freedom. Huascar, who had been taken captive by Atahualpa’s generals, was
executed for fear that the Spaniards would deem him the rightful ruler after he
promised to match and better Atahualpa’s ransom.
As the days passed, gold and silver from throughout the empire arrived daily in
Cajamarca, where it was melted down and distributed, making even infantrymen
incredibly wealthy by peninsular standards. The Natives brought approximately
13,000 pounds of gold and nearly twice that weight in silver. Pizarro gave leave
to a few who were old or sick to return to Spain with their newly won riches.
This proved a shrewd move as the parade of veterans from Peru encouraged a
gold-rush that brought more Spaniards and new energies to his side. Almagro
and the reinforcements arrived after the partition. They received paltry sums,
only exacerbating the simmering resentment between the two partners and their
parties.
With the Cajamarca treasure divided, the Spaniards eagerly awaited a
continuation of their march south toward the ceremonial complex identified as
the center of the realm. Atahualpa became a problem, solved when a rumor
circulated that he had ordered the massing of his armies. This became the
justification for Atahualpa’s execution by garroting. Pizarro soon appointed
Túpac Hualpa as his successor and pushed south. After Túpac Hualpa died,
Manco Inca was named (see Vilcabamba). Before reaching their destination, the
Spanish forces battled Atahualpa’s forces and defeated them with the aid of
Native allies.
The center called the “city of ‘the Cuzco’” yielded more treasure that was
divided among the men. But, still desirous of more, Almagro left with Manco
Inca on an expedition into what is today Chile. Pizarro returned north to found a
capital on the coast, the “city of Kings,” known today as Lima, a corruption of
the indigenous name Rimac. It took additional decades for the Spaniards, often
seeking El Dorado (the golden one), to explore the rest of the Inca domain.
Further Reading
Cieza de León, Pedro de. The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: Chronicles of the New World Encounter.
Edited and translated by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook. Durham, NC: Duke University
Press, 1998 [1554].
Hemming, John. The Conquest of the Incas. New York: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich, 1970.
Lamana, Gonzalo. Domination without Dominance: Inca-Spanish Encounters in Early Colonial Peru.
Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 2008.
Pizarro, Pedro. Relation of the Discovery and Conquest of the Kingdoms of Peru. Translated by Philip A.
Means. Boston: Milford House, 1972.
Prescott, William H. History of the Conquest of Peru. Philadelphia: J. B. Lippincott, 1902.
Puente Duthurburu, José de la. El Marqués Gobernador. Lima: Editorial Brasa, S. A., 1993.