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BooK

III.

Royal

Commentaries.

five Marks one, and of every

fiv€

Pef<?s, one

w~s

delivered for the King's ufe,

and exaetly counted

the lafi

Maravedu

Farthm~.

. .

Thus by the ·prudent and good management of chis Chri!ban Gove:nour, who

was very much a Gentleman, prudent, wife and zealous for the Serv!ce of God

and the King, chat.Empire began to flourHh, and

und~r.

any

co~cun:m~

c1rcum–

fiances arrived to that high pitch of happinefs

~nd

feliot , that it daily mcrectfed

and improved to greater benefits= But that which .above. all was

~onfiderable,

.was

che propagation and inci:eafe of our Holy Catholick Faith., \ h1ch

th~

Spanrard.t

with great zeal and labour preached ove: a11

r~ofe Cou~~nes;

the

wh1ch

was re–

ceived by the

Indians

with the greater fat1sfachon and d1hgence, becaufe chat ma–

of thofe Do&ines

whi~h

were

~reached

unto them,

we~e

the fame

Precep~s

and Commands which their

lncan

Kings had by the mere light of Nature deli-

vered to them.

But whilft the Gofpel grew and flourifhed, and many were eolighmed with

the glorious Maje£l:y thereof, and that the

Indians,

as well as

Spaniards,

enjoyed in

Peru

both fpiritual and temporal Blefftngs with peace and quiemefs: Behold, the

Devil, that common enemy to MankiOd, laboured

dillurb the happy progrefs

of this profperity : To defiroy and overrbrow which, he let loofe his Officers and

evil infirurnents, fuch as Ambition,

Envy,

Covecoufnefs, Avarice, Anger, Pride,

Difcord and Tyranny, to whom he gave Commiflion in their feveral places to

endeavour the fubverfion of tne

Gofpel~

and hinder the converfion of the Gen–

tiles to the Catholick Faith , the advancement of which tended to the defiruCl:ion

of his Power and Kingdom ; and God in his fecret judgments, and for punHh–

rnent of the fins of Men, })e_rmitted thofe devices of the Devil

fucceed,

fuch

fatal manner, as we

fhall

find by the fequel.

For fome certain perfons, guided

by a.blind and mifiaken zeal for the common good of the

Jndi1ins

rook

falfo

mea–

fures in the propofals they made therein 'to the Royal Council ; arguing in many

Debates, that new Laws and Conftitutions ought to be ell:ablHhed with peculiar

reference and refpeet to the Governments of

.¥exico

and

Peru.

The perfon who

moft warmly and earnellly infified on this point, was a certain Friar called

Bar

tholomew de lR-s Cafas,

who forne years paft being a Secular Prieft, had travelled

over the Hlands of

Barlovento,

and had been at

Mexico,

and

the parts adjacent ;

and having taken a religious Habit on him, he propofed divers matters, which

he alled_ged, were for the good of the

Indians,

and tended to the propagation of

the Catholick Faith, ·and increafe of the Royal Revenue ; but what effeet and

fuccefs his Councils had,

Francu

Lope;;::,

de Gomara,

Chaplain to his Imperial Ma–

jefiy, -

relat:es in Chapter

i.,

and the fame is confirmed by

Carate,

Accounrant–

General of the Royal Exchequer, in the

firft

Chapter of his fifth Book.

The fame is alfo related by a new Hill:orian called

Dieg(} Femando,

a Citizen of

Palencia,

who recites the many dill:urbances which the new Laws and Confiituti–

ons caufed both in

Mexico

and

Peru

;

this Aurhour begins his Hifiory from thofe

Revolutions, and differs very little from the fubll:ance of thofe particulars men–

tioned-by the two others. Wherefore we !hall-repeat fingly what each Authour

writes; fort confidering the averfion I naturally have to all relations of facal and

dolefull paffages, I unwi'llingly recount any thing of that narure

but being forced

~ereu.nto

for d.eclaracion

the T!uth , and .for continuation of the Hillery, I

JU~ge

it convenient to fomfie my difcourfes with the tefiimdny of the three

fort:–

gomg Autbours, char fo I may not feem of

own head ro have fram€d matters

which have

pr~duced

fad and evil

con~equences

to the whole Empire, and which

have. proved

rumo~s

to the feveral pames and faetions of chofe Countries : And

left m the Qgotat1on of thefe Authours, or citing them by Notes in the Mar–

gent, I iliould be taxed of mifiakes, or of having added any thing of my own

hav~

t"a:ther chofen to follow my former method, by repetition of their

word~

verhatim

thofeyarticulars? which co_ntain matter of reflexion, or blame on any

perfon ; though m other thin

gs my d1fc

ourfes iliail not

confined to their very

words, bur rather ferve J"or a

Comme.nt,

enlarging on many paffages, and adding

to what they have omitted ;

.all whtch

iliall be performed with great ref

~Ct

to truth>

fo~nded

on the

te~1mony

of th?fe who having been Eye-wimeffes,

and Actors

thofe Revolutions, have delivered undoubted Narratives thereof

unto me without parcialicy or prejudice to any.

Wherefore

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