THÔNG TIN TÀI LIỆU
Cajamarca, Peru 63 the ambiguous structural position of caciques/curacas, which many scholars regard as crucial to understanding the colonial period as a whole In some respects the indigenous practice of cacicazgo paralleled the Spanish institution of caudillos and caudillismo, though there were important differences Both were patriarchal institutions in which political power was exercised by political strongmen through extensive networks of clients and subordinates In general, however, most caudillos were of Iberian extraction and gained power through their martial and political skills, while most caciques ruled indigenous communities by virtue of hereditary or natural right In many communities, localized variants of the institution of cacicazgo continued into the 20th century, making it one of the most enduring forms of political practice in the Americas See also Andean religion; encomienda in Spanish America Further reading: MacLeod, Murdo J Spanish Central America: A Socioeconomic History, 1520–1720 Berkeley: University of California Press, 1973; Stern, Steve J Peru’s Indian Peoples and the Challenge of Spanish Conquest: Huamanga to 1640 Madison: University of Wisconsin Press, 1982 A depiction of the seizure of the Inca Atahualpa at Cajamarca by Spaniards in the northern Andes Mountains Michael J Schroeder Cajamarca, Peru Site of one of the most memorable and important set of events in the Spanish conquest of the Americas, the valley and town of Cajamarca sit high in the northern Andes Mountains It was here, on Friday, November 15, 1532, that Francisco Pizarro’s 62 horsemen and 106 foot soldiers had the striking good fortune to encounter the large military force of the Inca Atahualpa The next day, after an initial exchange of pleasantries, the greatly outnumbered Spanish force launched a surprise attack from behind a series of walled enclosures, slaughtering an estimated 6,000 of the Inca’s soldiers before taking the Inca himself hostage The Inca soldiers, wielding slings and clubs, proved no match for the armored Spanish horsemen and their steel swords and pikes After witnessing the deaths of thousands of his troops, the captive Inca offered the bearded strangers an enormous ransom of gold, silver, and precious objects to secure his release—enough to fill a room measuring approximately 85 cubic meters: the famous Atahualpa’s ransom For the next seven months, trains of porters carted to Cajamarca precious objects from across the Inca realm During this period, the Spanish had ample opportunity to observe the Inca and take careful note of his and his followers’ customs and rituals Regarded as a semidivine being, the Inca had his every need attended to by large numbers of servants and retainers In mid-February 1533, as the treasure slowly trickled into Cajamarca and his men grew increasingly restless, Pizarro sent a large reconnaissance expedition, led by his brother Hernando, south to survey the route to the Inca capital in Cuzco In mid-April 1533, the 153strong contingent of Diego de Almagro marched into Cajamarca from the Pacific coast, effectively doubling the Spanish force Not having participated in the slaughter in the square or capture of Atahualpa, Almagro and his men were to receive a substantially lesser share of the ransom, sowing the seeds of the Almagrist civil wars that wracked the early years of the conquest of Peru Eleven days later, on April 25, after some three months, the reconnaissance expedition of Hernando Pizarro returned to Cajamarca with important intelligence on the topography that lay between Cajamarca and Cuzco and the distribution of the Inca’s military strength The melting down of the accumulated treasure began on March 16, 1533, and continued for nearly four
Ngày đăng: 29/10/2022, 22:11
Xem thêm: