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The keel and bottom were made of reed
stems as thick as posts, lashed together with
henequén, a fiber resembling hemp. There
were raised platforms made of lighter
stems, lashed in the same way, on which the
cargo was stowed and the people sat, to
keep dry.... They carried as trade goods
many personal ornaments of gold and sil-
ver, including crowns, diadems, belts, and
bracelets; armor, such as greaves and
breastplates; tweezers and rattles; beads
and rubies in strings and clusters; silver-
mounted mirrors, cups, and other drinking
vessels. There were quantities of woolenand cotton mantles, tunics... and other
garments, most of them lavishly embroi-
dered with designs of animals, birds, trees,
and fish, in scarlet, purple, blue, yellow, and
other colors.Despite the excitement Ruiz’s encounter
inspired when he rejoined Pizarro, the expedi-
tion was soon on the edge of collapse again.
When a rescue ship sent by the governor of
Panama arrived in August 1527, offering the
starving survivors a chance to leave Pizarro’s
command, all but 13 men accepted. Pizarro,
his 13 followers, and three Indians Ruiz had
kidnapped from the raft to train as inter-
preters were abandoned on an island they
named Isla Gorgona, off the Colombian coast.
Ruiz rescued them seven months later.
Instead of returning north, however, Pizarro
and Ruiz sailed down the coast of Ecuador,
past the point of the earlier meeting with the
trading raft.
In April 1528 the Spanish sighted the Inca
city of Tumbes on Peru’s northwestern coast.
Pizarro sent three men ashore to investigate.
When the shore party returned with ecstatic
tales of gold and silver, beautiful women, and
friendly, intelligent men, the doubting Pizarro
sent ashore a second group, who confirmed
the claims. The Spanish spent several weeks
feasting and exchanging information with the
locals. They enjoyed similar receptions at
other coastal villages as far south as the shore
of central Peru.
Pizarro returned to Panama, then quickly
sailed for Spain seeking investors and a royal
commission. Charles V was impressed but
preoccupied with preparations for his corona-
tion as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire.
He left the matter in the hands of his wife,
Queen Isabella of Portugal, who granted
Pizarroexclusiveauthorization to “discover”
and conquer Peru. As soon as the conquest
was complete, Peru would be called New(^66) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
Francisco Pizarro explored the area of present-day
Peru and subsequently destroyed the Inca Empire,
which was in the midst of a civil war at the time of
the encounter.(Library of Congress, Prints and
Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-104354])
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