18 THE INCAS AND OTHER RULERS OF PERIJ. 



coufidiBg monarch to dinner, a form of invitation wliicli in those 

 times was regarded with some suspicion in Europe. The Inca, 

 howevei', knew nothing of European medifeval manners, and 

 attended the banquet, when he was seized and imprisoned ; two 

 thousand of his followers were murdered, and the remainder of his 

 army dispersed, almost before he had time to realize his mistake. 

 He then bethought himself of oifering a ranson to his captor, 

 and, after some haggling, it was agreed that he should regain his 

 liberty on condition that he handed to Pizzaro an amount of gold 

 sufficient to fill to a height of eight feet a room measuring 22 

 feet by 16. I am not aware that the value of this amount lias 

 ever been calculated. Allowing a discount of 10 per cent, for 

 interstices (and we may assume that Pizarro's followers would 

 have seen the gold packed fairly close) the net cube would have 

 been 2,534 feet, the weight 1,300 tons, and its value in our day 

 £166,400,000 sterling ; in those times probably five times as 

 much. We may suppose that Atalhualpa was endeavouring to 

 gain time, perhaps he did not know exactly what his promise 

 entailed, but, be that as it may, he issued orders for all the gold 

 in the palaces, temples, and other places to be brought in, and in 

 the meantime that no hostility was to be shown to the Spaniards. 



During the captivity of Atahualpa his troops succeeded in 

 capturing his brother and enemy, Huascar. After consulting 

 Pizarro, Atahualjja gave orders for his execution ; but he did not 

 long survive his rival ; the eagerness of his captors to divide the 

 spoil did not give him time to collect the whole amount agreed as 

 his ransom, even if this had been possible ; the gold delivered is 

 said to have amounted altogether to about £800,000, which was 

 divided amongst Pizzaro' s followers ; and then for some obscure 

 reason (for the act does not seem to have been politic or expedient) 

 the Inca was hastily tried and executed, under an accusation of 

 treason. He was put to death on the 29th of August, 1533. His 

 murderers seem soon to have realized that they had made a 

 mistake, and threw the blame of this crime upon one another. 

 These recriminations were all the more bitter, as the inflow of the 

 gold ransom had stopped after the Inca's death. 



The country was now given over to anarchy, to remedy which 

 Pizarro bethought him of appointing a successor to Atahualpa, 

 and for that puipose chose one of the dead emperor's sons, whom 



