chap. ill. of P E Pv U and C H 1 L !. 
Spaniards had plundered his Subjeds of ; whereupon, 
fays Herrera^ Pizarro did not think fit to lofe more 
Time, for he had before refolved what to do, being a 
Man that' had ferved twenty Years in the Weji-Indies ; 
and, knowing the Victory depended on feizing the Per- 
fons of the Sovereigns, he lifted up the white Cloth, 
which was the appointed Signal for executing the Orders 
he had given ; and thereupon Peter Candia fired the great 
Guns, and the Mufketeers their Pieces, to the Amaze- 
ment of the Indians *, and the more fo, becaufe it was 
unexpeded : Then the Drums beat, the Trumpets 
founded, the Horfe fell in three feveral Ways among the 
Indians^ while the Infantry made a Slaughter of them 
with their crofs Bows, Pikes, and Swords ; and Pizarro, 
in Perfon, with fifteen chofen Men, marched up to the 
Chair on v/hich Atahuallpa was carried, and, killing thofe 
that fupported it, with many more that crowded to fup- 
ply their Places, after a very great Slaughter of the In- 
dians, feized the Inca, and pulled him down from his 
Chair ; afte/ which the Peruvians fled and were purfi^ 
by the Spaniards, who did not leave off killing them till 
the Fugitives broke down part of the Wall of the Square, 
by which Means fome of them efcaped. 
Be la Vega, who was himfelf an Inca, or a Defcen- 
dant from the Family of thofe Princes, whofe Hiftory 
he writes, obferves, that the .Spanifh Generals pretended 
the Indians were treacherous, that Atahuallpa had formed 
a Defign to furprize the Spaniards, and put them all to 
the Sword ; and that F. Vincent complained to the Ge- 
neral, they refufed his Invitation to become Chriftians, 
and treated him and the Crofs with Contempt, and there- 
upon incited the General to fall upon them. But in 
thefe Accounts, fays de la Vega, the General and 
Captains were not fincere ; they endeavoured to put the 
beft Giofs upon their Adtions, leaving out of the Nar- 
rative they fent to the Court of Spain all their cruel 
and unjuftifiable Proceedings, and adding whatever had 
a fair Appearance ; it being confirmed, fays that Hifto- 
rian, by feveral other Writers, that Atahuallpa com- 
manded his Subjedts not torefift the Spaniards ; for if the 
Inca had not commanded them not to fight, certainly, faid 
he, they would never have endured to fee their Prince 
overthrown and taken, having Weapons in their Hands; 
they would all rather have died in his Defence, as many 
of them did in endeavouring to fupport his Chair, and 
not have fuffered an hundred and fixty Spaniards, whom 
they were able to have dlibdued with Stones, to commit 
fuch Outrages ; whereas, there was not one Spaniard ei- 
ther killed or wounded, unlefs Francis Pizarro the Ge- 
neral ; who received, as has been faid, a little Flurt in 
his Hand by one of his own Men,, as he went to feize on 
Atahuallpa. 
The Truth is, the Indians did not fight, becaufe they 
held every Command of the Inca to be a Part of their 
Religion, and of the Divine Law, though it was to lofe 
their Lives and Eftates. Such are the Variations with 
which this Story is told, by the moft confiderable Wri- 
ters ; and indeed, take it in what Light we will, or can, 
it admits of very little Excufe, and ought to be con- 
fidered as an Inftance, that the Third: of Wealth cor- 
rupts even the nobleft Minds. But we have not room 
to expatiate upon the Subjedf ; our Bufmefs is to purfue 
the Hiftory, and to fliew the Reader what the Confe- 
quences were of this barbarous and bloody Adtion. 
13. When all v/as over, Pizarro, having feized the 
Inca, and conveyed him to his own Quarters, direded 
the Spoils of the Field to be brought to him, which 
were great ; confifting of large Gold and Silver Veffels, 
Utenfils, fine Garments, Jewels, and Ornaments, belong- 
ing to the Inca, the Royal Family, and great Officers ; 
there were taken alfo feveral Ladies, Wives of the Ca- 
ziques and Orejons, and fome of the Mamaconds, or con- 
fecrated Virgins ; and Pizarro direded Thankfgiving to 
God to be obferved that very Day, being the 3d of 
Aiay 1533, in that very Field where the Ground 
v/as covered vrith the dead Bodies of the miferable Indi- 
ans they had thus imirdered and plundered. Next Day 
he fent out a Detachment of his Forces to plunder the 
Inca’s Camp, v/here he met with another rich Booty ; 
VoL. IL Numb. 79. 
though, it is faid, the Peruvian Generals 'had carried off’ 
three thoufand Loads of Gold and Silver before the 
Spaniards arrived there ; therefore, in order to induce 
the Indians not to carry off or conceal any more of their 
Treafures, he caufed it to be proclaimed that their Inca 
was alive, and that they were at Liberty to. come and 
attend him, and perform their ufual Services ; where-^ 
upon feveral of the India 7 t Generals and great Officers 
returned to Caxamalca^ to attend their Captive Sovereign. 
He alfo caufed the Inca’s Women to be brought to him, 
and fuffered him to be ferved in the fame Manner he 
ufed to be before this Misfortune : Though he ftill kept 
him in Fetters, which made the Inca apprehenfive they 
would take away his Life in the End, unlefs he could 
find fome way to obtain his Liberty. 
Having obferved therefore the infatiable Thirft of the 
Spaniards after Gold and Silver, he promifed to give 
them as much of thofe Metals as a great Room in the 
Caftle of Caxamalca would hold for his Freedom ; and, 
that the Spaniards might not doubt the Performance of 
what he offered, he propofed fending fome Spanifh Of- 
ficers, with his People, to Cuzco, to ‘the 1 emple of 
Pacha Chamac, and other Places, to bring the Treafures 
repofited there to Caxamalca ; and, at the fame time, 
iftued his Orders, that the Spaniards who were difpatched 
to thofe Places ftiould be hofpitably entertained, in the 
Countries through which they paffed, and receive all th^ 
Affiftance his Subjebts could give them. 
In the mean time, Almagro having lifted an hundred 
and fifty Men in his Service at Panama, embarked with 
them for Peru to reinforce Pizarro ; but was obliged, 
by contrary Winds, to land at Cape Francifeo, to the 
North ward of the Equator, where he v/as joined by ano- 
ther ftrong Party of Spaniards, that were going to ftiare 
Pizarro\ Fortunes, making together a Body of between 
two and three hundred Men ; but being obliged to pafs 
fo many Moraffes and Mouths of Rivers, and march 
through continual Rains under the Equator, he loft 
thirty or forty of his Men, and fell fick himfelf : How- 
ever, furmounting all thefe Diftreffes and Difficulties, he 
arrived at length at the Spanifh Colony of St. Michael^., 
near the Bay of Guiaquil, and there he underftood that 
Pizarro had made the Emperor Atahuallpa Prifoner, 
and poffeffed himfelf of a vaft Treafure ; whereupon, it 
is faid, Almagro confultcd with his Officers, whether 
they ftiould join Pizarro or go upon fome further Dif- 
coveries, independent of him, if he refufed to let them 
fliare the Treafure he had got ; and Almagro' s Secretary, 
it feems, fent Pizarro Intelligence, that his Mafter had 
no good Intentions towards him. 
But Pizarro, either believing he ftiould not be able to 
keep fo large an Empire as Peru in Subjection, with the 
few Troops that were with him, or that Almagro, having 
moreFoi-ces than he commanded, might join a Party of 
the Indians, and take Jiis Booty from him, and fet up 
for himfelf, fent very obliging Meffages to Almagro, in- 
viting him to advance and join him ; and, at the fame 
time, acquainted him with, the Arts that were ufed to 
fet them at Variance, and thereby ruin their Enterprize on 
Peru, which was not to be carried on but by their united 
Forces and Endeavours ; and particularly, he acquainted 
Almagro with the Treachery of his Secretary, who there- 
upon ordered him to be hanged up, and immediately 
began his march towards Caxamalca. There was certain- 
ly a great deal of Policy in this Conduft, and Pizarro 
ftiewed himfelf therein a Perfon of deep Penetration, 
and great Parts ; but, at the fame time, there was fome- 
thing in it of Ingratitude ; fo that we ought to place it 
among the Number of thofe Actions of his, v/hich in- 
ftead of deferving Praile ftand in need of Excufe. 
14. The coming of Ahiagro made a very great Noife, 
and the Inca Atafhuallpa, 'receiving Advice that another 
Body of Spaniards was arrived upon the Coaft, began to re- 
fleft that this would not be to his Advantage ; for Pizarro 
would now no longer be under a Neceffity of carrying 
Matters fair with him being enabled, by this Reinforce- 
ment, to maintain his Conquefts by force. He haftened 
therefore the bringing in the I'reafure he hacf offered for 1 
his Ranfom , that he might obtain his Liberty before 
Q^q Pizarro 
