He was now styled by his subjects Capac, or rich in virtue; he founded the temple of the sun at Cuzco, which was to be served only by virgins of royal descent. This monarch lived among his people for a number of years and then suddenly disappeared. His successors increased the boundaries of their territories by the force of their arms, and by the greater force of persuasion, backed by the mildest exercise of their royal functions.
These monarchs were styled Incas, and were distinguished by a peculiar dress and ornaments, which none of their subjects dared to assume; they were adored by the Peruvians, who looked upon them as the sons and vicegerents of the divinity they worshipped. This unbounded power of the Incas was unaccompanied by any ill effects, as their attention was uniformly exerted for the good of their subjects, in extending the benefits of civilization, and knowledge of the arts introduced by their founder.
It seems highly probable that such a person as Manco Capac existed, and that he introduced the measures we have related, but it is also most probable that he was accompanied by followers who carried his dictates into effect among the rude Peruvians, and therefore the supposition that these people were conquered by a superior and warlike tribe from the south, is by no means improbable, as at the present day, there exist several tribes in the southern forests, who are more civilized than the modern Peruvians, and who have successfully resisted the invasion of the Spaniards. The successor of Manco Capac, who died in the latter end of the twelfth or beginning of the thirteenth century, was his son Sinchi Roca, or the brave, who extended his dominions sixty miles south of Cuzco. The third Inca was Lloque Yupanqui, who further extended the territories of Cuzco and reduced several tribes; the fourth was Maita Capac, who also added to the empire, and erected several splendid edifices; the fifth, Capac Yupanqui, was another conqueror; the sixth, Inca Roca, subdued many small districts; the seventh was named Yahuar Huacac; the eighth, Inca Ripac, and who had an army of 30,000 men; he conquered many provinces, and obliged the chief of Tucuman to pay him homage; the ninth was Inca Urca, who was deposed after he had reigned eleven days; he was succeeded by Pachacutec, who subdued Jauja, Tarma, and other provinces; the eleventh was Yupanqui, who carried his conquests to the river Maule, in Chili, and over the Mojos far to the east of the Andes; the twelfth, Tupac Yupanqui, conquered several districts in Quito; and the thirteenth, Huayna Capac, subdued the kingdom of Lican or Quito, and established himself in the capital. His history has been related in the historical description of that province. On his death-bed he divided Quito and Peru between his sons; but Inti Cusi Hualpa, or Huascar, was declared Inca; he fought a bloody battle with his brother Atahualpa, and was taken prisoner, on which Atahualpa or Atabalipa, invested himself with the regal fillet, and was proclaimed fifteenth Inca of the Peruvians. On his being killed by Pizarro, Manco Capac was crowned by permission of that general, but revolted from the allegiance he had vowed to Spain, and retiring to the mountains, is supposed to have died about 1553. The seventeenth and last of the Incas, was Sayri Tupac, who resigned his sovereignty to Philip the Eleventh of Spain, and died a christian, leaving only one daughter, who married Onez de Loyola, a Spanish knight, from whom descend the Marquesses of Oropesa and Alcanises. Manco Capac, the Second, left several children, one of whom, Tupac Amaru, was the oldest, and was beheaded by the Spaniards, on pretence of his having assumed the imperial fillet.
The discovery of Peru by the Europeans takes its date from the latter end of the reign of Huana Capac in 1524, when three inhabitants of the city of Panama entered into an association for the purpose of exploring the continent south of the isthmus of Darien. Don Francisco Pizarro of Truxillo, Don Diego Almagro of Malagon, and a priest named Hernando de Luque, were at that time among the richest people of Panama, and proposed to themselves the employment of their fortunes in one common stock, to discover and conquer new countries on the south, after the model of Cortez in Mexico, with whom Pizarro had served, and to whom he was related. Having obtained permission from Pedro Arias de Avila, the governor of Terra Firma, Pizarro fitted out a vessel, in which he embarked in the port of Panama with 114 men.
About fifty leagues from the harbour, he discovered a small barren district, named Peru, and from this now unknown spot, the celebrated country we are describing received its name. Beyond Peru, he explored another district, which he called El Pueblo Quemado. The Indians of that country were so resolute, that Pizarro was obliged to return to the coast of Panama. In the mean time Almagro fitted out another vessel and sailed in search of Pizarro, as far as the Rio San Juan, a hundred leagues south of Panama, but not meeting with him, he returned and landed on the coast of Pueblo Quemado, where finding certain indications that he had been there, Almagro landed his men, who were immediately attacked by the natives, and forced to retire to their ship and put to sea; in this action Almagro lost an eye. Following the shore to the north, he found Pizarro at Chinchama, near the Isla del Rey, in the gulf of Panama; they had now by their junction an armed force of 200 men, and again resumed their expedition, and sailed to the south, with their two vessels attended by three large canoes. They suffered very much in their attempts to land on the coast from the barren nature of the country, and from contrary winds and currents, as well as from the native tribes.
Having lost several men from famine and the constant attacks of the Indians, Almagro was dispatched to Panama for recruits and provisions. He soon rejoined Pizarro with twenty-four men and good supplies; they therefore advanced to the coast of Tacames, beyond the river San Juan, which had hitherto been the extent of their voyages; here they found a better peopled country and plenty of provision; and the natives, who were still hostile, were observed to wear ornaments of gold. Almagro was therefore detached a second time to Panama to procure more men, and Pizarro remained at the Isla Gallo, near the shore of Barbacoas, to await his return; in which island his men suffered great hardships from the want of food. On the arrival of Almagro at Panama, he found the governor, Pedro de los Rios, adverse to the plan, and he was not allowed to raise any recruits, while an order was sent to Gallo, for those to return who wished not to engage in such a dangerous enterprise. In consequence of this measure, the party of Pizarro was reduced to twelve men, who were the whole that chose to abide the issue of the voyage. They retired with their leader to a small uninhabited isle, named Gorgona, at a greater distance from the coast, and seventy miles nearer Panama. This isle abounding with rivulets, the little band lived more comfortably than they had done at Gallo, and waited with great anxiety for a supply of provisions from Panama, which at last arrived in a small vessel.
With this assistance, Pizarro and his faithful twelve, embarked on board the vessel, and putting themselves under the guidance of the pilot, Bartolomeo Bruye of Moguer, they reached with great labour, (from the adverse currents,) the coast of a district named Mostripe, on which they landed and advanced a short way up the river Amatape, which flows into the gulf of Payta, where they procured some Peruvian camels or sheep, and took some of the natives to answer as interpreters in their future progress.
Leaving this place, Pizarro sailed for the port of Tumbez on the south side of the bay of Guayaquil, where he had learnt that a rich monarch who existed in the interior had a fine palace. At Tumbez, three of his followers left him, and were afterwards slain by the Indians. Procuring the information he wanted, Pizarro returned to Panama, having spent three years in these discoveries, and from being the richest was now reduced to be the poorest of the colonists of Tierra Firma. In concert with Almagro, in the latter end of 1527, Pizarro raised some money, and was sent to Spain to beseech the king to forward the further discovery of the country, and to name a governor, which office he solicited for himself. His demands were complied with, and he returned to Panama, accompanied by his brothers Ferdinand, Juan and Gonzalo.
Besides these, he brought with him Francisco Martin de Alcantara, his uncle, and as many men as he could procure; he was assisted in raising these men, by a supply of money from Cortez.
On his arrival in Panama, in 1530, a violent dispute broke out between Almagro and himself, the former complaining that he had unjustly procured the title of governor of Peru. Pizarro was obliged to soothe him, by assuring him that he would renounce all pretensions to that office, if Almagro could procure the consent of the Spanish monarch. Almagro being appeased by this concession, exerted himself at first, to the utmost, in forwarding the expedition, but owing to the jealousy he still entertained of the Pizarros, he at last endeavoured to thwart their efforts, and Pizarro sailed without him, with three small vessels, carrying 180 soldiers, thirty-six of whom were horsemen in February 1531; contrary winds obliged the general, after a voyage of thirteen days, to land 100 leagues more to the north than he intended, and the place of disembarkation was named the Bay of St. Mateo, from whence the troops had to undergo a long and painful march, crossing rivers and other obstacles; they at last reached Coaque, a place in Tacames on the sea-side, where they procured fresh provision. After subduing the natives of this town, Pizarro sent one of the ships which had sailed along the coast, to Panama, and the other to Nicaragua, with about 24,000 or 25,000 ducats worth of gold, which he had seized. This was destined for Almagro and others, in order to procure a farther reinforcement, with which he was gradually supplied, the first who joined him being Benalcazar, from Nicaragua. He then continued his march along the coast, and met with scarcely any resistance, until he attacked the Isle of Puna, in the bay of Guayaquil. Six months expired before he could reduce this island to subjection, and from hence he went to Tumbez, where, on account of the disease which raged among his men, he remained three months longer.