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BooK
IX.
Royal Commentaries.
'e
HA P. XXXVIt
Of ·the .Cruelly whicH
Atahualpa
·ufed
towards the Womén
an,d
GhiUren
o/the Bloud-Roya!.
I
1
'
.
'
t
~
'
'
,
A.
Tahua/p4,
havimg deílroyed aU the M@n of the ,Royal Family,•togeth(;r with
,
all che
CJtriªCfu,
Cornm~nders and,Subje~1s, of any, note belonging to
Hu–
.frµ
.;,
his Cru~l(ies, which }\lere m~ver fatiated with humane fleíh andl:¡loud, pro- ·
.c@edied with new ,thiríl: and app<!j:it~ to devqur the Children and Wornen, being
,thy
1¡1nhappy Rel;iéts of the Royal.Race; an~l,though the tendernefs of their Sex
_an9,Age was futfi~i<mt to'mo~e compaffion,\
4
¡:¡p,
plead in their beh~lf; yer
fo
ob–
durate we-re the Bowels of this Tyrant, tba¡.he made fearch in:all pl¡¡ces for the
W;0men a-nd Children of tlre Royal Race, (excepcing onely
cheWives.ofche Sun,
w;hkh coníemd :,themfelves within the Walls _of _their Convent ) and having ga–
.tI¡e¡:e-d
them cogether wichouc the Cicy, they pra(lifed fuch cormems upon them,
thac, .they died with liogring ;d~aths. , After wfüch thefe damnable Miniíl:ers of
~J.'.U€lty made che füiéteíl: fearch they could through all che Dominions, for chofe
of the Royal Bloud, that fo not any of chem mighc efcape their hands ; fo thac
ifl
1
a~l,parcs they
had
c-OlleéteQ gre~t nurnqers botl:i of Men and WomeJ.:J, as we)l
illegitimate, a~ legj.timace; for ~at_che
Inca!
having a greater li~rcy
~n~
licence
grames chem mrthe,free uíe ofWornen, than,any ochers, their Farn1ly becarne
-the.
rnoíl: numet.ous and extenfive of any in che whole Empin;. And having thus
colleétied thefe people, they ranged thern in a Plain, which ly@s abouc a League di-
, ·ftagt to the Northward of cbe Cicy ; which Field hath been called
Yahua'rpampa,
or ,the Field ofBloud, <_:!Vér lince che Fight which happened in thac place between
the
Chancas,
and che people of
Co~oo,
as
we
have declar~d forrnerly in its due place.
Thefe poor Wlíece:hes being in chis rnanner Prifoners in the Field, chey encom–
pa!fed them·wich three Files ; the firíl: was of Souldiers, ,}V,ho were to be a guard
_about thern, and to (i)ppofe any Infurreétion in cafe the Cíty
9[ Co:i:,c_o
íhould ac–
ternpt
it,
and ferve to bridle and fubjeét cheir Ene~ies s and ihen che other cwo
Files were Seminels and Guards, leíl: any íhould efcape, or any others encer in-a- '
mongíl: rhern to bring t_hern relief. Upon thefe fad wrecches chey praétifed their
!
Cruelries in feve{a],manners;
to
forne they gave onely a little raw Mayz to eat,
aod a few crude Herbs, rnaking them
to
cominue the füiétnefs of fuch a Faíl: as
their Religion enjoyned chern for a few days; che Wives, Siíl:ers, Aunts, <;oufm–
Germans, and Morhers· in-law of
Atahualpa
they hanged upon Trees, che ralleft
arn;i moíl: lofty thac they could find ; foníe chey haoged up by che hairs of the
head, orhers under the armes, and,.ochers in that unhandfome manner, as becornes
noc our modeíl:y
to
report ; to forne of chem they delivered cheir Infants to hold
in cheir armes, whícn when chey fell from chern, they knocked thern on che
head wich Clubs ; fome they hanged by one arme, fome by both, and others by
the wafie,
thac.fothey rnighc be long iQ dying, for to kill them at once, feerned
too much merey, aod·which thefo poor wrecches implored wifh cheir laíl:, cries
- and groans. The Boys and Girls chey killed by degrees, bringing out a number
ro.dearh
:it
every quarter of che Moon, uÍtílg thern wich no lefs cruelty chan they
had exercifed towards their Parents ; and amongíl: ·their orher torrnems, fiarv'ing
W:as one way of killing.
Diego Ferna(lde¼.
in his Hiíl:ory of
Peru,
couchiog briefly
on
che Cr~elries which
Atahualpa
ufed, ·hach chefe words: " Between
Gua[car
"
jnga ,
and bis Brocher
Atab.a!1pa,
chere happened ·a great difpute and concro-
• " '7erfie concerning che Governrnenc
r
.
and hirn "'iho was
to
be che Supreme
" Monarch.
Cuafcar Inga
r.eÍ!ding in
Coz,co,
and his Brocher
Atabalipa
in
Caxa
te
M alea. Atabalipa
di[peeded cwo of his principal Capcains, called
Ch,dcuchiman,
" and
f!.t!iz,quú,,
who being valianr and íl:om Men, raifed a greac Arrny, and
" cherewirh marched againíl:
Guafcar,
with defign, chac having overcóme and ta–
~
ken him Prifoner,
A1aba!ipa
íhou\d be declared King.
In
,chis March they fob-
.
·
'.' dued