Discovery of the Americas, 1492-1800

Free ebooks ==> http://www.Ebook777.com

the friendly ambassador of a great lord. In a

1615 account of the conquest, a Peruvian

historian, the half-Inca, half-Spanish Felipe

Guamán (Huamán) Poma de Ayala (also known

as Waman Poma) described Atahualpa’s reply:

The Inca responded with majesty and said

that it was true that, having come as a mes-

senger from so distant a land, he believed it

must be a great lord, but that he did not

have to make friendship, as he too was a

great lord in his kingdom.

Father Vicente Valverde, Pizarro’s chaplain,

approached Atahualpa and told the emperor

to renounce all gods except the one wor-

shipped by the Spaniards. Atahualpa replied

that he had to worship no gods but his own

and asked who had told the priest otherwise.

Valverde responded that his Bible told him.

Atahualpa demanded to see the book:

He took it in his hands and began to look

through the pages of the book. And the Inca

said: “Well, why doesn’t it tell me? The book

doesn’teven talk to me!” Speaking with

great majesty, seated in his throne, the Inca

Atahualpa threw the book down from his

hands.

The angry priest shouted to Pizarro, who

ordered his artillerymen to shoot. Concealed

soldiers burst into the plaza, ambushing

Atahualpa’s retainers. Atahualpa was seized

(^70) B Discovery of the Americas, 1492–1800
In this mid-19th century engraving the Inca welcome Spanish conquistadores in the 1530s, probably at
present-day Cajamarca, Peru. (Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division [LC-USZ62-104362])
http://www.Ebook777.com