History of the Conquest of Peru , livre ebook

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pubOne.info thank you for your continued support and wish to present you this new edition. The most brilliant passages in the history of Spanish adventure in the New World are undoubtedly afforded by the conquests of Mexico and Peru - the two states which combined with the largest extent of empire a refined social polity, and considerable progress in the arts of civilization. Indeed, so prominently do they stand out on the great canvas of history, that the name of the one, notwithstanding the contrast they exhibit in their respective institutions, most naturally suggests that of the other; and when I sent to Spain to collect materials for an account of the Conquest of Mexico, I included in my researches those relating to the Conquest of Peru.

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Publié par	Pub One Info
Date de parution	23 octobre 2010
Nombre de lectures	0
EAN13	9782819910558
Langue	English

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Preface
The most brilliant passages in the history ofSpanish adventure in the New World are undoubtedly afforded by theconquests of Mexico and Peru - the two states which combined withthe largest extent of empire a refined social polity, andconsiderable progress in the arts of civilization. Indeed, soprominently do they stand out on the great canvas of history, thatthe name of the one, notwithstanding the contrast they exhibit intheir respective institutions, most naturally suggests that of theother; and when I sent to Spain to collect materials for an accountof the Conquest of Mexico, I included in my researches thoserelating to the Conquest of Peru.
The larger part of the documents, in both cases, wasobtained from the same great repository, - the archives of theRoyal Academy of History at Madrid; a body specially intrusted withthe preservation of whatever may serve to illustrate the Spanishcolonial annals. The richest portion of its collection is probablythat furnished by the papers of Munoz. This eminent scholar,historiographer of the Indies, employed nearly fifty years of hislife in amassing materials for a history of Spanish discovery andconquest in America. For this, as he acted under the authority ofthe government, every facility was afforded him; and public officesand private depositories, in all the principal cities of theempire, both at home and throughout the wide extent of its colonialpossessions, were freely opened to his inspection. The result was amagnificent collection of manuscripts, many of which he patientlytransscribed with his own hand. But he did not live to reap thefruits of his persevering industry. The first volume, relative tothe voyages of Columbus, were scarcely finished when he died; andhis manuscripts, at least that portion of them which have referenceto Mexico and Peru, were destined to serve the uses of another, aninhabitant of that New World to which they related.
Another scholar, to whose literary stores I amlargely indebted, is Don Martin Fernandez de Navarrette, lateDirector of the Royal Academy of History. Through the greater partof his long life he was employed in assembling original documentsto illustrate the colonial annals. Many of these have beenincorporated in his great work, "Coleccion de los Viages yDescubrimientos," which, although far from being completed afterthe original plan of its author, is of inestimable service to thehistorian. In following down the track of discovery, Navarreteturned aside from the conquests of Mexico and Peru, to exhibit thevoyages of his countrymen in the Indian seas. His manuscripts,relating to the two former countries, he courteously allowed to becopied for me. Some of them have since appeared in print, under theauspices of his learned coadjutors, Salva and Baranda, associatedwith him in the Academy; but the documents placed in my hands forma most important contribution to my materials for the presenthistory.
The death of this illustrious man, which occurredsome time after the present work was begun, has left a void in hiscountry not easy to be filled; for he was zealously devoted toletters, and few have done more to extend the knowledge of hercolonial history. Far from an exclusive solicitude for his ownliterary projects, he was ever ready to extend his sympathy andassistance to those of others. His reputation as a scholar wasenhanced by the higher qualities which he possessed as a man, - byhis benevolence, his simplicity of manners, and unsullied moralworth. My own obligations to him are large; for from thepublication of my first historical work, down to the last week ofhis life, I have constantly received proofs from him of his heartyand most efficient interest in the prosecution of my historicallabors; and I now the more willingly pay this well-merited tributeto his deserts, that it must be exempt from all suspicion offlattery.
In the list of those to whom I have been indebtedfor materials, I must, also, include the name of M.Ternaux-Compans, so well known by his faithful and elegant Frenchversions of the Munoz manuscripts; and that of my friend DonPascual de Gayangos, who, under the modest dress of translation,has furnished a most acute and learned commentary on SpanishArabian history, - securing for himself the foremost rank in thatdifficult department of letters, which has been illumined by thelabors of a Masdeu, a Casiri, and a Conde.
To the materials derived from these sources, I haveadded some manuscripts of an important character from the libraryof the Escurial. These, which chiefly relate to the ancientinstitutions of Peru, formed part of the splendid collection ofLord Kingsborough, which has unfortunately shared the lot of mostliterary collections, and been dispersed since the death of itsnoble author. For these I am indebted to that industriousbibliographer, Mr. O. Rich, now resident in London. Lastly, I mustnot omit to mention my obligations, in another way, to my friendCharles Folsom, Esq., the learned librarian of the BostonAthenaeum; whose minute acquaintance with the grammatical structureand the true idiom of our English tongue has enabled me to correctmany inaccuracies into which I had fallen in the composition bothof this and of my former works.
From these different sources I have accumulated alarge amount of manuscripts, of the most various character, andfrom the most authentic sources; royal grants and ordinances,instructions of the Court, letters of the Emperor to the greatcolonial officers, municipal records, personal diaries andmemoranda, and a mass of private correspondence of the principalactors in this turbulent drama. Perhaps it was the turbulent stateof the country which led to a more frequent correspondence betweenthe government at home and the colonial officers. But, whatever bethe cause, the collection of manuscript materials in reference toPeru is fuller and more complete than that which relates to Mexico;so that there is scarcely a nook or corner so obscure, in the pathof the adventurer, that some light has not been thrown on it by thewritten correspondence of the period. The historian has rather hadoccasion to complain of the embarras des richesses; for, in themultiplicity of contradictory testimony, it is not always easy todetect the truth, as the multiplicity of cross-lights is apt todazzle and bewilder the eye of the spectator.
The present History has been conducted on the samegeneral plan with that of the Conquest of Mexico. In anIntroductory Book, I have endeavored to portray the institutions ofthe Incas, that the reader may be acquainted with the character andcondition of that extraordinary race, before he enters on the storyof their subjugation. The remaining books are occupied with thenarrative of the Conquest. And here, the subject, it must beallowed, notwithstanding the opportunities it presents for thedisplay of character, strange, romantic incident, and picturesquescenery, does not afford so obvious advantages to the historian, asthe Conquest of Mexico. Indeed, few subjects can present a parallelwith that, for the purposes either of the historian or the poet.The natural development of the story, there, is precisely whatwould be prescribed by the severest rules of art. The conquest ofthe country is the great end always in the view of the reader. Fromthe first landing of the Spaniards on the soil, their subsequentadventures, their battles and negotiations, their ruinous retreat,their rally and final siege, all tend to this grand result, tillthe long series is closed by the downfall of the capital. In themarch of events, all moves steadily forward to this consummation.It is a magnificent epic, in which the unity of interest iscomplete.
In the "Conquest of Peru," the action, so far as itis founded on the subversion of the Incas, terminates long beforethe close of the narrative. The remaining portion is taken up withthe fierce feuds of the Conquerors, which would seem, from theirvery nature, to be incapable of being gathered round a centralpoint of interest. To secure this, we must look beyond theimmediate overthrow of the Indian empire. The conquest of thenatives is but the first step, to be followed by the conquest ofthe Spaniards, - the rebel Spaniards, themselves, - till thesupremacy of the Crown is permanently established over the country.It is not till this period, that the acquisition of thisTransatlantic empire can be said to be completed; and, by fixingthe eye on this remoter point, the successive steps of thenarrative will be found leading to one great result, and that unityof interest preserved which is scarcely less essential to historicthan dramatic composition. How far this has been effected, in thepresent work, must be left to the judgment of the reader.
No history of the conquest of Peru, founded onoriginal documents, and aspiring to the credit of a classiccomposition, like the "Conquest of Mexico" by Solis, has beenattempted, as far as I am aware, by the Spaniards. The Englishpossess one of high value, from the pen of Robertson, whosemasterly sketch occupies its due space in his great work onAmerica. It has been my object to exhibit this same story, in allits romantic details; not merely to portray the characteristicfeatures of the Conquest, but to fill up the outline with thecoloring of life, so as to present a minute and faithful picture ofthe times. For this purpose, I have, in the composition of thework, availed myself freely of my manuscript materials, allowed theactors to speak as much as possible for themselves, and especiallymade frequent use of their letters; for nowhere is the heart morelikely to disclose itself, than in the freedom of privatecorrespondence. I have made liberal extracts from these authoritiesin the notes, both to sustain the text, and to put in a printedform those productions of the eminent captains and statesmen of thetime, which are not very accessible to Spaniards themselves.
M. Amedee Pichot, in the Preface to the Frenchtr