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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