482 / 1060
4
Royal
Commentaries.
CH AP.
XXVI.
The Authoztr compares his own Writings
with
the
Hiflories.
of
Spaniards.
N-
OW to
compare
what we have faid with the Writings of
Spanijb
Hifiori–
an , we fay, that the Difcourfe of Friar
Palverde,
and the Anfwer of
Ata–
hualpa,
are delivered
very brief,
and
in
few words,
in
all
the
printed Hifiories
:
For
the
truth is,
the
General and Captains
were
not very fincere, or faithfull
in
the Narrative
they
gave
of pa!Iages
wnich
occurred ;
for to puc
the
heft glofs and
colour they could on their aetions,
they left
out all
their
cruel
and unju!Hfiable
proceedings, and added whatfoever
they
judged to have the befi appearance.
What
we have alledged
concerning
.r1tahualpa,
how
that he ordered hlS Subjeets
co refill -the
Spaniards,
is confir.med by the authority of feveral Hifiorians,
and
par–
ticularly by
Lope:i:..
de
Gomara,
whe
in
the
113th
Chapter of his Book, hath
thefe
Words: " It is very
abferva~le
(faith
he) that though the
lndian.r
came all
arm–
" ed, yet
'not a Man
lifted
up his
hand, pecaufe
the
word
of Command
was not
" given, nor
the
Signal fhewed for
Fight,
as was agreed,
in
cafe
that matters
fo
(c
required ; for
it
is
pf9bable the furprize was fo fudden:\ and the affiightment
fo
" great by the found
of the
Trumpets, the Vollies of the Mufquets, and roaring
" of the Cannon, the rniliing of the Horfes, and clattering of Armour; things
" fo unknown to thefe
poo~
people,
as
dillra&ed them, aod
put
them befides their
'' underftandings and reafon. And a
little
farther be adds : Great numbers of
'' them perifhed, becaufe they did not
fight,
whilfi ours killed them with their
" Daggers, Oailiing and ftabbing
them;
(or Friar
ratvqrde
advifed
themDQt
to
ufe
'' their Swords, left
in
that
f
ervice they fuould
be
either blunted or broken- Thus
far are
the·Words of
Gomara
;
the
which
is
likewife
confirmed
by
other
Au..
tbours, whc?report,
tpae
rhe
Indians
fled
f9
foon as they faw their King taken
Pri..
foner, aod
rha~ Atfth11alta~
commanded them not to refift the
Spaniards:
The which
we
may attribute to
a
Miracle
of
God's
Providence, who was pleafed
to
conferve
the Chriftians, and
not
fuffer
them to perifh, whom
he
had
defigned
to preach
the Gofpel : For
if
the
Inca
had
not
commanded
them
not to fight,
cer~ainly
they
would
never
have endured to fee their Prince overthrown
and
taken
7
for having
Weapons in their hand , they would rather have died all in his defence
than
have
fuffered
160
Spaniards
(~om
they were able
to
have
(ubd'~ed
with
fiones)
to com–
mit
fudi
Outrages
upo~
them
5
infieact
whereof
there
was
not one
Spaniard
either
killed or wounded, unlelS
it
were
Francifao
de
Pirarro,
who received
.a
little nurt
in
his hand
by
one of
h1s
own
people,
as
he went to feize
Atahualpa.
The nurh
1 ,
the
111dia~1
did not fight, becau[e they
held
every Command of
the
ir l~aEo be
a part of
their Religion,
aJld
of
the di
vi~
Law,
rhougp
u
were to the
lofs.of£heir
ives and EO:ateS. And as to what Hifiorians report of
Fri~r
f/alvr,,,de,
that
h~
hi.rllfelf
ufed his
Weapons,
and encoupaged the Souldiers to kill and defiroy the
lndianf,
and ftab them
vv1th
Daggers to fave their Swords, and conferve them
to
anorher opportunit¥,
i~
a falfe
report
of tbofe who wrote t}iefe
pallag~inw ~pain,
where they might eafiiy
at
3
oo o
Leagues.dill:ance
obtru9.~
wfuat ftories
they
pleafed
on the minds of Men
1
for otherwife
it
is not to be imagined"'
than
a
religioas
Friar, a
good
Catholick, and a Divine, would utter filch oucragious word's of Cru,.
elcy,
whlch
became a
Nero,
rather
than
a
Perfon~
of
h\s Coat.
®d
Profeffion ;
-ana
one
wn6
deferved the Dignity of a BHhop,
ip
that
be
died
b¥
die
hands of
the
IndiAn.r,
for
preaching
the Catholick Faith:
Which
having
faid,
lee
us return
to the eries of our
Hillary.
CH AP.