681 / 1070
BooK
III.
Royal Commentaries.
five Marks one, and of every five Pefos, one was delivered for rhe1King's ufe,
and exaa:ly counted to the lafi
Maravedís
or Farthing.
Thus
by
the pmdent and good management of chis Chriíl:ian Governour, who ·
wa~ very rnuch a Gentleman, prudenc, wift and zealous for che Service of God
'and che)(ing, that ~mpire began to ilouriíh, and under m~ny concurring cirnum–
fiances arrived co thai: high pitch of happinefs and feliciry, rhat it daily increa[ed
and improved to greacer benefits : Bue rhat which above ali was confiderable, was
che propagation and increafe of our Holy Catholick Faith, which che
Spaniards
wicli grea.t ?ea! and labour preached over ali chofe Co_untries ; che which was re–
cei\{ed
~Y
che
Indians
with che grearer fatisfaétion and diligence, becaufe thac ma–
-ny
of
tliofe Doéhines which were preached unto them, were che fame-Precepts.
and Commands which cheir
Incan
Kings had by che mere light of Nacure deli
0
vered to them.
·
,
Bue
\vhilft che Gofpel grew and flouriíhed, and many were enlightned widil
the
..gl9rimis Majefiy chereof, and thac che
Jndians,
as well as
Spaniard,,
enjoyed in
'peru
boch fpiritual :md temporal Bleílings with peace and quiemefs : Behold, che
Devil, thac common enemy
to
Mankind, laboured ro.difturb che happy prpgrefs
of
ibis profpericy: To d_eftroy and overthrow which, he let loofe his Officers and
evil infirumencs, fuch as Ambician, Envy, Covecoufnefs, Avarice, Anger, Pride,
Diícord and_Tyranny,
to
whom he gave Commiffion in their feveral places to
-~deavour che fubverfion of che Gofpel, and hinden.rhe converfion of che Gen–
tiles to che Cacholick Faith, che advancemenr of which tended
to
che de{huétion
. of bis Power and Kingdorn; and God in his fecret judgmem-s, and for puniíh–
ment of che fins of Men, permitted chofe devices of che Devil ro fucceed, in fuch
fatal manner, as we fh_all rind by che fequel. For forpe cerrain perfons, guided
by a blind and rni(l:aken zeal for che cornrnon good of che
Jndi11ns
took falfe mea–
fure_s in the pr,opofals Fhey rnade therein to che Royal Council ; arguing in many
Debates, that new Laws and Confüturions ought to be eíl:ablifhed wirh peculiar
ref~rence and refpeét to the Govemments of
Mexico
and
Peru.
The perfon who .
moll: wannly and earnefily infified on this point, was a certain Friar, called
Bar
tholomew de las Cafas,
who fome years paft being a Secular Prieíl:; had travelled
QVer the Iílands of
Barlovento,
and had been ar
Mexico,
and in che pares adjacent;
and having taken
a
religious Habit on him, he propofed divers marrers, which
he
alled_ged, were for che good of the
lndians,
and tended to che propagation of
the Carholick Faich,. and increafe of che Royal Revenue
j
bue what effeét and
fucceís his Councils had.,
Francis Lope:,;, de Gomara,
Chaplain to his Imperial Ma–
jefty, relares in Chapter
1
p.,
and the fame is confinned by
Carate,
Accounrant–
General of che Royal Exchequer,
in
the firfi Chaprer of his fifth Book.
64º·
- 7
The fame is alfo relatéd by a new Hifiorian called
Dieg0 Fernando,
a Citizen of
Palencia,
who recites che rnany diíl:urbances which the-nevvLaws and Coníl:ituri-
. ons caufed both in
Mexico
and
Peru
j
chis Aurhour begins bis Hiíl:ory from chofe
Revolutions, and differs very licrle frorn che fubfiance of chofe parcicufars men–
tioned by the two cirhers. Wherefore we fhall repeat fingly what each Aurhour
writes
j
for _coníidering che averfion I naturally have to ali relations of fatal and
dolefuU paífages,
I
unwillingly recounc any ching of chat nature ; bue b~ing forced
thereunto for declaration of the Truth, and for continuation of che Hiíl:ory,
I
judge it convenient to fortifie rny difcourfes with the teíl:imony of che fhree fore–
going Aurhours, that
fo
I may not feem of rny own head to have framed marrers
which have produced fad and evil confequences
to
che whole Empire, and which
have proved ruinous to .che feveral parcies and faétions of chofe Counrries : And ,
left in che Qgorarion of rhefe Aurhours, pr ciring·them by Notes in the Mar–
gene,
I
íhould be taxed @f mííl:akes, or of having addéd any rhing of my own,
I
have rather chofen to follow my former rnethod, by reperirion of their words
verbatim
in chofe particulars, which contain matter of reflexion, or blame on any
perfon
j
though in ~ther chings _my difcourfes íhall not be confined
to
their very
words, bue rather ferve for a Comment, enlarging on many paífages, and·adding
to
what they have omitced ; ali which fhall pe performed wi_ch great ref~ét
to truth, founded on the tefürnony of ,c'hofe who having been Eye-witneífes,
and Aétor~ in thofe Revolutions, have delivered undoubted Narratives rhereof
unto me without parcialiry or prejudice
to
any.
Wherefon: