NOTES^533
the demographic catastrophe by way of aggravating European guilt—as though it
were not great enough already. Can it be that the Indian population of the west coast
of South America was composed of a different gene pool, one that had had some ex
posure to these pathogens? See the speculations of Dickinson and Mahn-Lot,
1492-1992, pp. 93-94.
- On more than one occasion, plans for rebellion were betrayed via the confessional
and reported to the authorities—Rowe, "The Incas" (1957), p. 158. Cf. Chklovski,
Voyage of Marco Polo, p. 162, on the comparable role of astrologers (interpreters of
dreams) in the Mongol Chinese empire of Kublai Khan. To be sure, these astrologers
had never obligated themselves to keep these confidences secret. - The idiom is one of dismissal. But history has its own obligations, and Fernandez-
Armesto, Millennium, p. 225, argues that we must not forget: "... it is important to
restore the imperial careers of these African and American states to their place in the
commonly received record of the past... without a broad picture of the expanding
and convergent movements which met in the 'age of expansion,' the nature of the
world moulded by European initiatives in the second half of our millennium cannot
be fully grasped, nor the scale of the achievement realistically envisaged." - Among the most important are (1) the account by Father Bernabe Cobo, History
of the Inca Empire: An Account of the Indians Customs and Their Origin Together with
a Treatise on Inca Legends, History, and Social Institutions (finished 1653). Rowe,
"Inca Culture," p. 195, describes Father Cobo's History as "still the best and most
complete description of Inca culture in existence." And (2) Garcilaso de la Vega El
Inca, Royal Commentary of the Incas and General History of Peru (finished 1616). De
la Vega, related to the Inca royal family on his mother's side, was the son of a Spanish
conquistador. On de la Vega's somewhat edulcorated account of Inca conquests, see
Bernand, The Incas, p. 28. - I say "humiliating" deliberately. In confrontations with the Spanish, the Arauca-
nians would parade captured and visibly pregnant Spanish women before their former
spouses, skirts tucked above the waist—Padden, "Cultural Change and Military Re
sistance." - Cobo, History, pp. 228-30. Much has been made of the excellence of the Inca
roads, and the Spanish themselves were impressed by the broader, straighter sections;
although truth to say, the Spanish did not have good examples at home to go by. Two
major routes ran north-south, one along the coast, the other along the highland ridge;
these were fed by east-west transversals and local paths. From an economist's point of
view, the excellence of these roads lay in their practicality: they were no better than they
had to be. In the more difficult terrain, they were often nothing more than a track, per
haps a yard wide, paved with stone as required and stepped to save distance. They were
protected where necessary from rockfalls, but the users were expected to keep them
selves from falling. At intervals, in towns or along the road, the Incas built shelters and
storehouses for travelers. Almost all travelers were on official business. The Inca state
discouraged private trade and had an effective monopoly of long-distance commerce.
Cf. Rowe, "Inca Culture," pp. 229-33.
CHAPTER 8- Around 1600, Spain's Caribbean island empire had a population of maybe
75,000-80,000, of whom one in ten Spanish, the rest black and mixed. Few traces of
natives. Thus one person for 5 sq. km., one Spanish "settler" for 50 sq. km.—Chaunu,
LAmérique, p. 112. - Twenty-five sugar refineries in Amsterdam alone in 1622—Rich, "Colonial Set-
dement," p. 334. - Wood, Spanish Main, p. 125, gives a total of something under 5,000.