*Ø* Blogmanac | Greed, gold and God
The Battle of Cajamarca, Part 2
November 16, 1532
Full story http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/cajamarca_battle.html
Atahualpa ambushed
... Invited by the Spaniard to attend a feast in his honour, the Inca chief accepted. The next day, he arrived at the appointed meeting place with several thousand unarmed retainers; Pizarro, prompted by the example of Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma in Mexico, had prepared an ambush.
The next day at around noon, Atahualpa appeared in the town centre, carried on a litter, or palanquin, borne by 80 Incan noblemen in rich blue livery, and with a retinue of 2,000 Indians sweeping the road before him. An eyewitness wrote “Then came a number of men with armour, large metal plates, and crowns of gold and silver which they bore, that it was a marvel to observe how the sun glinted on it."
Atahualpa was also surrounded by his warriors, many thousands of them.
It has been reported that Atahualpa asked Friar Vicente on what authority he acted, and the friar told him it derived from the book he was holding. The Incan emperor then commanded: "Give me the book so that it can speak to me." Atahualpa, holding the book next to his ear, tried to listen to its pages. Finally he asked: "Why doesn't the book say anything to me?" and defiantly and disdainfully threw it to the ground. On the friar's command (rather than Pizarro's), the Spanish soldiers emerged from the porticoes around the square and fired into the crowds of unarmed warriors and citizens.
Seven thousand slain
Just several hours of bloody battle ensued, with the conquistadors having the technological advantage. By evening, Pizarro and his men had killed 7,000 Indians yet lost not one of their own merry men. Later, Pizarro said to Atahualpa through an interpreter: “When you have seen the errors in which you live, you will understand the good that we have done you by coming to your land … Our Lord permitted that your pride should be brought low and that no Indian should be able to offend a Christian.”
During the melee, Pizarro had personally grabbed Atahualpa from his litter, calling out the Spanish war cry (“Santiago!”, or “St James!”) as he did so, and took Atahualpa prisoner. Soon, Atahualpa recognised that a huge ransom was his only chance of freedom, so he promised a huge hoard of gold to the Spaniards, which the Incan king’s subjects duly paid.
The ransom, the largest ever made, was staggering – when melted down, it consisted of sufficient gold to fill a room 22 feet long by 17 feet wide to a height of more than 8 feet! After the full amount had been delivered, Pizarro reneged on his promise and on August 29, 1533, the conquistador ordered Atahualpa burned to death. However, when Atahualpa was brought to the stake, Father de Valverde offered him the choice of being burned alive or being killed by the more merciful garrot if he would convert to Christianity. Although throughout his captivity Atahualpa had resisted conversion, he agreed to it and so died that day by strangulation ...
Read on at the Scriptorium
The Battle of Cajamarca, Part 2
November 16, 1532
Full story http://www.wilsonsalmanac.com/cajamarca_battle.html
Atahualpa ambushed
... Invited by the Spaniard to attend a feast in his honour, the Inca chief accepted. The next day, he arrived at the appointed meeting place with several thousand unarmed retainers; Pizarro, prompted by the example of Hernán Cortés and Moctezuma in Mexico, had prepared an ambush.
The next day at around noon, Atahualpa appeared in the town centre, carried on a litter, or palanquin, borne by 80 Incan noblemen in rich blue livery, and with a retinue of 2,000 Indians sweeping the road before him. An eyewitness wrote “Then came a number of men with armour, large metal plates, and crowns of gold and silver which they bore, that it was a marvel to observe how the sun glinted on it."
Atahualpa was also surrounded by his warriors, many thousands of them.
It has been reported that Atahualpa asked Friar Vicente on what authority he acted, and the friar told him it derived from the book he was holding. The Incan emperor then commanded: "Give me the book so that it can speak to me." Atahualpa, holding the book next to his ear, tried to listen to its pages. Finally he asked: "Why doesn't the book say anything to me?" and defiantly and disdainfully threw it to the ground. On the friar's command (rather than Pizarro's), the Spanish soldiers emerged from the porticoes around the square and fired into the crowds of unarmed warriors and citizens.
Seven thousand slain
Just several hours of bloody battle ensued, with the conquistadors having the technological advantage. By evening, Pizarro and his men had killed 7,000 Indians yet lost not one of their own merry men. Later, Pizarro said to Atahualpa through an interpreter: “When you have seen the errors in which you live, you will understand the good that we have done you by coming to your land … Our Lord permitted that your pride should be brought low and that no Indian should be able to offend a Christian.”
During the melee, Pizarro had personally grabbed Atahualpa from his litter, calling out the Spanish war cry (“Santiago!”, or “St James!”) as he did so, and took Atahualpa prisoner. Soon, Atahualpa recognised that a huge ransom was his only chance of freedom, so he promised a huge hoard of gold to the Spaniards, which the Incan king’s subjects duly paid.
The ransom, the largest ever made, was staggering – when melted down, it consisted of sufficient gold to fill a room 22 feet long by 17 feet wide to a height of more than 8 feet! After the full amount had been delivered, Pizarro reneged on his promise and on August 29, 1533, the conquistador ordered Atahualpa burned to death. However, when Atahualpa was brought to the stake, Father de Valverde offered him the choice of being burned alive or being killed by the more merciful garrot if he would convert to Christianity. Although throughout his captivity Atahualpa had resisted conversion, he agreed to it and so died that day by strangulation ...
Read on at the Scriptorium
Pip Wilson posted item above at 7:39 PM | Permalink
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home