Hello and welcome to Western Sieve. Episode two hundred and fifty two. Cracks
in the foundation. Last time, Pisardo agreed to put Atahualpa to death.
Yet in order to continue running the Inca Empire, Pisardo very much still needed
an emperor. Luckily, Mango Inca, another descendant of the royal line,
happened to be on hand and was more than happy for the moment to step
into the roll. But just like when it seemed that everything was going according
to plan, a bombshell from Europe threatened to capsize Pisardo's fledgling ship of state.
Charles the fifth issued a decree declaring Pisaro to be the governor of the
northern portions of the Inca Empire and his partner, Diego Almagro, the governor
of the southern portions. The only problem was he did not say where the
northern portion began and the southern portion ended, or vice versa. Today we
watch as Pisaro's tentative hold over his portion of the Inca Empire begins to unravel.
Diego de Almagro arrived in Cusco in late January fifteen thirty five, having
been appointed Lieutenant governor. By Pisaro. He had barely arrived when a breathless
messenger from the coast informed him that he was now the governor of all of
the Southern Inca Empire. However, along the western coast of South America at
the time, only a skilled ship's pilot could accurately gage distance, and to
date no one had attempted to demarcate the boundaries of Pisado's territory, and there
were more problems than just the maps. As the new group of Spaniards rode
and marched into the capital of the Inca, marveling at its architecture, they
soon realized that they had arrived too late to partake of its spoils or to
be awarded and comiends like the others. Undoubtedly, these new conquistadors looked with
envy on the eighty eight and commiendos, who had chosen to remain in the
capitol and who were now fabulously wealthy men. Many of the latter had already
shed their armor and now wore stockings, capes, and hats pierced by stylish
feather plumes. By contrast, the newcomers wore patched clothing and didn't have a
coin to their names. This newest group of conquistadors had been lured to Peru
in the belief that they could become instantly rich. Abruptly disabused of this notion,
they now realized they had missed that opportunity by at least a year,
if not longer. It was a realization that caused more than a few of
them to become quite better. With a minority of the Spaniards extremely wealthy and
a majority extremely poor, political divisions between the two groups not surprisingly began to
appear. Those Spaniards to whom Pisardo had granted encomiendes were naturally indebted to him,
loyal to him. Those who had arrived with Almagro, on the other
hand, we're hoping that loyalty to the aging conquistador who had brought them here
would pay off in the long run. After all, if it turned out
that Cusco lay within Almagro's new realm, then the Spaniards who had already been
awarded encomiendes might soon have those rescinded. Almagro would then surely distribute the encomiendes
among his own followers. But the fact of the matter was no one knew
hu Cusco belonged to. This exacerbated an already politically charged environment. Moreover,
two of Francisco Pisardo's brothers, Juan and Gonzalo, were in Cusco at the
time. They were Francisco's youngest and most impulsive brothers and seemed only to exist
in order to throw gasoline on already existing problems. Remember when I told you
that conquest of the inca was very much a Pisardo family business, Well,
I never said that every member of the Pizarto family was equally skilled at it.
It was not long before the tensions began to boil over. According to
one chronicler, quote, Juan Pisardo and Gonzalo Pizaro were the most resentful of
Amagro because they disliked him. Almagro's friends coaxed him, telling him to look
out for himself. The king had made him lord, so he should truly
be one, and he should immediately send for those decrees that were coming and
take possession of what the king had designated as his governance. End quote.
Another concluded from then on there were two factions, one bound to the Pisaros
and one to the Almagros. Disagreements over who would control Cusco and its surrounding
area came to a head roughly a month after Amagro's arrival. One day in
March fifteen thirty five, fearing that Amagro might try to seize the capital as
his own, the two Pizaro brothers and their supporters carried several cannons into their
palace on the main square, barricaded it, and then quote scandalously emerged onto
the laza, ready to begin a great altercation end quote. Their behavior so
incends Terrnando de Soto, a longtime supporter of Amagro, that he and Juan
Pisaro came to blows. According to one chronicler, quote, Juan Pisaro and
Soto had words, whereupon Juan Pisaro seized a lance and thrust it at Soto,
who, he had not been on a fast horse, would have been
brought down by the lands thrusts. Juan Pizaro chased after him until they reached
the place where Almagro was staying. If Amagro's men had not saved him,
he Juan would have slain him. Soto, for Juani Pisaro was a very
brave and strong willed man. When Almagro and his men saw Soto entered the
square fleeing and with Juan right behind him, they seized their weapons and went
after Juan Pisaro. Thus, men from both sides gathered on the square brandishing
their weapons end quote. Only through the intervention of a new royal official who
arrived, Antonio de Gusman, were the two Spanish factions ultimately prevented from killing
each other then and there. Two months later, after finally hearing of reports
of near civil war in the capital Francisco, Pisaro hurriedly went to Cusco,
anxious to diffuse the situation. Yet with the precise details of the king's division
of the Inca Empire still not here, Pisaro decided to try to negotiate a
solution with his former partner. Both Pisardo and Amagro were by now aware that
they had conquered only perhaps two thirds of the Inca Empire, Sidestepping the incendiary
issue of to whom Cusco belonged, Pizaro soon agreed to help Almagro finance a
massive expedition of exploration and conquest to the south. The southern portion of the
Inca empire would clearly lie within Almagro's future governorship. Pizaro therefore hope that by
helping finance its conquest, he would rid himself of his increasingly troublesome partner and
would at the same time eliminate the current political crisis in Cusco. Frankly,
if they were lucky, there would be enough gold, silver, and peasants
to the south to satisfy both Almagro and his hundreds of new ambitious conquistadors.
Almagro agreed to the proposal. What he needed to do now was select a
second in command. Hernando de Soto was quick to apply for the job,
even offered Almagro a sum of money exchanged for the position, But loyalty was
what mattered to Almagro now, not cash or capability, so he gave the
gig to one of his long time associates instead, a man named Rodrigo Argones.
Even though this arrangement temporarily solved the problems between the Pisato and Almagro actions,
it also highlighted the reality that manko Inca was not in charge of his
own realm. It was very difficult to betray yourself as an actual emperor when
foreigners were openly and actively fighting for control over your alleged empire. So,
just like inside the Spanish camp, intrigue started to take over Manko Inca's own
house. His most likely challenger for power was his brother Paolou, whom,
to be clear, Manko trusted completely. When Manko went with his army and
the allied Spanish cavalry to north and crush Atahualpa's last army, he left his
brother Polo in charge as the de facto emperor. Polo, to his credit,
relinquished the position as soon as Manko returned. Manco was, however,
suspicious of his cousin Passak and half brother Atak Sooba, but aware that arrivalries
among the Inca elites might cause instability in his new kingdom. Francisco Pisado attempted
to end any power struggle by bringing the two Inca sides together to negotiate.
The attempt was unsuccessful, however, so much so that Manko privately wrote to
Almagro to help rid himself of any rival Inca faction. The year before,
Mango and Almagro had spent considerable time together while on military campaigns and had become
friendly although busily preparing for his expedition to the south, Almagro agreed to help
the young emperor. The more he helped Manko, the more indebted to him
the Emperor would be. Thus, one night, a small group of Spanish
assassins crept along the alleyways of Cusco. Almago had sent the men to exterminate
Manko's half brother Atasova. Finding the latter's home in the dark and creeping into
his bedroom, they located the potential rival and murdered him in his bed.
The assassination of Atak Sopa, however, only intensified the rupture within Mano's extended
family, which now began to organize themselves along the same fall lines that divided
the Spaniards. Manko and his brother Paolo allied themselves with Almagro. Those of
the Inca faction opposed to Manko, however, allied themselves with the Pisado brothers,
and things continued to deteriorate from there. One night, Manko, fearing
revenge for his brother's murder, fled his home to Almagro's palace, and,
according to a few records, Mano was so fearful that night he even crawled
underneath Almagro's bed and hid. While this christ was far from over, Almagro
was getting ready to leave and conquer this southern Inca empire. On July the
second, fifteen thirty five, he marched out of Cusco with five hundred and
seventy armed men, intending to find his fortune. Pizaro came to see him
off. Both men probably expected this to be a final parting of ways.
Almagro would find his kingdom, conquer it, and rule it, just as
Pisaro was ruling in the north. Of course, we know that wasn't going
to happen. There was no great empire to the south, but neither Pisaro
nor Almagro knew that at the time, and Almagro did have one other major
upshot for the situation. It emptied Cusco of all the poor dispossessed Spaniards.
Those who remained were by and large already major and comiendo owners. These men
were very satisfied with their positions and were not likely to cause anyone any trouble.
Pisaro desparted Cusco as well, intending to continue his newest project, founding
Spanish cities on the coast. And this is the end of the story for
now of Hernando de Soto, who am definitely coming back to in a future
episode because he prepared to depart Peru as well. Unsuccessful in his attempt to
accompany Almagro's expedition as second in command, so To left Cusco with a pack
train carrying a fortune in gold and silver, ingots intent on finding a passage
on the next ship headed back to Spain. The cavalry officer would lad the
Spanish advance down the Andes would now leave Peru forever. Once in Spain,
Soto is going to use his share of the Inca treasure to win a royal
license to conquer a little known land called Florida. So To hope to find
his own Indian empire there, similar to the one that Cortez and Pisaro had
already discovered. But he wouldn't and as we'll see, you will eventually die
destitute and delirious on the banks of the Mississippi River. According to some,
he's the first European to discover it. Alas, that's a story for another
day, which we will get to in great detail soon enough. This left
Cousco in the hands of Manco Inca and Pisato's two younger brothers, Juan and
Gonzalo. This did not work out well for Manko. Juan, Gonzalo and
the rest of the Spaniards left behind in Cusco had an insatiable appetite for gold
and silver. They pressured the emperor constantly where was all the hidden gold?
At first, Manko played along, Before long it became clear to him that
no matter how much gold he gave the Pisado brothers, they would always demand
more, more and more, and it wasn't just the gold. Ever since
their arrival, the Spaniards had eagerly pursued native women. Now seemingly in total
control over the land, they went after every woman they saw, including high
board descendants of Juanna Kapak. Almagro had a relationship, for example, with
a royal sister of Mango Inca quote. She was the daughter of Juanna Kapak
and of his sister, who would have inherited the Inca Empire had she been
a man. She gave Almagro a pit in which there was a quantity of
gold and silver tableware, which once melted down, yielded eight bars or twenty
seven thousand silver marks. She also gave another captain twelve thousand Stellanos from the
leftovers of that pit. But the poor woman was not shown any greater respect
or favor by the Spaniards because of this. On the contrary, she was
repeatedly dishonored, for she was very pretty and had a gentle nature, and
she caught the pox. Finally, however, she married a Spanish citizen,
and in the end our lord was well served when she died a Christian and
was a very good wife. Given that some of these women were not married,
having affairs with the Spaniards didn't bother the Inca elite, and then Gonzalo
pushed it too far. He treated Mango Inca and the rest of the native
elite with utter contempt, and Gonzalo wanted Mango's own wife as his mistress.
When an Incan official confronted him about how inappropriate this was, his reaction was
less than positive. According to one source, he grabbed the man roughly and
shouted in his face, who gave you the authority to talk to the king's
Koryogo like that? Don't you know what kind of men we Spaniards are by
the king's life. If you don't shut up, I'll seize you and play
a game with you and your friends that you'll remember for the rest of your
lives. I swear if you don't keep quiet, I'll slit you open alive,
and i will cut you into little pieces. Not exactly an understanding reaction,
But this woman, Kia Occolo, was not only Manko Inca's wife,
she was also his sister. It was inconceivable that he would have to give
her up or allow Gonzalo to conduct an affair with her. Hoping to play
kate, Gonzalo Mango ordered that a large quantity of gold and silver be gathered.
He soon arranged for it to be delivered, and he personally accompanied it
to Gonzalo's palace. Sadly, Gonzalo wasn't satisfied. In the end. He
responded, all this silver is good, but she is what we really want,
recognizing how serious Gonzala was. Manco is desperate, having already discovered the
humiliation of hiding in Almagro's bedroom to escape assassination, having his palace ransacked,
and presently being harassed on a daily basis for more gold and silver, Manko
was now being ordered to hand over his very own wife and sister to an
arrogant foreigner. Searching for a way out, Manko finally hit upon what seemed
like a reasonable solution. How about giving Gonzalo a different beautiful woman, an
Inca woman even more beautiful than his queen. Manko's son Tutukutsi would write,
quote, my father Manko, seeing with what insistence they were asking for the
queen, and that he was unable to avoid their request. In another way,
sent for a very beautiful woman, koift and well dressed, in order
to hand her over in place of the queen that they were asking for.
But when they saw her, they said that she didn't seem to be the
queen they were asking for, but rather another woman, and that he Manko
should give them the queen and stop wasting their time. Not willing to give
up, Manko assembled twenty more beautiful women, hoping Gonzalo would choose one of
them and give up on his wife. But Gonzalo showed no interest and insisted
even more vehemently on possessing the Inca queen. With mounting desperation, Manko finally
sent for another of his sisters, who resembled his wife, closely making sure
she was dressed and looking at dentical to his wife, I manco led this
latest decoy out to the Spaniards. The emperor even pretended to be dismayed when
he had been forced to relinquish his very own queen. According to some,
when the Spaniards saw her come out, they shouted with joy and enthusiasm.
Gonzalo Pizzaro, completely obsessed with having no other woman than the queen of the
Incas, by this time, could scarcely restrain himself again. Mango Inca's son
reports quote mister Manko Inca, and this is Gonzalo again speaking. If she
is for me, give her to me right away, because I can't stand
it any longer. And my father, who had instructed her well, said
many congratulations, do what you wish with her. So, in front of
everyone, and oblivious to Aloos, Gonzalo went and kissed and embraced her as
if she were his legitimate wife. The woman, the sister, horrified and
frightened at being embarrassed by someone she didn't know, screamed like a madwoman and
said that you would rather run away than face people such as these. And
when my father saw her behaving so wildly and so strongly, refusing to go
with the Spaniards. He realized his own freedom dependent upon her complying. Completely
furious, he ordered her to go with them, and seeing my father so
angry, she did what she was commanded to do and went with them,
more out of fear than any other reason end quote. But in the end
it didn't matter. Gonzalo eventually realized that he had been duped. He discarded
the sister and seized Manco Anca's own wife as his own. Bitterly, Manco
himself would later write, Gonzalo Pizaro took my wife and still has her.
If Mano had any doubts about the price he was going to be required to
pay in order to become Emperor the Inca's, those doubts were soon accentuated when
the high priest of the Inca, a man named vilak Umu, unexpectedly arrived
back in Cusco. Manco had sent vilak Umo to accompany his brother Paulo on
Almagro's expedition to the south, but only three months into the expedition, vilak
Umo had escaped, and he now told Manco horror stories of all he had
witnessed everywhere they had gone. Vilak Umu said the Spaniards had been consumed with
finding objects of gold and silver. If the local chiefs didn't immediately produce what
they demanded, then the Spaniards treated them with brutality. Even when the gold
and silver was produced, the Spaniards nevertheless demanded that the native villagers accompanied the
expedition as servants, and those who did not do so voluntarily were taken bound
in ropes and chains. A young priest who accompanied the expedition wrote, quote,
they carried off their wy and children. The women who were attractive they
took for their personal service, and for other things besides. And when the
mayors of some Spaniards produced foals, they had the Indians carry these on hammocks
and litters, and other Spaniards had themselves carriers and litters just as a pastime,
leading their horses by the bridles, so that they the horses became very
fat end quote. Even the native porters that Manko had given almagro Villa g
Umo explained, were routinely treated violently. Quote. They the servants worked all
day long, without rest and without eating except for a little roasted corn and
water, and they were barbarously imprisoned at night. There was one spaniard on
this expedition who locked twelve Indians in a chain and boasted that all twelve died
in it. And when one Indian died, they cut off his head in
order to terrify the others so that they didn't have to undo the paddock on
the chain. If some poor Indian got so sick or tired, then they
routinely beat him until he died from it, because they said if they were
lenient with one, the rest would become sick or tired. Quote. Villac
Umu had escaped from Almagro's expedition and hurried back to Kusku. Most of the
Incan porters and servants Manko had sent with that expedition came back with him.
That expedition, by the way, was not going according to plan. Almagro
had to pass through some of the highest mountains in the Americas. At this
point, his men were dying at perilously high rates, both from the freezing
temperatures and the increasingly hostile natives. But villac Umu's return was a major turning
point in the conquest of Peru. Not long after he arrived back in Cusco,
he and Manko Inca began organizing secret meetings. At these meetings, Umu
and others began urging Manko to lead his people in a full rebellion, and
manco Inca had now reached a personal turning point as well. In the beginning,
he had hoped to rule with the Spaniards, but that was looking increasingly
impossible. He had tried to satisfy the foreigner's desires, but that was proving
impossible. They simply could not be satisfied, whether with gold, women or
both. Plus with each passing day, it was becoming increasingly clearer and clearer
that manco Inca was not in charge of his empire. The Pisartos were I
used the plural there for a reason. Had it been just Francisco Pisato,
I think it's not clear at all that the great rebellion would have happened.
Francisco had always proven to be the most reasonable of the Pisato clan. Sure
he wanted a kingdom to rule, but he wasn't interested in running into the
ground. That's where I think this episode is kind of a key turning point
and a difference maybe between the conquest of Mexico and the conquest of Peru.
If the first episodes in this series were about Francisco Pizzaro studiously following the blueprint
and getting pretty lucky at times. This episode is about how his brothers managed
to do just about everything that they can to provoke the comment Great rebellion.
The more and more Manko thought about it, the more he realized he had
been duped. The Spanish never wanted to help him. This wasn't about Inca
factions or internal conflict. They wanted to rule the empire period, and they
tricked Manko into helping them do so. At some point, Manko also realized
that if he did rebel, he would be restarting the war that had been
lost by Ottahuallpa's generals, so he would need to do something different. Gradually,
Manko made up his mind he would never again put any faith in the
Spaniards. They simply could not be trusted. In early November fifteen thirty five,
Manco Inca took the first concrete steps in the direction of rebellion, calling
for a secret meeting of his chiefs and governors from the four quarters of the
empire. It was a major turning point in his life and in the history
of Peru. There he told the men assembled. Quote. I have sent
for you in order to tell you, in the presence of our relatives and
attendants, how I feel about what these foreigners intend to do with us,
so that before more Spaniards joined them, we can arrange things in time,
so that in general everyone will benefit. Remember that the Incas my fathers,
who rest in the sky and in the sun, ruled from Quito to Chile,
and did so many things for those they received as vassals that it seemed
that they were children who had immerged from their own entrails. They neither robbed
nor killed anyone, except when it served justice, and they kept order and
reason in the province. As you well know, the rich did not succumb
to pride, and the poor were not destitute. Instead, they enjoyed tranquility
and perpetual peace. Our sins made us unworthy of such lords, and were
the reason that these bearded ones entered our lands, their own being so far
away from here. They preach one thing and do another, and despite all
of the admonitions they give us, they do the opposite. They have no
fear of the sun God nor shame treating us like dogs. They can call
us by other names their greed has been so great that there is no temple
or palace they have left unpillaged. Furthermore, even if all the snow on
the mountains were transformed into gold and silver, it would still not satisfy them.
They keep the daughters of my father and other ladies, your sisters and
relatives as miss desiring them beastly like this, they want to distribute, as
they have already begun, all the provinces, giving one to each of them,
so that as lords they can ravage them. They intend to keep us
subjugated and enslaved, and that we will have nothing to do other than find
them metals and to provide them with our women in livestock. What justice and
reason did they have to do these things? And what more will these Christians
do? Look? I ask you where did we meet them? What is
it that we owe them? Or which of them did we injure? In
order that, with these horses and these weapons of iron, that they have
made such cruel war on us? They killed Atahualpa without cause. They did
the same with Captain General Chachumicha. They also killed rim Navi by burning them
to death in Quito, so that their souls would burn with their bodies,
and they couldn't go to enjoy inca heaven. It seems to me that they
be neither just nor honest that we put up with this. Rather, we
should strive with the utmost determination to either die to the last man, or
else to kill our cruel enemies. End quote. After the meeting, Manko
quietly slipped out of the city. As he traveled through the night, no
doubt he came to the determination that when he entered the city again, it
would be at the head of a conquering army. When he returned, he
would exterminate the Spanish once and for all. But despite Manko's efforts to keep
spies out of the secret meeting, there had been spies and attendants. These
men quickly reported what they had heard to Juan Pizaro. Juan told his brother
Gonzalo, and immediately the two men saddled their horses and tore off after Manko.
After a few hours, the brothers came upon what appeared to be part
of Manko's entourage. They demanded to know which way Manko had gone, but
the men lied. They told Juan that Manko had gone one way, when
in reality he had gone another Still, the Spaniards quickly realized their mistake and
reversed course. Before long, Manko, being carried on his royal litter,
heard the sound of horses hoofs in the distance, and he realized he had
been betrayed. Quote. Manko feared the enemy and cursed a great deal those
who had informed them that he had escaped. With great fear, he got
out of the litter and hid among some small rushes. The Spaniards arrived and
loudly called out to him. Soon one of the horsemen approached the place where
he was hiding, and, believing that he had been discovered, he came
out, saying that it was he and that they should not kill him.
He told a great law, which was that Diego de la Magro had sent
him a messenger an order that he should follow him to Chile. End quote.
The two Bizarro brothers, just relieved that they found the emperor, didn't
believe Manko's story about Amagro's order for a moment. They quickly escorted him back
to Cusco and locked him in a room, just as he had imprisoned Atahualpa
three years earlier. The same man who had stolen Manko's wife and who openly
slept with her, now supervised the removal of Manco's final outward vestiges of power.
Quote Gonzalo Pizzaro ordered his men to bring irons and a chain with which
they shackled my father. This is by Tutokutsi, and then all at once
threw a chain around his neck and a larn on his feet end quote.
With Manko now firmly their prisoner, the Spanish inhabitants of Cusco no longer made
a pretense of showing the emperor any respect. Juan and Gonzalo were especially brutal,
threatening Manko with even worse consequences if he didn't reveal the location immediately of
more and more gold and silver. Manco was later quoted as saying, quote,
I gave Juan Pizarro thirteen hundred gold bricks and two thousand golden objects bracelets,
cups, and other smaller pieces. I also gave seven gold silver pitchers.
But they said to me, dog, give us gold. If you
do not, we will be burned. And they swore at me, and
they said that they wanted me to burn. I'm not lying when I say
that I rebelled more on account of the abuses they inflicted on me, than
because of the gold they took from me. For they called me a dog
and struck my face, and they took my wives and lands that I used
to farm. End quote. But even with Manko's latest gifts, the Spaniards
were still not satisfied, and they became more and more abusive, both to
Manko and all of the city's inhabitants. No longer did the Spaniards try to
hide who was in control. According to titut Kutzi, again this is Manko's
son. During his captivity, Manko tried to reason with the Spaniards, and
an attempt to remind them of everything he had done, he said, quote,
what have I done to you? Why do you treat me in this
manner and tie me up like a dog? Is this how you repay me
for what I have done you and for helping establish you in my land?
End quote? But of course, the Spaniards ignored Mango's complaints and inched ever
closer to the Great Rebellion. Instead, they kept him in chains, certain
that if Manco were freed, he would immediately try to stir the country into
revolt, and they told him Manco Inca. Making excuses now is not going
to help you. We know without a doubt that you want to make this
country rise up. They've told us that you want to kill us. For
this reason, we've imprisoned you. It's not true that we want you to
rebel. Then you can stop complaining and give us some gold and silver,
which is what we came here to find. Give it to us, and
we will set you free. End quote. At this point, Mano must
have realized what the Spaniards really were, foreigners whose only intent was to pillage,
sack, and plunder the empire that his family had created. But while
Manco was being humiliated and abuse as a prisoner, the various Inca lords he
assembled for his clandestine meeting had mostly escaped from Cusco the night of his capture.
Almost immediately, they had begun fanning out into the countryside to spread Manko's
orders to begin preparing for a rebellion. In the Inca system of government,
each provincial governor directed the local chiefs below him, who in turn commanded households
of commoners that numbered anywhere from a few hundred to maybe ten thousand. As
long as the Inca chain of command continued to function from emperor to governor.
Then Manko still wielded substantial control over the population. Despite all the confusion and
chaos of the previous several years, the Inca machinery of states slowly but surely
began to grind into working order. Everyone began to get ready to follow Manko
Inca's one order, prepare yourselves. The word got out, and slowly in
different parts of the empire, the rebellion began to smolder. By now,
the Inca realized that the Spanish were tough to kill when they were in large
groups, so instead they settled on a strategy of killing them when they were
mostly isolated, when they went to their encomiendes to get tribute. In the
far southern portion of Peru, close to modern De la Paz, two Spaniards
were killed in December fifteen thirty five on their encomiendes. Soon more and more
natives were killing Spaniards that way, ambushing them from the city when they were
traveling alone. Words spread, and before long this new style of attack had
spread throughout Peru. With only a few months of the meeting, over thirty
Spaniards had been ambushed and killed more than had been killed in the first three
years of the conquest. In January fifteen thirty six, Ernando Pizzaro returned to
Cusco after an absence of two years. He was the one, if you
will recall, who accompanied the royal fifth of the Treasure back to Spain after
the death of at Hualpa. Hernando had negotiated the Pissaro cause well. Not
only had the king granted him the right to import black slaves to work in
Peru's minds, but he also gave the Pisaro's the right to appoint three lifetime
members to each town council throughout the kingdom. This effectively gave the Pisardo's control
over Peru. Her Nando's return meant a major change for Manco Inca. Hernando
ordered the Inca Emperor immediately released from custody and unchained. He apologized to Manco
for the way that his brothers had treated him, and began to dine with
him regularly. This was not out of some altruistic desire to see Manco's human
rights recognized. However, soon began peppering the emperor with the same old questions,
where was they're more gold? Plus it's worth, noting that King Charles
back in Europe had ordered Manko Inca treated as a fellow sovereign, so to
an extent, Hernando was just complying with his orders. Still, Laud and
Gonzala were furious. How could Hernando release the guy who had just started an
insurrection. He might escape any day and pick it back up again. Hernando
brushed aside these concerns and told his brothers there was no risk of that at
all. Manko had promised him he would not lead any rebellions or anything like
that. But now it was Manco's turn to beat deceptive as high Priest villac
Umu had been carrying out the rebellion in his name this entire time. Little
did the Pizarro brothers realize Manko was just waiting for the rainy season to end
to begin the great rebellion in earnest he knew he would never get another chance
like this. The Spanish were presently divided. Pisardo was on the coast,
his brothers isolated in Cusco, and Almagro was far to the south or potentially
even dead. While the Pisardo brothers feasted and toasted one another night after night,
the Inca were secretly assembling their weapons. As the warriors drew nearer to
the capitol. The time had finally come from Mano to escape. Word would
soon get out that native armies were approaching. It was time for Manco to
take full and open control of the growing insurgency. Having already given at Anando
Pisaro different stores of gold and silver, Manko now asked Hernando for a favor.
In return, could he and villac Umu travel to the nearby UK Valley,
about fifteen miles to the north. He and his high pries wanted to
perform some important religious ceremonies there for his father. If Hernando would allow him
to go, he promised he would bring back a life sized gold and silver
statue that belonged to his father. Hernando, ever eager to get more treasure,
told Manko, of course, by all means, the two of them
could go. In April the eighteenth, fifteen thirty six, Manko Inca and
his high priest left Cusco and headed for the UK Valley. Not long after
they departed, Juan and Gonzalo Pizzaro, and even some of Manco's astrained kin
formed a delegation and visited Hernando. Hernando had made a huge mistake. They
told him the Lieutenant Governor Hernando must immediately send a force to recapture the Inca
empire. If not, then Manko had no intention of returning. It would
be full out war. Hernando again brushed these concerns aside. He said Manco
would return. Manco had promised him he would. Hernando said that they were
worried over nothing. They should all just go home and stop it. Manko
Inca would keep his word. Two days later, a spaniard arrived in Cusco,
who had been surprised to meet Manko. Inca and vilak Umu headed into
the hills above Kallak Valley and traveling in the direction of Lairs, some fifty
miles from Cusco, not fifteen. When the spaniard had asked the emperor where
they were going, Manko replied that they were off to retrieve some gold.
To Hernando, I guess this information still made perfect sense. Manko had promised
that he would bring back a life side statue made of silver and gold,
and he was on his way to go get it. But when more days
went by was still no sign of the departed emperor. He started to worry.
Finally, on the eve of Easter Sunday, news arrived that manko Inca
had been seen with a large group of native chiefs in the rugged mountains.
The Inca emperor had apparently convened a secret assembly of native chief Some military leaders
from all parts of the empire were still various. Eyewitnesses had seen all kinds
of warriors assembling across Peru. The rebellion, it seemed, was very real.
Later on, Pedro Pisaro, cousin to the Men, would recall quote,
manko Inca took refuge in the Andes, which is a land of enormous
rugged mountains with very bad passes and where it's impossible for horses to enter.
And from there he sent many high ranking captains all over the realm in order
to gather up all the natives who could fight and who could go with them
to lay siege to Cusco and kill all of us Spaniards who were there.
End quote, Ernando had been duped after more than two years on his puppet
throne. Manco Inca had formerly declared war against the Spaniards. Next time the
Great Rebellion. As always, if you've enjoyed the episode, you can check
out more information at the website Western sit podcast dot com. If you would
like to support the show, there's a couple of ways you could do that.
The links are in the show notes, by a Patreon or via Westernsive
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