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1535 - Collaboration and Provocation Manco as puppet-Inca  The start of
1535 found Manco ruling Peru in a careful co-existence with the
Spanish. He was grateful and loyal to them for having placed
him on the throne and having extinguished the rival forces of
Atahualpa. For their part, the Spanish preferred to deal with
a puppet-Inca rather than to handle the administration of the
vast empire themselves. The conquistadors continued to maintain
a restrained behaviour towards the Indians, being warned by Pizarro
that "if the natives are molested by being asked for gold and silver they might rebel. This must be avoided now and until there are more Spaniards."Manco began to establish himself as the new Inca ruler, building the customary palace in Cuzco and presiding over the religious ceremonies. He tried to re-establish his authority and prestige amongst the numerous tribes that formed his empire. However the recent civil war, between Huascar and Atahualpa, and the Spanish conquest had caused irreparable damage and many tribes sought for an opportunity to re-establish local rule. In Cuzco itself, Manco found himself surrounded by relatives and native leaders of dubious loyalty. Foundation of Lima Pizarro had been observing the native porters struggling to carry supplies over the mountains to Cuzco, and determined to move the capital of Peru to the coast. A new city named Ciudad de los Reyes was founded at the mouth of the river Rimac and Pizarro took up residence there with a portion of the conquistadors. The city's original name survived only a short time before reverting to a corruption of the river's name: Lima. The Chilean expedition  Early in 1535, news arrived from Spain that Charles V had awarded the northern part of the Inca Empire to Pizarro and the southern part to Almagro. The exact details were due to arrive later in the year but in the meantime, a row broke out about whose jurisdiction Cuzco fell into. Tensions rose between rival factions in Cuzco and fighting nearly broke out amongst the Spaniards. In the end, Pizarro negotiated an agreement whereby Almagro, with financial support from Pizarro, would lead an expedition to explore Chile and, hopefully, find sufficient treasure to satisfy his greed.Manco sent his trusted brother, Paullu, and his chief priest, Villac Umu, with 12,000 natives to support Almagro's expedition. Great hardships and cruelties ensued. The Spanish horsemen attacked and looted the villages, forcing the natives to act as porters under the most brutal conditions. It was not long before the natives of Chile were in revolt against the Spanish and ambushed them, with limited success. Eventually, Villac Umu and all the natives from Cuzco fled, leaving the Spaniards "with no one to fetch them even a pot of water". Provocation  With the arrival of yet more Spaniards in Cuzco,
the conquistadors were becoming more bold and aggressive in their
abuse of the natives, particularly Manco. "The Spaniards
were not content with the service of the natives but tried to
rob them in every town". Pizarro's younger brother,
Gonzalo, developed a passion for Curo Ocllo, the wife of Manco,
and demanded that she be handed over. Manco responded with gifts
of treasure and tried to deceive Gonzalo by presenting one of
his sisters dressed up as his wife. This was all to no avail,
for Manco himself later wrote that "Gonzalo Pizarro took
my wife and still has her".Manco was further threatened with violence by the conquistadors, who looted his palace with impunity one night. Pizarro took no action against this and the Spanish soon began to drop any pretence of respect for the puppet-Inca. Relations deteriorated, especially when Villac Umu returned from Chile with details of the Spanish cruelties there. Manco organised a secret meeting of his leading native chiefs but was caught en route. Gonzalo Pizarro imprisoned the Inca, who was further abused by the Spaniards. "They threw a chain around his neck and irons on his feet". "They treated him very, very disgracefully, urinating on him and sleeping with his wives, and he was deeply distressed". "[They] spat in his face, struck and beat him, called him a dog, kept him with a chain round his neck in a public place where people passed". Manco's native leaders began revolts in three different parts of the country, killing a number of conquistadors. Reprisals, however, were swift and brutal. |
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