The royal commentaries of Peru : in two parts / written originally in spanish by the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega; rendred into english by sir Paul Rycaut.

ihe TranfÍator to .the Reader. able manwer they ' were treating with the good men, and whilfl Friar "\(alverde, with a CrofS in hi& hand, waJ preaching to Atahualpa their King; tht1t then, without any Caufa given, they .fhould /;e /,J!Jed wit/, - Swords and L ánces, and jive thoufand of 'them maffecred /Jefore the face of their Prince; And yet they would not foreg,oe thiJ foolifh imagina- tion; though afterwards , contrary to the faith g,ivBn .., they faw their King imprifoned, and his liberty promifed upon a vafl ranfome of €ioU and Silver ; which when paid ancl fully complied with, he wtU notwith· flanding ftrangled in pri/on, and no other liberty g)'ue11 him tha11 that freedom which Death /;ejlows upon ali mankind. And yet thu {il(y People cou!d not 6ut entertain a high efleem of the Spaniards, tU of thofe who were come to teach them a 6etter Law, and fli!I ca/led them Viracocha's, or People dejcended from their Father the Sun, imagining that this new The Indians fart of People in Beards and R uffs had received Commi.ffeon from that glori- ~~:~ds~º ow Light, which they adored, for punijhment oj their Offences, to fwear and lye, and vio/ate ali the Bands of humane ltind. And yet that which farther fhews the }implicity and good nature of. this People iJ, that in de- JPight of ali the ill ufage received from . fhe Spaniards, they would prove flill faithfttU to them, upon a principie they had recei'ued, that to whom- foever tbey had yielded themfelves in War, they were to 6e faithfu/I, with fach tfncorrupted Loyalty and Truth, that no confideration either of King, Wife, Father, Family or Countrey could a6folve them from the O/;ligatio11 and Duty they owed to their Countrey (vid. p. 487.) And hence it WtU i ' that fo many Indians fought againfl their Countrey·men in union with the Spaniards, and ferved them for Spyes ~ to give them inte!ligence ofwhat- faever was defigned in the Camp of the Indians. But thiJ flexiUe anclgood nature of thi5 People did no·t foften the haugh- lj mind of the Spaniards t owards them, who efleeming the refl of the World Slaves to them, oppref!ed the Indians with fach {er7Jitude and fla- ry as the nature of man was not abte to fuflain. Of which that wife and good Emperour, Cha~les the Fifth, taking notice, he difjatched new Or- ders to Peru , for eafe of the Natives , and to exempt' them from that inhumane Tyranny which one man ought not to exercife towards another : But thii gratiom Indulg,ence of the Prince ferved to raife greater Diftur- kances amongft the Conquerours , who refujing to r¡uit their Commands mzd exempt their índians from their Va{falage · and Ser·vices, open/y"oppo{ed the Governours andOjficers which were fent to p11t the new Ordinances in execu- tion: which ajterwanls proceeded to an open War and 11.e/;ellion, which with v~rious faccef!es continued for many years : ti~ at. length the King of Spam was forced to moderate the rigour of his new regulations, and con- defcend to his Suhjeéls, /;_; canferving to them that tyrannical Power which they pretendecl unto by right of Conque(! over the Indians : in whicb they wereJo unmercifu!l, that had not King Philip the Second contrived a fup- • P!Jt. of Negro's out of Africa to work in the Mountain of Potoli and other Mines, t he whole lnd_ian Nation had befare thiJ 6een utter!J extinguijhed. But God, who ÍJ ju11 and compaffionate of the Creatures which he hath made ', would not fuffer the(e Cruelties to pajS tmpunifh'd, but cau{ed th.e Spaniards thernfelves to be inflruments of his 'Uengeance 011 each other. So Francifco Pi~arro and Diego Almagro, after having conr¡uered the Coun- trey, fe!l at variance ahout Jharing the Government and di'Uidi11g the Spoit. which Ívas decitled /;y the Sword: íhen Goa~alo Pi~arro pretended to the Go7.1ernment of Peru for his Life_, /;y virtue of the P11tent whfrh the Em- perour