The Conquest of the Incas [antikvár]

PREFACE This book was written largely to satisfy my own curiosity. I Bad spent nearly a year travelling to all parts of Peru and visiting most of its known ruins. This led to a fascination by the Conquest, and particularly by relations between Spaniards and Indians. This book therefore concentrates on contacts between the two races, at all levels from the Inca royal family down to humble peasants and conscripted miners. Because of this emphasis I have not attempted a survey of Inca society: there are many excellent books on the subject, and little new material to justify another. I describe the Inca way of life where it is relevant to the narrative of the Conquest or it impressed the conquistadores. Similarly, I describe Spanish society and the passionate complexities of the civil wars between the conquerors primarily to show the effect that these had on the Indians. This book has given me an opportunity to refute some misconceptions and to reconstruct gaps in the chroniclers' narratives. It has been said that the Incas succumbed without a struggle. To restore their honour I have described in detail the fighting of the Conquest and native rebellions. The Conquest of Quito and Manco Inca's second rebellion are subjects that have not received due attention before now. Nor has the small native state of Vilcabamba, the sanctuary in which Manco Inca and his sons tried to confront or co-exist with Spanish-occupied Peru. There have also been misconceptions about Spanish conduct in post-Conquest Peru. The Teyenda negra', the legend of Spanish atrocities, is still being hotly debated. Here I have tried to penetrate the clouds of conflicting hyperbole in contemporary reports and treatises. This is an area where much fine historical research is being done. An accurate picture of life in Peru during the period of imposition of colonial rule is emerging from careful studies of legal, governmental and municipal records. The fate of the last Incas is another question that aroused my curiosity. I have therefore attempted to record the lives of the various