Which treats of the discovery of the Indies, of some other things which were done when they were first discovered, and of the present state of affairs.
FOURTEEN hundred and ninety-two years had passed away since the Princess of life, the glorious virgin Mary our Lady, begot the only-begotten Son of God, and the Catholic kings Don Fernando and Dona Isabel of glorious memory were reigning in Spain, when the illustrious Christoval Colon set forth with three caravels and ninety Spaniards, whom the said kings ordered to serve under him. After sailing twelve hundred leagues to the westward over the wide ocean, he discovered the island of Española, where now stands the city of Santo Domingo. Then also were discovered the islands of Cuba, and of San Juan de Puerto Rico, Yucatan, Tierra Firme, New Spain, the provinces of Guatemala and Nicaragua, and many other islands and kingdoms as far as Florida; and afterwards the great kingdom of Peru, Rio de la Plata, and the strait of Magellanes. Yet so many years had elapsed during which this vast expanse of land was unknown in Spain, nor was there any rumour concerning it!
The judicious reader will reflect through what amount of labour, hunger, thirst, terror, danger, and death the Spaniards must have passed in these navigations and discoveries, and what waste of blood and lives they must have entailed. And all was held as good service by the Catholic kings, as well as by his royal Majesty the invincible Cæsar Don Carlos the fifth Emperor of that name, our king and lord; because the doctrine of Jesus Christ and the preaching of His holy gospel has thus been extended, and our holy faith exalted. The will both of the said Catholic kings and of his Majesty has been, and is, that great care should be taken in the conversion of the natives of all these provinces and kingdoms, for this was their principal aim; and that the governors, captains, and discoverers should display their Christian zeal by such treatment of the Indians as their religion enjoins. But notwithstanding that this is and was the desire of his Majesty, some of the governors and captains have basely committed many cruelties and outrages on the Indians. In their turn the Indians, to defend themselves, rose in arms and killed many Christians and some of the captains, which was the reason that they suffered torments, were burnt, and put to other cruel deaths. I hold that, as the dealings of God are always just, it must be that his divine justice permitted that these people, so far distant from Spain, should suffer so many evils from the Spaniards, for their sins and for those of their ancestors, which must have been many, as they were without faith. Nor do I affirm that all the Christians ill-treated the Indians; for I have seen many temperate and God fearing men treat them well, curing and bleeding them when they were ill, and performing other charitable acts. And the goodness and mercy of God (which permits no evil without extracting some good from it) have also secured great blessings out of these ills, by bringing so many people to the knowledge of our holy Catholic faith, and placing them in the road to salvation. When his Majesty was informed of the ills which the Indians suffered, he thought it good to appoint viceroys and audiences, with presidents and judges for their better government; and thus the sufferings of the Indians have ceased, and no Spaniards, of what rank soever, can oppress them now. Besides the bishops, monks, seculars, and friars who went with the Spaniards, there were a sufficient number provided to teach the doctrine of the holy faith to the Indians and to administer the sacraments to them. In the audiences there are learned men of great piety, who punish those Spaniards that oppress the Indians in any way; so that now there is no one who can ill-treat them, and, in the greater part of these kingdoms, they are as much masters of their own estates and persons as are the Spaniards themselves. Each village is moderately assessed with the amount to be paid as tribute. I remember that, when I was in the province of Xauxa a few years ago, the Indians said to me with much satisfaction: “This is a happy time, like the days of Tupac Ynca Yupanqui;” a king of ancient times, whose memory they hold in great veneration. Certain of this, we Christians ought to rejoice and give thanks to our Lord God that, in so great a country, so distant from our Spain and from all Europe, there is such justice and such good government, with churches and houses for prayer in all parts, where Almighty God is praised and worshipped; and the devil abused and defied, while the places which had been set apart for his glorification, are pulled down, and crosses, the signs of our salvation, raised in their stead. The idols and images were broken, and the devils fled away with fear and trembling. The holy gospel is preached, and spreads powerfully from east to west, and from north to south, that all nations may know and worship our Lord God.
CHAPTER II.
Of the city of Panama, and of its founding, and why it is treated of first, before other matters.
BEFORE I begin to treat of the affairs of the kingdom of Peru, I desire to give some account of what is known of the origin of these races of the Indies or New World, especially of the natives of Peru, according to what they say that they heard from their old men, although this is a secret which God alone can certainly know. But as my principal intention is, in this first part, to describe the land of Peru, and to relate the events connected with the foundation of its cities, I will leave the account of the origin of the people (that is, what they themselves say respecting their origin, and what we may conjecture) until I come to the second part, where this portion of the subject will be fully treated of.
In the present part, as I have said, I shall treat of the foundation of many cities; and I consider that if, in times past, Dido, in founding Carthage, perpetuated her name, and Romulus gave his name to Rome, and Alexander to Alexandria, with how much more reason should the fame and glory of his Majesty be perpetuated in future ages; for in this great kingdom of Peru many great and rich cities have been founded in his royal name, to which his Majesty has given laws, and he has enabled the people to live quietly and peacefully. But, without counting these cities in Peru, the city of Panama was founded in the province of Tierra Firme, called Castilla del Oro, and I shall commence with it, although there are others in this kingdom of more importance. My reason for beginning with Panama is, that the captains who set forth to discover Peru started from that city. Thence I shall go to the port of Uraba, which is in the province of Carthagena, not very far from the great river of Darien; and I shall then give an account of the Indian villages, and of the Spanish settlements from this place to the town of Plata, and establishment of Potosi on the southern boundary of Peru, a distance of, I should say, more than twelve hundred leagues of road, which I travelled over by land, and saw, examined, and knew the things which I describe in this history. And I noted everything with much care and diligence, in order that I might be able to write with that truth which is due from me, and without any mixture of inaccuracies.
I say, then, that the city of Panama is built near the South Sea, and eighteen leagues from Nombre de Dios, which is near the North Sea.[121] It is of small extent, by reason of a lake which confines it on one side, and the city is considered unhealthy on account of the evil vapours which rise from this lake. It is built with the streets running due east and west; so that when the sun rises no one can walk in any of the streets, because there is no shade whatever; and this is felt very much as the heat is intense; and the sun is so prejudicial to health, that if a man is exposed to its rays even for a few hours he will be attacked with a fatal illness, and this has happened to many. Half a league from the sea there are good and healthy sites, where the city might have been built at first; but as the houses have a high price, on account of the great expense of building them, the site has not been changed, although the inhabitants are aware of the notorious harm which all must receive from living in so unhealthy a place. The first conquerors are now all dead; and the present inhabitants do not expect to remain long, only think of becoming rich, and care little for the public good. A river flows near this city, which rises in certain hills; and there are many others, on the banks of which the Spaniards have their farms, where they have planted many trees from Spain, as oranges, citrons, and figs. Besides these there are other fruits belonging to the country, such as fragrant pines and plantains, many excellent guavas,[122] caymitos,[123] aguacates,[124] and other fruits. In the plains there are large herds of cattle, for the country is well adapted for breeding them. The rivers contain much gold, and at the time that the city was founded they obtained a great quantity.
Panama is well supplied with provisions, being situated between two seas,—that is to say, the North Sea, by which the ships of Spain come to Nombre de Dios; and the South Sea, by which ships sail from Panama to all the ports of Peru. The country round this city yields neither wheat nor barley; but the owners of farms raise much maize, and they bring plenty of flour from Spain and Peru. There is much fish in all the rivers and also in the sea, though different from those on the coast of Spain.[125] On the sea-shore, close to the houses of the city, they find great quantities of very small mussels (almejas), which they call chucha; and I believe that, at the time of the first settlement, the city remained on this site because the Spaniards felt themselves safe from hunger on account of these mussels. In the rivers there are great quantities of alligators, which are so large and fierce that it is wonderful to see them. In the river of Cenu I have seen many very large ones, and have eaten the eggs which they deposit on the shore. We found one of these large alligators in the river which they call San Jorge, when we went with Captain Alonzo de Caceres to discover the province of Urute. It was so monstrously large as to measure more than twenty-five feet in length; and when we killed it with our lances, it was a grand thing to witness its bravery. Being very hungry we ate some of the flesh; but it is bad, and has a disagreeable smell. These alligators have eaten many Spaniards, horses, and Indians, when passing over the land from one river to another.
There are few natives in the neighbourhood of Panama, for nearly all have been destroyed by the evil treatment they received from the Spaniards and by sickness. The city is inhabited by many merchants from all parts, who trade here and in Nombre de Dios; for there is much traffic, and the place might almost be compared with the city of Venice. Very often ships come to Panama from the South Sea to discharge cargoes of gold and silver; and the number of vessels is very great that arrive at Nombre de Dios, bringing much merchandise, which is transported to Panama by canoes up the river Chagres, and thence over five leagues of road. Near the city the sea forms a large bay, and the vessels come into the port with the tide. The anchorage is very good for small vessels. Panama was founded by Pedrarias de Avila, who was governor of Tierra Firme, in the name of the invincible Cæsar Don Carlos, the august King of Spain, our lord, in the year 1520. It is in about 8° north of the equinoctial line.[126] It has a good port, into which the vessels enter with the ebb tide until they are high and dry. The ebb and flow of this sea is great, so that the shore remains uncovered at low water for a distance of half a league; and vessels anchored in three fathoms at low water, are in seven fathoms when the tide comes up.[127]