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.

' . Royal Commentarier. BooK l. Share, in the namre 'of Spoils taken in War. But what the value of this Ran- fome was Auguffin de Carate, and Francu üpe:¡;,, who wrote ~n thofe days, vari- ouíly rep;rt. I ÍUpifOÍe tbat their Errours were in the hea.p or mafs, 1fhall rnen- tion fome particulars thereof, tbat we 'may rnake a better ¡udgment of the whole m.mer. Carate , in the 7th Chapter of bis fecond Book, hath the[e precife Words. " There was due to His Majeíl:y for his Fifths, thirty thoufand Marks " of pure, fine Plate, wroughc afid emboíled; and in Gold an -hundred and ce twemy Millions of Marks, &f. domara, .in the I 18th Chapter, faith, That Francf¡co Pifarro,_ after he had made an Eífay of the Gold and ~ilver, he c.aufed chern to be \.Ve1ghed, . and found fifty two thoufand Marks m good S1lver, and a million and three hundred and twenty fix thoufand and five hundred weight or Ducacs of Gold. . . - . , In cafe we compare thefe two Authours together, we fhall find that Gomara comes fhort of che Sum which f 11rate mentions, at leaíl: one hundred thoufand Marks of Silver; becaufelthac to make che King's Fifrb to amount unto thircy rhoufand Mark, the princi~al muíl: conGíl: of one hundred and fifcy thoufahd, the like Errour, and much more, chere is in che Gold; for whereas Caraie faith, that His Majeíl:y's Fifch of che Gold arnounted unto an hundred and twenfy millions o[ Marks, which muíl: be a plain Errour in che Ptint; for if according ro the va- lue we multiply .every Mark of Geld at fevemy two Ducats, the fum will be- come fo vaíl: and imrilenfe 1 thar there will fcarce be numbers ~f1 Arithrneci_ck!füfJ ficient ro contaln che accounr. ' And if by Marks they mea,n' Maravedu, the Er- rour will be as low on chat fide, 'as it was exce!Iive in the ocher, becal.Jfe an hun- dred and twerity millions of Maravedu make cmely three hundred and cwemy thoufand Ducats; which Jikewjfe is more evidenr', as will ~ereafter appear by the accoum of Diviíion, which thefe Authours ni¡¡ke, 'in the 'fhare and proporcion which belonged ro every fiogle Perfon out of ehe Raníórne of AtahHttlpa, whereby they make che value of che Gold, reauced into Silver, t<> amount unto feven hun- ~red and eigbty íix thoufand and íix hundred Ducats. · According to which 1 am inclined to make m1t every Man'~ fhare and proportion of Gold aod Silver, racher cHan to follow an opinion of fuch incredible Sums as are before rnentioned. ,And herein 1 am more willing to give credit unto Carate ( who was Accountanc General) in foch 5ums 'as he fets clown precifely, than to the reports of Goers and Comers, who fpeak at random: Onély as ro the qu:inticy of Silver which was 'divided, 1 follow that which Gomara relaces, becaufe Car~te is filenr in that particular, as alfo in the proporcions divided tb each Captain, as appears by his Hiíl:ory; onely- the ílme which appertained ~o the General we have taken upon the information of chofe who were prefent. Both Authours agree, thac the Hor[e- íflen were fixry in nm:nber, and the Fooc, or Infantry, one hundred and fifr}'. ':fhough 'Cieyd de Leo14, [peaking of cllf{amarca , where Atahttalpa was imprifoned, I faith, that chofe who took him were íixty Horfe, andan hundred Foot; in which report,concerning che Foot, I rather follO\y rhis Authour than Gomara; for befides t/fa t !he was aétually in Peru, wlíen he wrote of chefe matters, 1 am alfo much more apt to keep.wlthin the compafs ofAccounrs, and fer clown ten too little, ra- tlier .rhan five too much, 1 •"Thefe Authours alfo di~r ~ucb about che fhares which every Souldier recei- ved; for to the Souldiers they allot íix pares in Gold, and one in Silver; and ro che ~pvérnour.,, and his,Capcains, and che People wich Almagro, they give three parts in 6 0fü;' and one in Silver. Why, in chofe times the Gold fo much exceeded the qú;mtity of the ,Silver, (che rnF1.crary ro which now' appears in all pares of che World) the true Re:ifon is this: Becaufe that the lncan Kings were always Ma- f!:<>rs of more Gold than Silv,,er, of which they rnade no ocher ufe than ro adorn tli.i:Temples, ana Roya·! Pa'laées', .not eíl:eeming them in the place of Riches, 0 1 1 re;ifure. Mor~over there was much more dir{iculty in digging Silver, 1han in firrding Gold. For Silver, as \.'Ve fee in the Mines of Potoji, is fecched from che B wels of the Earth, into which they fink fomecimes t1~(0 hundred fachoms as ~{rofla.reporcs in the 8cb Cbapter ofhis .¡¡.th Book, which fucb as have che cu'rio- fify may read and learn with what incredible labour that Metal is exm1éted for wnich caufe the l ncM would not exaét their Tribute from the People in rhat 'Me- t~l , bue Gold is procured wich rnuch more eafe, being found on the Surface of che Earrh, beitlg waílled down frorn the Moumains wirh fodden Rains and with che faJl of che Waters is found in Brooks, and on the Banks of Rivers; and gene- ra JI y