Note I‑5 — Chapter I · PIZARRO AND PERU. 1524-1544.

Historians of the Peruvian conquest point with emphasis to political disruption as the agency which gave the country to the Spaniards. Of course we cannot tell what would have been the accidents or incidents of this invasion under other conditions. As it happened, I fail to perceive how the civil war of necessity was the cause of success, or that without Peruvian disruption the Spaniards could not have accomplished their purpose. Atahualpa at the head of a powerful army in the full flush of victory could have crushed this handful of Spaniards as easily as might have done a Peruvian host tenfold greater. Pizarro could have performed his imperial cozenage as easily when peace reigned as at another time. Compare Naharro, Relacion, in Col. Doc. Inéd., xxvi. 232-7; Real Cédula, in Id., 256; Castañeda, Informacion, in Id., 256-9; Jaren, Informacion en Panamá, in Id., 259-60; Candía, Informacion, in Id., 261-5; Pedro Pizarro, in Id., 201-10; Almagro, Informacion, in Id., 265-74; Sámano, Relacion, in Id., v. 193-201; Col. Doc. Inéd., in Id., l. 206-20; Ovalle, Hist. Chile, in Pinkerton's Voy., xiv. 154-6, and in Churchill's Col. Voy., xiv. 154-6; Leon's Travels, Hakluyt Soc.; Garcilaso de la Vega, Com. Reales, ii. 13-20; Pizarro y Orellana, Varones Ilvstres, 127-9; Xerez, Conq. del Peru, 179-81; Gomara, Hist. Ind., 141-7; Oviedo, iv. 147 et seq.; Zárate, Hist. Peru, 17-23. The last-mentioned document is by one of the conquerors. According to some reports the inca was undetermined what course to pursue. Immediately after the capture of Huascar some of his counsellors were for sending an army and destroying the invaders at once. Others wished to take them alive and by making slaves of them ingraft their superiority into their own incipient civilization. Others more timid represented the strangers as exceedingly fierce and powerful, to conquer whom would be difficult and dangerous. 'Vnos querian, que fuesse vn capitan a ello con exercito, otros dezian, que aunque los estrangeros no eran muchos, eran valientes, y que la ferocidad de sus rostros, y personas, la terribilidad de sus armas, la ligereza, y brabura de aquellos sus cauallos pedian mayor fuerça.' Herrera, dec. v. lib. ii. cap. ix. According to Balboa the arrival of the Spaniards caused some anxiety among the Peruvians at Cuzco. 'Cette nouvelle inquiéta tout le monde. Atahualpa essaya de tranquilliser ses sujets en leur disant que ces étrangers étaient probablement des envoyés de Viracocha, et depuis cette époque ce nom est resté aux Espagnols.' Hist. du Pérou, Ternaux-Compans, Voy., série ii. tom. iv. 309. Benzoni affirms that Atahualpa who was at Caxamalca, sent messengers to Pizarro threatening to make him repent if he did not leave his vassals unmolested and return to his own country. 'In questo tempo Attabaliba Re del Peru si trouaua in Cassiamalca, e inteso com' era entrato nel suo paese gente con la barba, con certi animali terribili e scorreuano i luoghi, ammazzando, e depredando il tutto, mandò vn' ambasciatore à Francesco Pizzarro, minacciandolo, che se non lasciaua i suoi vassalli, e se ne fosse ito al suo paese, che lo farebbe mal contento.' Hist. Mondo Nvovo, 121.