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1533 - The road to Cuzco Tupac Huallpa crowned as Inca  With Atahualpa now dead, Pizarro and Almagro decided to march further into the Inca Empire and to seize the city of Cuzco with all its treasures.Anxious to arrive in Cuzco as liberators and unwilling to take responsibility himself for the administration of the vast empire, Pizarro sought for a legitimate successor on Huascar's side of the family. Tupac Huallpa, Huascar's younger brother, was thus crowned with much pomp and ceremony and awarded the "royal fringe" designating him as Inca. Many of the native Indians rejoiced in what they saw as a restoration of the royal house and the Spanish were content to have a puppet-Inca to legitimize their actions. Unfortunately for the Spanish, Tupac Huallpa was to die of illness en route to Cuzco. Indian resistance  The Spanish left Cajamarca on August 11, 1533 and travelled along the main royal highway through the Andes. The first half of their journey, as far as Cajatambo, was uneventful and the conquistadors had opportunity to admire the well organized and administrated empire. At Jauja, the Spanish encountered the remains of Chalcuchima's army and quickly routed them, killing many. The survivors retreated to join Quisquis in Cuzco, burning storehouses and suspension bridges en route.The conquistadors split up into several groups - some used their horses to pursue the retreating army whilst others advanced more slowly on foot. With the Spanish split up in this manner, the army retreating to Cuzco were able engage them in hand-to-hand fighting and killed many of the conquistadors. However, the Indians continued to retreat to Cuzco and missed pressing home their opportunity to destroy the advancing Spaniards. Manco Inca The puppet-Inca, Tupac Huallpa, had died en route from an illness and Pizarro was unsure whom to appoint as a successor. Peru was recovering from a bitter civil war and seethed with plots to appoint various lords and generals as Inca. However, before arriving at Cuzco, Pizarro encountered an important lord and direct son of the previous Inca Huayna-Capac: his name was Manco Inca. Pizarro assured Manco Inca that "...I have come from Jauja for no other reason than... to free you from slavery to the men of Quito. Knowing the injuries they were doing to you, I wanted to come and put a stop to them... and to liberate the people of Cuzco from this tyranny". Spanish fighting superiority  The importance of the Spaniards' horses was now
apparent to the defending Indians. A mounted conquistador could
ride faster than an Indian messenger could run, the advantage
of height allowed him to strike down on his enemy and the horses
were more maneuverable and less easily exhausted than a foot
solider. The Indians "thought more of killing one of
these animals [horses] that persecuted them so than they did
of killing ten men..." The Indians had only simple clubs and maces to fight against the mounted Spaniards with their lances and swords, and the mountainous Andes did not provide enough suitable wood for pikes and arrows. The Spanish tactics of charging straight into the enemy time after time was remarkably brave and devastatingly effect.The conquistadors and the Indians, under the general Quisquis, clashed again violently just outside Cuzco. The Spaniards were forced to retreat and, having never seen them do this before, the Indians suspected a trick and refrained from pursuing them. After a tense night camped close to Quisquis's army, the Spaniards awoke to find the Indians had vanished, presumably to return to their homelands far north of Cajamarca. The road to Cuzco was clear. |
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