20 THE INCAS AND OTItEK KULEliS OF PERU. 



It was then deckled by tlie Court of Spain that Peru should 

 in future be governed by a viceroy, and a nobleman named 

 Blasco Nuriez was sent out with that title. 



One of the conqueror's brothers, Gonzalo Pizarro, strove to 

 resist the viceroy, made him prisoner, and sent him back to 

 Panama under escort. The viceroy, however, succeeded in landing 

 at Tumbez on the way. and formed an army in the neighbourhood 

 of Quito. He was shortly afterwards murdered by one of Gonzalo 

 Pizarro' s followers. 



This rebellion caused an enormous sensation in Spain ; it was 

 apparent that force could not be applied for the moment. Gonzalo 

 Pizarro was not only master of Peru, but the aiithorities of 

 Panama and the whole of the Spanish fleet were secretly in 

 sympathy with his cause. He had amassed immense wealth 

 which he distributed with a free hand to his supporters. In these 

 difficult circumstances, the Court of Spain sent out a clerk in 

 holy orders named La Gasca, who proved to be one of the most able 

 diplomatists in the world's history, for alone, without escort or 

 advisers, protected only by the contempt which his apparent 

 helplessness inspired, he succeeded in landing in Peru, and by a 

 most masterly series of intrigues, in gradually detaching from 

 Gonzalo Pizarro all his most powerful supporters. He eventually 

 formed an army which, after several hardly-fought battles, 

 defeated and killed Pizarro and the most prominent of his remain- 

 ing followers in the neighbourhood of Cuzco. 



La Gasca then undertook the government of the country, 

 and proved an able, just, and merciful viceroy. He governed for 

 a period of three years, and then returned to Sjiain. During the 

 term of office of his successor, sundry attempts at rebellion were 

 made by some of Pizarro' s old lieutenants, but they were 

 promptly and vigorously suppressed, and it may be said that after 

 the date of 1560 the history of the colony became practically 

 uneventful until modern times. 



In 1569 the Spanish Inquisition was established in Peru. 

 Though its cruelties in that country were less numerous than in 

 Spain itself, it is recorded that from that date until the early years 

 of the 19th century, when it was suppressed, the Tribunal of the 

 Holy Inquisition in Peru put to death at the stake about thirty 

 people, mainly for heresy, and otherwise punished many hundreds 

 of others. 



