captains, were lavish generosity and a kindly disposition. He had become very ambitious, and it is clear that he was quite unprincipled. His own independent judgment scarcely existed, and he was[xxxv] swayed one way or the other, as the more violent or the more moderate of his captains had his ear. For instance, following the advice of Orgó?ez, he had actually ordered the execution of Alvarado when the more moderate counsels of another captain prevented it.

The weak character of Almagro explains the liberation of Hernando Pizarro, urged upon him by the moderate party among his captains. It was certainly unwise if Almagro intended to persevere in his treasonable practices; and Orgó?ez was most strongly opposed to it. Hernando Pizarro had been kept in close and illegal confinement for months, and he knew that the most influential of Almagro's captains was constantly urging that he should be beheaded. It was enough to try any one's nerves. But Hernando Pizarro's nerves were of iron. The moment he was released negotiations ceased. The Marquis, owing to advancing age and infirmities, returned to Lima, while his brother Hernando took command of the army in the field. He was by far the ablest soldier then in Peru. Almagro, suffering from a dreadful disease, retreated with his forces to Cuzco, intending to hold that city in defiance of all decisions against him. Such was the resolve come to by his captains.

Hernando Pizarro was certainly in the right when he marched to Cuzco to resume the position of deputy for his brother in that city, from which he had been unlawfully and treacherously ejected. He entirely defeated the Almagro faction in the battle[xxxvi] of Las Salinas, and returned to his post at Cuzco, making Almagro his prisoner, and keeping the old man's captains under a loose arrest.

Hernando Pizarro was a stern, resolute man, inexorable when once his mind was made up, but not cruel. He always disapproved of the ill treatment of the natives, and took measures to prevent it. At first he had no other intention with regard to old Almagro than to leave his case to be decided by his brother on his arrival at Cuzco. But there was a conspiracy among the officers who had served in the expedition of Pedro de Candía, and the troops under their command, to kill Hernando Pizarro and liberate Almagro. They were outside Cuzco and needed help from within. If they had written to one of the more turbulent Almagrist captains, the plot would probably have succeeded. But they chose Diego de Alvarado, a strictly conscientious person who told everything to Hernando Pizarro. That vigilant deputy at once went to the camp of Pedro de Candía and nipped the plot in the bud.

But he came to the conclusion that there could be no permanent peace while Almagro lived. When he had made up his mind nothing would move him. He looked upon it as a political necessity. He resolved to take the whole responsibility upon himself. The charges were drawn up in detail, and when the old man begged for his life Hernando urged him, as it was inevitable, to end his life as became one who had served as he had done. Hernando Pizarro certainly did not communicate with his brother on[xxxvii] the subject, because, though convinced of the political necessity himself, he knew that the Marquis would not consent. He took the whole responsibility, which was quite in character with all we know of this remarkable man. He returned to Spain soon afterwards with the royal fifths, but several members of Almagro's party had arrived before him. Articles were drawn up against him, and he never received a fair hearing. Charles V could not possibly attend personally to the affairs of all his vast dominions. Much was necessarily left to others. In Spain a clever intriguer had gained his confidence. This was the Secretary, Francisco de los Cobos, who had much power during the Emperor's absence, and he often used it corruptly and to please his friends, especially the females of his own family. There was a flagrant instance in the supersession of the illustrious discoverer of New Granada, for the sake of such an infamous thief as Alonso de Lugo, because he had married a sister of the wife of Cobos. The persecution of Hernando Pizarro was a parallel case. Don Alonso Enríquez de Guzmán, a violent partisan of Almagro, had hurried back to Spain, so as to spread his version, and do all the mischief he could before the arrival of Hernando Pizarro. He was an old friend of the Secretary Cobos, and when Hernando Pizarro arrived it was a foregone conclusion against him. Charges had been drawn up, the chief one being that he had given the young Inca Manco leave of absence, ignorant of the native plot for an insurrection. At the worst this was an[xxxviii] error in judgment which might well have been condoned after Hernando's brilliant defence of Cuzco. The main points were slurred over, for the answers to them would have been conclusive. Hernando Pizarro was unjustly condemned to imprisonment, first at Madrid, then in the castle of Medina del Campo.[8]

As soon as the Marquis received tidings of the victory of Las Salinas, he resolved to leave Lima and make the journey to Cuzco, accompanied by the Bishop of Quito and other friends. At Jauja he met young Diego de Almagro, who had been sent to Lima in charge of Gómez de Alvarado, one of his father's captains. Pizarro received him very kindly, promised him that his father's life should be spared, and ordered that the lad himself should be hospitably lodged in the Marquis's own house at Lima. Continuing the journey, it was not until they reached Abancay, three marches from Cuzco, that Pizarro received news of the death of Almagro. He sat apart for a long time, looking on the ground, and thinking of bygone days with his old friend.

[xxxix]

Mr. Prescott and others maintain that the Marquis knew and approved of the execution of Almagro, and must share the responsibility with his brother. For this view the only shadow of evidence is that there would have been time to obtain his approval. But there is clear and distinct evidence that Pizarro did not know. It consists in the statement of his travelling companion, the Bishop of Quito.

Throughout this Almagro business, the conduct of the Marquis Pizarro was correct. Almagro, or rather his captains, were the aggressors, acting illegally, and treasonably, with a view to their own enrichment.

We next come to the detailed account which Cieza de León gives of the assassination of the Marquis. Naturally the captains and soldiers of Almagro's army could hardly expect to receive rewards. Yet Pizarro very kindly offered repartimientos to at least three of Almagro's old captains[9] and a good appointment to another.[10] They were ready for any plot that would secure a change, and they looked to young Diego de Almagro as the possible leader of a rising in their favour. They, therefore, came crowding to Lima, where Diego was. The plea of vengeance for Almagro's death did not influence more than a very few. Perhaps old servants like Herrada and Balsa, may have mingled some vindictive feeling with less worthy motives.[xl] Those who might really have had such thoughts, however, were Almagro's intimate friends—his old captains; yet not one of them[11] would have anything to do with the plot of the assassins. Vaca de Castro was on his way to examine and report on the whole subject, and they would await his decision. It was a plot evolved by the scum of Almagro's faction, headed by Juan de Herrada, an old servant who saw his way to a higher position as the chief adviser and protector of young Diego who was himself too young to take an active part. The poverty of Almagro and his followers has been grossly exaggerated. The extensive purchases by them of arms and armour and horses, proves that there was no want of money.

In this volume Cieza de León gives the best and most authentic account of the murder of the Marquis. Pizarro's heedlessness, in spite of numerous warnings, is indeed surprising. He went for walks outside Lima quite alone, especially when he wished to inspect the progress of a mill he was building. On these occasions he might easily have been assassinated, and perhaps his immunity led him to disbelieve in the danger.

It was in June 1847, when I was at a ball in the President's Palace at Lima, that I first began to enquire into the exact locality of Pizarro's house. I was dancing with a lady named Elespuru who said[xli] it was not there, but on the opposite side of the plaza. Two aides de camp told the same story, that it was on the site of the present Callejón de Petateros. I still adhered to my own conviction—that the palace of the Viceroys, now that of the Presidents, is on the site of the residence of the Marquis. The question is at last set at rest by the publication of the Libro primero de cabildos de Lima, and of the geographical official reports. My conviction proved to be right, and I was dancing with the Se?orita on or near the very spot where Pizarro fell. I have made a plan of part of Lima in those days, showing the residence of the Marquis, and those of citizens who had received solares or building lots near his house; and another of the house itself, according to the descriptions recorded by Cieza de León and others.

It is clear that Juan de Herrada and his gang of assassins were the scum of the old Almagro's army. All but one of his former captains held aloof, disapproving of the murder, and declining to serve under such a ruffian as Juan de Herrada. The younger Diego de Almagro was thus under every possible disadvantage. The captain Sotelo alone stood by him, and Sotelo was murdered by one of the same gang of assassins before he could be of any great use to the ill-fated youth. Several of his father's old captains, to whom Pizarro's murder was hateful, were serving against the son at the battle of Chupas. This lad was the first mestizo who rose to a very prominent position, and I have, therefore, written a note on his[xlii] career, at the end of the chapter (LXXXIV) containing an account of his execution. I believe that he was innocent of the murder. He thought that the object was to seize the Marquis, not to kill him. He said so in his letter to the Audiencia of Panamá.

Cieza de León gives a very interesting account of the voyage of Vaca de Castro to Buenaventura, and his journey thence into Peru, where he was joined by all the loyal captains. He also relates in detail, the murder of the captain Sotelo at Cuzco, the death of his murderer, and the proceedings of young Almagro until his final overthrow at the battle of Chupas and subsequent execution at Cuzco. The account of the battle of Chupas by Cieza de León is very interesting. It is as good as, but not better than, that of Zarate, who also came to Peru soon after the event. Neither of these authors knew the ground. Mr. Prescott writes of "the bloody plains of Chupas." There are no plains near the position; it is a very mountainous broken region. I spent a whole day carefully examining the site, on October 27th, 1852, and I have therefore added a special note on the position, to accompany our author's account of the battle (chapter LXXVII).

Mr. Prescott condemns the number of executions after the battle in the civil wars of Peru, referring especially to Chupas. But in the case of Chupas, out of twenty-six executions, fourteen were those of assassins, the rest were aides and abettors of the criminals, also guilty of treason. The assassination of a royal governor was no common crime. After[xliii] the battle of Las Salinas there were no executions. That of Almagro was months afterwards, and for a different reason. The executions and barbarities of that cunning and cruel priest, Pedro de la Gasca, were, it is true, unjustifiable after Sacsahuana; but Mr. Prescott did not condemn them.

The final chapters of the present work are occupied by two very different subjects—the expedition led by Felipe Gutiérrez and Diego de Rojas, told in much detail, and the promulgation of the New Laws, with some account of their reception and of the appointment of Blasco Nú?ez Vela as Viceroy of Peru to enforce them. Cieza de León gives the complete text of the New Laws.

The Emperor Charles V was a statesman of ability and good intentions; but it was impossible, as has been already observed, for one man to give sufficient attention to all his vast dominions. Those numerous kingdoms, dukedoms, counties, and lordships are enumerated in the preamble to the New Laws. When at last he found time to attend to the affairs of the Indies it was twenty years too late. He was convinced by Las Casas and others that the Spaniards, in their haste to enrich themselves, were treating the Indians with such cruelty that it must needs lead to a serious diminution of the population in the near future. As a statesman, he saw clearly that the value of the Indies must depend on the preservation and good treatment of the native races. His view of the course it was best to adopt was statesmanlike. Probably without knowing it, Charles wished to[xliv] adopt the policy which the experience of ages had shown to be the best in all the countries of the East. The cultivator should be a vassal of the Crown; and what Charles V called the "tribute" of the Indians was simply the land tax of eastern countries, the ryotwari system of Sir Thomas Munro in Madras. It was also the system of the Inca government, and was well understood by the people. As a rule, the State took two-thirds of the produce or its equivalent, and the cultivator retained one-third. In some cases the cultivator received seeds and implements. This land tax, or tribute, as the Spanish Government called it, should have been the main source of revenue. So far the Emperor's plan was excellent, but it came too late. It should have been announced and enforced from the very first, and rewards to the conquerors should have come from the State. In 1542 a very different and most tyrannical and ruinous system was in force. The land tax, with liberty to treat the natives as they pleased, had been to a very large extent alienated and granted to adventurers, usually for two or three lives. The Emperor hoped to obviate this almost insuperable difficulty by ordering all official bodies, whether civil or religious, to surrender their grants at once; and all others to cease on the death of the grantee, whether granted for two or three lives or not, some maintenance being allowed to widows and children. All grants that were considered too large were to be reduced to what a judge should decide to be a moderate size. For Mexico the names of those whose huge grants ought to be[xlv] cut down are given. In these ways Charles V seems to have intended that all the natives of the Indies should become vassals of the Crown, be well treated, and pay the land tax direct to the State. He trusted, for obedience, to the loyalty of his subjects in the Indies. He was disappointed; loyalty had no chance against self-interest. Don Antonio de Mendoza, the Viceroy of Mexico, did not enforce the New Laws. He explained that it would cause an insurrection. This excellent statesman was one of the very few really good men whom the home government selected. As a rule their choice fell on the most unfit man they could find in Spain. It would be difficult to choose a worse governor than Pedrarias. But the home government persisted; and Blasco Nú?ez Vela was even more unfit. This first viceroy of Peru was sent out to enforce the New Laws, and did his best to enforce them. But he was an incapable martinet without judgment, without tact, passionate, suspicious, listening to no representation; and he was at last guilty of a foul murder which gave rise to a formidable insurrection in which he lost his life.

Cieza de León gives an account of the appointment of Blasco Nú?ez Vela, and describes him in most flattering terms. He also relates how the New Laws were received in the Indies, and fully admits the cruelties perpetrated by the Spaniards on the natives. Indeed, he does not hesitate to notice and denounce those cruelties. But it must not be supposed that all the Spaniards who received grants[xlvi] of Indians and their land tax were equally cruel. There were many noble and chivalrous knights among them, who deplored the existing state of things and treated their own dependents well. Lorenzo de Aldana, Garcilaso de la Vega, Mancio Serra de Sequidano did not stand alone in that respect; and, as a persistent advocate of the Indians, and a denouncer of the cruelties perpetrated on them, we must include our worthy author, Pedro de Cieza de León.
C. R. M.