Some fourteen million people, meanwhile, still speak the ancient Inca language, Quechua, while many peasants in the Andes still make offerings of chicba (corn beer) and coca leaves to the same snow-capped apus that their ancient ancestors once worshipped and adored. Tales are still told of the exploits of that small group of people who once possessed a small kingdom in the area of Cuzco and then conquered the entire civilized world, before a pachacuti occurred and the immense empire they had wrought suddenly collapsed. Sandal-footed peasants chewing coca leaves, meanwhile, still use many of the roads the Incas built down the eastern side of the Andes into the jungle, some of those roads perhaps linking up with as yet undiscovered and forgotten ruins, as clouds continue to build and dissolve, hummingbirds feed, and the roads, finely laid with so much cut stone, lead off to—well, who knows exactly where?
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
INEVITABLY, IN A WORK OF THIS SORT, I OWE MANY PEOPLE A great deal of thanks. Years ago, when I worked for a stint as a writer for the Lima Times, I met and interviewed the explorer and architect Vincent Lee, who with his wife, Nancy, happened to be passing through Lima after one of their many trips to Vilcabamba. I was relatively new in Peru at the time, was doing graduate work in anthropology, and had only just visited Machu Picchu. It was on a bookshelf in a small hostal far below the Inca citadel that I discovered Lee’s first book, Sixpac Manco. It was my initial glimpse into the world of Vilcabamba, and I was shocked to learn that people were still exploring for and discovering new Inca ruins in the area. Many years later, Vince was kind enough to supply drawings of his detailed reconstructions of Vilcabamba and some of the other nearby ruins for this book. I am proud to call Vince and Nancy friends.
My UK agent, Julian Alexander, never swerved from his initial enthusiasm when I suggested writing an account of the story of Manco Inca and Vilcabamba; it was through his indefatigable efforts and those of my US agent, Sarah Lazin, that this book became a reality. To both of them, I owe a strong debt of gratitude.
I owe many thanks to my editor at Simon & Schuster, Bob Bender, who was also enthusiastic from the very beginning and who always offered great advice and encouragement. During the years that it took to write this book, he was as solid an editor as one could hope for. Thanks also to Ariana Dingman for designing a great book cover, to Fred Chase, the meticulous copy editor, and to Johanna Li, the editorial assistant. To Alan Brooke at Piatkus Books, UK, I am also grateful for his assistance.
During the writing of the book, I relied upon a wide variety of sources and collections. I found the UCLA library system and its excellent Latin American collection to be first rate. I want to thank the staff there, the staff of the map room collection, and also the staffs at libraries in such disparate locations as London; NYC; Washington, DC; and Lima.
A number of specialists were kind enough to take the time from their busy schedules in order to read portions of this book and to offer their insightful comments. Many thanks to Vincent Lee, Dr. Terrence D’Altroy, Dr. Johan Reinhard, Dr. Noble David Savage, Dr. Brian S. Bauer, Dr. Matthew Restall, Dr. Jeremy Mumford, and Dr. Kris Lane. If any errors have remained in the manuscript, I am solely to blame.
I would also like to thank Bart Lewis, who was a great help in many ways, as well as Gary Ziegler, James Gierman, Adriana von Hagen, Sean Savoy, Gene Savoy, Nick Asheshov, Paul Goldrick, Layne MacQuarrie, and Dr. Douglas Sharon, of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology. Sadhbh Walshe was one of the first to read the entire manuscript at an early stage and made many helpful comments. Finally, I would like to express my love and gratitude to Ciara Byrne, who, more than anyone else, helped to make this book a reality.
NOTES
PREFACE
PAGE
5 In weighing, cataloguing: Felipe Huamán Poma de Ayala, Letter to a King (New York: Dutton, 1978), 19.
1. THE DISCOVERY
PAGE
10 “I believe that he got the fancy”: Alfred Bingham, Explorer of Machu Picchu: Portrait of Hiram Bingham (Greenwich: Triune, 2000), 37.
11 “Through Sergeant Carrasco”: Hiram Bingham, Inca Land (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1922), 317.
12 “Hardly had we left the hut”: Hiram Bingham, Lost City of the Incas (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2002), 178.
12 “Suddenly, I found myself”: Ibid., 179.
12 “I climbed a marvelous great stairway”: Hiram Bingham, Inca Land, 321.
13 “I could scarcely believe”: Hiram Bingham, Lost City, 180.
13 “My dearest love”: Alfred Bingham, Explorer, 20.
13 “The stone is as fine”: Ibid., 25.
14 “the ‘Lost City’”: Hiram Bingham, Lost City of the Incas (New York: Duell, Sloan and Pearce, 1948), third photo insert, 2.
2. A FEW HUNDRED WELL-ARMED ENTREPRENEURS
PAGE
15 “In the last ages of the world”: Seneca, quoted in Henry Kamen, How Spain Became a World Power, 1492–1763 (New York: HarperCollins, 2003), 46.
20 I found very many islands: Cecil Jane (trans.), The Journal of Christopher Columbus (New York: Bonanza, 1989) 191–201.
21 “You have arrived at a good moment’: Bartolomé de Las Casas, A Short Account of the Destruction of the Indies (London: Penguin, 1992), xix.
21 “This news”: Ibid., xix.
25 They were cobblers: James Lockhart, The Men of Cajamarca (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1972), 38.
25 None received: Rafael Varón Gabai, Francisco Pizarro and His Brothers (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1997), 24.
25 The leaders of most conquest: Matthew Restall, Seven Myths of the Spanish Conquest (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2003), 35.
25 By 1524 forty-six-year-old: The Company of the Levant was signed as a formal contract on March 10, 1526.
26 “a man of short stature”: Pedro de Cieza de León, Guerra de las Salinas, in Guerras Civiles del Perú, vol. I, Chapter 70 (Madrid: Librería de la Viuda de Rico, 1899), 355.
28 “They were carrying many pieces”: Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Los Cronistas del Perú (Lima: Biblioteca Clásicos del Perú, vol. 2, 1986), 55.
29 “Gentlemen! This line”: Garcilaso de la Vega, Royal Commentaries of the Incas, Part 2 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966), 651.
30 Unbeknownst to the Spaniards: It is also possible that this official was a member of the lower nobility, or curaca class.
30 “where they were from”: Pedro de Cieza de León, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru (Durham: Duke University Press, 1998), 108.
31 “which strangely pleased him”: Ibid.
31 “all came to see”: Ibid., 109.
32 “They looked at how the Spaniard”: Pedro de Cieza de León, Crónica del Perú (Tercera Parte), Chap. xx (Lima: Universidade Catolica del Perú, 1989), 57.
32 “saw silver vessels”: Cieza de León, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, 113.
33 “Be my witnesses”: Ibid., 126.
36 “As for you, Captain”: Ibid., 136–38.
37 In Trujillo, Pizarro: The birth date of Pizarro’s maternal half-brother, Francisco Martín de Alcántara, is actually unknown.
3. SUPERNOVA OF THE ANDES
PAGE
38 “Men do not rest”: Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, quoted in Andrew Schmookler, The Parable of the Tribes (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984), 70.
38 “The Inca [emperor Pachacuti]”: Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa, History of the Incas (Mineola: Dover, 1999), 109.
40 The empire stitched together: Much of the information in this paragraph is based upon information from Dr. Terrence D’Altroy, personal communication.
41 The latter: Eric Wolf, Peasants (Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall, 1966), 10.
42 Over thousands of years: Luis Guillermo Lumbreras, De los Orígines de la Civilización en el Perú (Lima: Peisa, 1988), 51.
42 According to Inca legend: For a discussion of the various interpretations of the history of the Inca state, see Brian S. Bauer, The Development of the Inca State (Austin
: University of Texas Press, 1992), 4.
44 “turned his attention to the people”: Ibid., 103.
46 “fell ill”: Juan de Betanzos, Narrative of the Incas (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1996), 183.
47 “but when they arrived”: Miguel Cabello de Balboa, quoted in Noble David Cook, Born to Die: Disease and New World Conquest, 1492–1650 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998), 80.
48 “It was a dreadful illness”: Francisco López de Gómara, quoted in Cook, Born to Die, 66.
48 Sometime around 1527: Cook, Born to Die, 77.
48 Where it differed: D’Altroy, The Incas, 106.
49 Apparently the thinking: Ibid.
49 Though Atahualpa: Ibid., 107.
50 Atoq was first tortured: Ibid., 80.
51 “Huascar was badly”: Betanzos, Narrative, 227.
51 “ordered that each’: Ibid., 244.
53 “The rest of the lords’: Ibid.
4. WHEN EMPIRES COLLIDE
PAGE
55 “For ourselves, we shall”: Thucydides, The History of the Peloponnesian War, quoted in Andrew Schmookler, The Parable of the Tribes (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1984), 46.
57 “rested in the cotton tents”: Francisco López de Xerez, Verdadera Relación de la Conquista del Perú, in Colección de Libros y Documentos Referentes a la Historia del Perú, First Series, Vol. 5 (Lima: 1917), 41.
58 “So many tents were visible” Miguel de Estete, El Descubrimiento y la Conquista del Perú, in Boletín de la Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Estudios Históricos Americanos, Vol. 1(Quito: 1918), 321.
59 “This town”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 48.
60 “[The Incas’ camp]”: Ibid., 53.
61 “that great lord Atahualpa”: Estete,El Descubrimiento, 321.
61 Another eyewitness: Hernando Pizarro, Carta de Hernando Pizarro a los Oidores de la Audiencia de Santo Domingo, quoted in Gonzalo Fernández de Oviedo y Valdés, La Historia General y Natural de las Indias, Book 5, Chapter 15, in Biblioteca de Autores Españoles (Continuación), Vol. 121(Madrid: 1959), 86.
61 “a very fine scarlet wool”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación del Descubrimiento y Conquista de los Reinos del Perú, in Colección de Documentos Inéditos para la Historia de España. Vol. 5 (Madrid: 1844), 248.
62 “Most serene Inca!”: Garcilaso de la Vega, Royal Commentaries of the Incas, Part 2 (Austin: University of Texas Press, 1966), 673.
62 “With regard to the version”: Ibid., 681.
63 “Atahualpa and his nobles”: Felipe Huamán Poma de Ayala, Letter to a King (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1978), 108.
64 “When I arrived”: Hernando Pizarro, Carta de Hernando Pizarro, 85.
64 “Maizabilica, [a coastal chief]”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 52.
64 “of good appearance”: Ibid., 69.
65 “This punishment filled all”: Ibid., 25.
65 “[Chief] Maizabilica is a scoundrel”: Ibid., 52.
66 “‘A [provincial] chief has refused’”: Ibid.
67 “He smiled like a man”: Hernando Pizarro, Carta de Hernando Pizarro, 86.
70 “[We were] very scared”: Estete, El Descubrimiento, 322.
70 “it is certain that everything”: Pedro de Cieza de León, The Discovery and Conquest of Peru (Durham: Duke University Press, 1998), 203.
73 “When his [Atahualpa’s] squadrons”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 227.
74 “The Governor [Pizarro] and Captain-General”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 55.
75 “First came a squadron of Indians”: Ibid., 56.
75 “Eighty lords carried”: Estete, El Descubrimiento, 323.
75 “Behind him came two other litters”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 56.
76 “And indeed the Indians told the truth”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 227.
78 “I will not leave this place”: Hernando Pizarro, Carta de Hernando Pizarro, 86.
78 “[In the name of the] high”: Ronald Wright, Stolen Continents: The Americas Through Indian Eyes Since 1492 (Boston: Houghton Mifflin, 1992), 65.
78 “And so I request and require”: Ibid., 66.
80 “With great scorn”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 57.
81 “Come out! Come out”: Cristóbal de Mena, in Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Las Relaciones Primitivas de la Conquista del Perú (Lima: 1967), 86.
81 “Didn’t you see what happened?”: Estete, El Descubrimiento, 323.
82 “They were so filled with fear”: Juan Ruiz de Arce, Advertencias que Hizo el Fundador del Vínculo y Mayorazgo a Los Sucesores en Él, in Tres Testigos de la Conquista del Perú (Buenos Aires: 1953), 99.
82 “The horsemen rode out on top”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 58.
82 “The Governor [Pizarro] armed himself”: Ibid., 57.
83 “Many Indians had their hands cut off”: Mena, Las Relaciones, 87.
83 “Although [the Spaniards] killed”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 229.
84 “All of them were shouting”: Pedro Cataño, quoted in José Antonio del Busto Durhurburu, Una Relación y un Estudio Sobre la Conquista, Revista Histórica, Vol. 27 (Lima: Instituto Histórico del Perú, 1964), 282.
84 “[One of the men killed]”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 58.
5. A ROOMFUL OF GOLD
PAGE
86 “‘When I had a chief’”: Francisco López de Xerez, Verdadera Relación de la Conquista del Perú, in Colección de Libros y Documentos Referentes a la Historia del Perú, First Series, Vol. 5 (Lima: 1917), 59.
86 “The promise given”: Niccolò Machiavelli, Il Principe [The Prince] (Milan: RCS Rizzoli, 1999), 167.
88 “Don’t take it as an insult”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 59.
89 “You should consider it”: Ibid.
89 “When I had a chief, the lord”: Ibid.
89 “If you were seized”: Ibid., 60.
90 “Atahualpa responded that he”: Ibid.
90 “The Governor immediately ordered”: Cristóbal de Mena, in Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Las Relaciones Primitivas de la Conquista del Perú (Lima: 1967), 88.
92 “returned to the camp … with”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 62.
96 “The Governor asked him how much”: Ibid., 68.
96 “How long will your messengers”: Ibid., 69.
99 With four pounds ofgold: Pablo E. Pérez-Mallaína, Spain’s Men of the Sea: Daily Life on the Indies Fleets in the Sixteenth Century (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1998), 124.
101 “One can see … many”: Pedro Sancho de la Hoz, Relación para S.M. de lo Sucedido en la Conquista y Pacificación de Estas Provincias de la Nueva Castilla y de la Calidad de la Tierra, in Colección de Libros y Documentos Referentes a la Historia del Perú, First Series, Vol. 5 (Lima: 1917), 194.
102 “And thus, [on some days]”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 72.
103 “When the chiefs of this province heard”: Ibid., 71.
103 “they came from each province”: Miguel de Estete, El Descubrimiento y la Conquista del Perú, in Boletín de la Sociedad Ecuatoriana de Estudios Históricos Americanos, Vol. 1 (Quito: 1918), 325.
103 “Some of these chiefs were lords”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 71.
103 “behaved towards them”: Estete, El Descubrimiento, 325.
104 “He delayed somewhat longer”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación del Descubrimiento y Conquista de los Reinos del Perú, in Colección de Documentos Inéditos para la Historia de España, Vol. 5 (Madrid: 1844), 248.
104 “Huascar, after being taken prisoner”: Felipe Huamán Poma de Ayala, Letter to a King (New York: E. P. Dutton, 1978), 110.
106 Atahualpa soon became proficient: Ibid.
106 “After he was a prisoner”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 108.
106 “[The emperor] is the wisest”: Gaspar de Espinoza, in Colección de Documentos Inédiativos al Descubrimiento, Conquista, y Organización de las Antiguas Posesiones Españolas de América y Oceanía Sacados de los Archivos del Reino y Muy Especialmente del de Indias, Vol. 42 (Madrid: 188
4), 70.
106 “The ladies … brought him”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 249.
107 “‘those [native] dogs’”: Ibid., 250.
107 “I asked him what the trunks”: Ibid.
109 Strangers in a strange land: Francisco Pizarro had actually sent his brother Hernando with twenty cavalry to ride south from Cajamarca on January 5, 1533, prior to the three Spaniards” trip to Cuzco. Hernando had ridden for fifteen days down the Andes before heading to the coast and arriving at Pachacamac, a sacred shrine located just south of modern-day Lima. Hernando and his men, however—unlike the three Spaniards traveling in litters—did not travel further south to Cuzco.
109 “All the steep mountains”: Sancho de la Hoz, Relación, 190.
110 “This city is the greatest”: Municipal Council of Lima, Libro Primero de Cabildos de Lima, Part 3 (Lima: 1888), 4.
110 “[It is] full of the palaces”: Sancho de la Hoz, Relación, 192.
111 “Upon the hill, which”: Ibid., 193.
111 “The most beautiful thing”: Ibid.
112 “[And they are] so close together”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 275.
112 “The Spaniards who see them”: Sancho de la Hoz, Relación, 194.
112 “took possession of that city”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 103.
113 “These buildings were sheathed”: Mena, Las Relaciones, 93.
114 “To our Indian eyes”: Huamán Poma de Ayala, Letter, 108.
115 “He didn’t like the Christians”: Mena, Las Relaciones, 93.
115 “The Christians went to the buildings”: Ibid.
115 “The greater part of this”: Xerez, Verdadera Relación, 104.
117 “When Almagro and these men arrived”: Pedro Pizarro, Relación, 244.
117 “I shall die”: Ibid.
6. REQUIEM FOR A KING
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The Last Days of the Incas Page 54