A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 05 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 739 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels.

A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 05 eBook

Robert Kerr (writer)
This eBook from the Gutenberg Project consists of approximately 739 pages of information about A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels.

[Footnote 49:  The river Quiliabamba, otherwise called Urabamba and Vilcamayo is to the north of Cuzco, and to the north of that river one of the chains of the Andes is named the chain of Cuzco or of the rebel Indians.  This is probably the mountainous region mentioned in the text.—­E.]

The unfortunate Inca was arraigned by the attorney-general, of having encouraged his servants and vassals to infest the roads and to rob the Spanish merchants, of having declared enmity against all who lived or inhabited among the Spaniards, and of having entered into a plot with the Caracas or Caciques, who were lords of districts and Indians by ancient grants of the former Incas, to rise in arms on a certain day and to kill all the Spaniards they could find.  At the same time a general accusation was made against all the males of mixed race, born of Indian mothers to the Spanish conquerors, who were alleged to have secretly agreed with Tupac Amaru and other Incas to make an insurrection for extirpating the Spaniards and restoring the native, Inca to the throne of Peru.  In consequence of this accusation, all the sons of Spaniards by Indian women who were of age sufficient to carry arms were committed to prison, and many of them were put to the torture to extort confession of these alleged crimes, for which they had no proof or evidence whatsoever.  Many of them were accordingly banished to various remote parts of the New World, as to Chili, the new kingdom of Granada, the West India islands, Panama, and Nicaragua, and others were sent into Spain.

All the males of the royal line of the Incas, who were in the capacity of being able to succeed to the throne, to the number of thirty-six persons, together with the two sons and the daughter of the Inca Tupac Amaru, were commanded to reside for the future in Lima, where in little more than two years they all died except three, who were permitted to return to their own houses for purer air:  But even these three were beyond recovery, and died soon afterwards.  One of these, Don Carlos Paula, left a son who died in Spain in 1610, leaving one son a few months old who died next year; and in him ended the entire male line of the Incas of Peru.

Tupac Amaru was brought to trial, under pretence that he intended to rebel, and had engaged in a conspiracy with several Indians, and with the sons of Spaniards born of Indian mothers, intending to have dispossessed his majesty Philip II of the kingdom of Peru.  On this unfounded accusation, and on the most inconclusive evidence, he was condemned to lose his head.  Upon notice of this sentence, the friars of Cuzco flocked to prison, and persuaded the unfortunate prince to receive baptism, on which he assumed the name of Don Philip.  Though the Inca earnestly entreated to be sent to Spain, and urged the absurdity and impossibility that he could ever intend to rebel against the numerous Spanish colonists who now occupied the whole country of Peru, seeing that his father with 200,000 men was utterly unable to overcome only 200 Spaniards whom he besieged in the city of Cuzco; yet the viceroy thought fit to order the sentence to be carried into execution.  The Inca was accordingly brought out of prison, mounted on a mule, having his bands tied and a halter about his neck, and being conducted to the ordinary place of execution in the city of Cuzco, his head was cut off by the public executioner.

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A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels - Volume 05 from Project Gutenberg. Public domain.