508 / 1060
Royal
Commentaries.
Bool{
i.
S_hare, in the nature of Spoils taken in War.
But
what the value of this Ran–
fome was,
AugH{/in
de Carate,
and
Francu
lhpe~,
who
wrote
in
rhofe days vari–
oufly report.
I
fuppofe
that
their Errour were in the heap or
mafS, I
fhali
men–
tion Come particulars thereof, that we may m;ike a better judgment
of
the whole
matter.
Carate,
in
the 7th Chapter of
his
fecond Book, hath thefe precife
Words.
" There was due to His Majefiy for his Fifths, thirty thoufand Marks
'' of pure, fine Plate, wrought
and
embofied; and
in
Gold
an
hundred
and
'' twenty Millions of Marks,
&c. Gomara,
in the
11
8th Chapter, faith, That
Frandfco
Pifarro,
after he
had
made
an
Effay of the Gold and Silver,
he
caufed
them to be weighed, and found fifty two thoufand Marks in good Silver
and
a
million and three hundred and twenty
fix
thoufand and five hundred
weigh~
or Ducats of Gold.
In
ca[e
we compare thefe two Authours together, we
ihall find
that
Gomara
comes lhort of the Sum which
Carate
mentions,
at
leall: one hundred thoufand
Marks
of Silver; becaufe that to make che
King's
Fifch
to
amount unto thirry
thoufand Mark, the
~rincipal
mufi confifi of one hundred and fifry thoufand the
like Errour, and much more, there is in the Gold;
for
whereas
Garate
faith,' that
His Majefiy's
Fifth
of the Gold amounted unto an hundred and twenty
millions
of
Marks,
which mull: be a plain Errour
in
the
Print;
for
if according co the va–
lue we
multiply
every Mark of Gold at feveocy two Ducats, the
furn
will
be–
come fo vaft and immenfe, that there
will
fcarce be numbers in Arithmetick
fuf–
ficient to contain the account. And if by Marks they mean
Maravedu,
the Er–
rour
will
be as low on that fide,
as
it
was
exceffive in the other, becaufe
an
hun•
dred
and
twenty millions of
MaravedM
make onely three hundred
and
twenty
thoufand
Ducats;
which
likewife
is
more evident,
as
will
hereafrer appear
by
tbe
account of Divifion, which thefe Autbours make,
in
the lhare and proportion
which belonged
co
every fingle Perfon out of the Ranforne of
Atahualpa,
whereby
they make
die
value of the Gold, reduced
inco
Silver, to amount unto feven hun–
dred and eighty
fix
thoufand
and fix
hundred Ducats. According
to
which
I
am
inclined to make out every Mao's fhare and proportion of Gold and Silver, rather
than
to
follow
an
opinion of fuch incredible Sums as
are
before mentioned.
And herein
I
am
mofe
willing
to give credit unto
Garate
(who was Accountant
General)
in
fuch Sums as he fets down precifely, than to the reports ofGoers
and Com)rs, who
f
peyk
at random: Onely as to the quantity of Silver which
was di ided, I follow that which
Gomara
relates, becau(e
C11rate
is filenr in that
particular, as alfo in the proportions divided to each Captain, as appears
by
his
Hifiory; onely the £hare which appertained ro the General we have taken upon
the information of thofe who were prefent. Both Authours agree, chat the Horfe–
men were
fixty
in number, and the Foot, or Infantry, one hundred and
fifiy.
Though
Ciefa
de
Leo",
[peaking of
Cafamarca,
where
At1th11alpa
was imprifoned,,
faith, that thofe who took him were fixcy Horfe, and an hundred Foot; in which
report concerning the Foot, I rather follow this Authour than
Gomara;
for befides
that he was aetually in
Peru,
when he wrote of there matters, I am
a)fo
much
more apt
to
keep
within
the compalS ofAccounts, and fet down ten too
litcle,
ra–
th r than five too much.
Thefe Authours alfo differ much about the fhares which every Souldier recei–
ved ; for to the ouldiers they allot fix parts in Gold, and one in Silver; and ro the
Governour, and his Captains, and the People wirh
Almagro,
they give three parts in
Gold, and one in Silver. Why in thofe times the
Gold
fo
much exceeded rhe
quantity of the Silver, (the contrary to which now appears in all parts of the
World) the true Reafon
i
this:
Becaufe that the
lncan
Kings were
al~
ays Ma–
frers of more Gold than Silver, of which they made no ocher ufe than to adorn
their Temples, and Royal Palaces, not efieeming them
in
the
place
of Riches,
or Treafure. Moreover there was much more difficulty
in
digging Silver, than
io
finding Gold.
r ilver, as we fee in the Mines of
Potoji,
i
fetched from the
Bowels of the Earth, into
IVhich they fink fometimes two hundred fathoms,
as
Acofta.reports
in the 8th Chapter ofhis
4th
Book, which fuch as have the curio·
fity may read and learn \ ith what incredible labour that Metal is extracred, for
which caufe the
lncM
would not exaet their Tribute from the People in chat
Me–
tal, but Gold is procured with much more eafe, being found on the Surface of the
Earch, being wa{hed down from the Mountains
wich
fudden Rains, and with
the fall of tlle
Waters
is
found
in
Brooks, and on the Baoks of Rivers; and gene-
raJiy