It is curious to remark that in these early and disturbed days of Peru no single leader was left to die a natural death. A second Viceroy, Antonio de Mendoza, was now appointed. He proved himself an able ruler, but, unfortunately, he died before he had occupied his post for two years. A further epoch of rebellion now followed, until Don Andres Hurtado de Mendoza, Marquis de Cañete, was sent out from Spain to occupy the Viceroyalty. It was undoubtedly due to the strong rule of this important noble that affairs in Peru promised to settle themselves definitely. After his death, however, in 1561, his successor, Don Zuñiga, Count de Nieva, was assassinated almost as soon as he took possession of his post.
It was during the government of one of Zuñiga's successors, Toledo, that the young Inca, Tupac-Amaru, was executed in the great central square of Cuzco. The horror which this act is said to have instilled in the minds of the Indians is indescribable. The race had now sunk into a permanent state of melancholy.
All this while Spain had been unceasing in her demands for gold and silver, and it was necessary to work the mines strenuously in order to satisfy the greed of the Mother Country. As time went on, indeed, the difficulties which lay in the path of a conscientious Viceroy tended to increase rather than to diminish. It is true that the country did not now depend entirely for its prosperity upon its gold, for the valuable drugs and other natural products were now obtaining some recognition, and the cereals and general agricultural growths introduced from Europe were now becoming of genuine importance. Other matters, however, were beginning to cause deep anxiety to the ruling Powers. The buccaneers had now made their appearance in the Pacific, and the alarm spread by their presence frequently caused an entire cessation of trade. The jealousies, moreover, between the Spaniards and the colonials tended to increase, as the arrogance of the former grew and the resentment of the latter deepened.
True to her policy to discourage any attempt at authority on the part of the colonists, Spain had continued strenuously to refuse to appoint any but Spaniards to the highest posts. No single Viceroy, for instance, from first to last, was American born, although the holders of this high office included in their numbers four grandees, two priests, one Bishop, one Archbishop, three licentiates, and a number of military officers.
After a while, as was only natural, the tendency arose to split up the main areas of colonial government. Thus, in 1718, the Viceroyalty of Santa Fé de Bogotá was established, and in 1777 that of Buenos Aires. Neither of these innovations had occurred a day too soon. With the growing population and the increasing political and commercial importance of the Continent, the strained machinery with which it had been attempted to govern all matters from a single centre had broken down and become useless so far as the remoter provinces were concerned. In the course of the settlements and of the industrial progress, such as it was, the claims and rights of the aborigines had become a negligible factor. Indeed, from any but an industrial point of view, the existence of the descendants of the Incas had practically been ignored.
In 1632 a minor revolution of Indians occurred, which resulted in a quaint species of naval engagement on Lake Titicaca, with the native balsas, or rafts, posing as diminutive battleships. In 1661 there was another outbreak. This was organized by Antonio Gallado, who succeeded in gaining possession of the town of La Paz, in which neighbourhood the Spanish authority became almost extinct for three years.
It was not until 1780, however, that the Spaniards met with the first really serious shock of Indian insurrection since the first extinction of the power of the Incas. This belated attempt was destined to be the last. The revolution had its origin in the system of forced labour which, despite the warnings and commands that from time to time were received on the subject from Spain, was continued to be imposed on the Indians.
In addition to this the unfortunate people were made to suffer further wrongs sufficient to rouse the most meek to rebellion. Thus by the laws of the Indies officials were appointed to provide the Indians with goods at certain prices. This system became abused to the point that the Spanish officials would distribute as much of these goods as they thought fit among the Indians at a price arbitrarily named by themselves. In consequence of this the impoverished folk were obliged to pay enormous and unfair prices for goods of which they were probably in no need of whatever, and did not desire.
An intelligent Indian, José Gabriel Condorcanqui, determined on a desperate effort to alleviate the condition of his people. Condorcanqui had received a far more generous education than the majority of his fellows, and had studied at the College of San Bernardo, in Cuzco. He spoke the Castilian tongue perfectly, and was thus enabled to hold a minor official post in the Spanish service. Claiming descent from the Royal Incas, he subsequently added the name of Tupac-Amaru to his own.
