The Storehouses of the King

t and the adjacent islands of Asia-profoundly ignorant of God, living like the animals around them, and going about as nude as in the day when they were first created. The god-like Lawgive

e embellished with sculpture portraying the battles his forces had fought with the different nations that opposed their landing to occupy the country. And he brought his new subjects to

h plantations of the Agava Americana. This city was, before the conquest, one of the most considerab

r platforms; but time, and the growth of the prickly pear, the tuna, or nopal, and other vegetables, have left but little of its original form

with two towers and a dome; from this exalted platform the spectator enjoys a most lovely landscape. We descended with reluctance the side of this pyramid, whose base is more ext

had been cut or taken away; its broken sides were so perpendicular as to prevent access to its summit. The other detached piece has been engraved by Hum

ould judge was not, when entire, less than seventy-feet in length. Under the gateway of the house, nearly opposite the entrance to the mint, is a fine statue, in a recu

ted with the tail and claws of a gigantic reptile. In the cloisters behind the Dominican Convent is a noble specimen of the great serpent idol, almost perfect,

ol. The former measures twelve feet in diameter, and is cut from one large block of porous basaltic stone. It is supposed to have been placed in the roof of the great temple in the same manner as the Zodiac was in the temple of Tentyra in Upper Egypt.[65] It now stands against the north-west wall of

e minister, I obtained permission of the clergy to erect a scaffold against the cathedral, and took an impression of it in plaster, which was afterwards carefully packed up, and with so

to view, which seems to have been done designedly. As I had been informed that the sides were covered with historical sculpture, I applied to the clergy f

consists of fifteen groups of figures, representing the conquests of the warri

mmediate vicinity of the city, you are apprised that you are near a place of great antiquity. You pass the large aqueduct f

purposes. The foundations and ruins of temples, fortresses, palaces, and other extensive buildings, are alone sufficient to attest its former consequence and splendour; but it is likewise well known to have been in ea

(if we may judge from their works) were probably an enlightened people, existing and flourishing long before the continent of America was kno

lock co

e terraces are perfectly visible, particularly the second, which is about thirty-eight feet wide, covered with a coat of red cement eight or ten inches thick, composed of small pebble-stones and lime. In ma

se found on the small hills of Chollula; and, on reaching the summit, we found a flat surface of considerable size, but which has

rty-five feet in length, and one hundred and seventy-one in perpendicular height. I should certainly consider

that these were similarly finished off with casing-stones, to preserve the corn from the effects of the elem

agnificent building, raised to such a height that the ascent to it was by a flight of a hundred and fourteen steps, was a solid mass of earth of a square form, faced

instead of a quadrangle of such extent; and have been faced entirely with st

ominion extended from the North to the South sea, over territories stretching, with some small interruption, above five hundred leagues from east to west

tezuma had fallen upon the Spaniards whilst encamped on a barren unhealthy coast, unsupported by any ally, without a place of retreat, and destitute of provisions, it seems to be impossible, even w

ontezuma in the city of Mexico,

and clad in mantles of fine cotton. Each of these, in his order, passed by Cortes, and saluted him according to the mode deemed most re

, in deep silence, bare-footed, with their eyes fixed on the ground. These were followed by a company of higher rank, in their most

is head. Before him marched three officers with rods of gold in their hands, which they lifted up on high at certain inte

he same time Montezuma alighted from his chair, and leaning on the arms of two of his near relations, approached wit

. This ceremony, the customary expression of veneration from inferiors towards those who were above them in rank, appeared such amazing condescension in a proud monarch, who scarcely deigned to co

ook leave of him, with a politeness not unworthy of a court more refined. 'You are now,' says he, 'wit

surrounded by a stone wall, with towers at proper distances, which served for defence as well as for ornamen

ue, not only to Cortes and to his officers, but even to the private men, as proved the liberality of the monarch to be suitable to the o

that at some future period his descendants should visit them, assume the government, and reform their constitution and laws; that from what he had heard and seen of Cortes and his followers he was convinced they were the very persons whose appearance the Mexican traditions and prophecies taught them t

ntention in sending him into that country; artfully endeavouring so to frame his discourse that it might c

its climate is mild and healthful. All the moisture which descends from the high grounds is collected in several lakes, the two largest of which, of about ninety miles in circuit, communicate wi

rs of the lake during the rainy season overflowed the flat country, these causeways were of considerable length. That of Tacuba, on

ways were openings at proper intervals, through which the waters flowed, and over these beams of timber

ons, that, in comparison with any other buildings which had been hitherto discovered in America, they might be termed magnificent. The habitations of the common people were mean, resembling the huts of other

pacious that forty or fifty thousand persons carried on traffic there. In this city, the pride of the New World, and the

visitors-proves that the founders of the Mexican Empire were white men, similar to the Spaniards; and, in firm belief in the promise of the great chief-that at some

his mistake regarding the identity of these men when Cortes tried to impose the forms of the Roman Catholic religion, and placed the image of the Virgin Mary in their great temple in Mexico. Then, and only

r power to destroy every monument of the ancient Mexicans, under the ignorant impression that every building was a heathen temple, and every statue the image of a pagan god, to whom pra

ntinuance, left a colony in power over the conquered natives of the soil, and, departing from Mexico, l

h, above fifteen hundred miles along the Pacific Ocean; its breadth from east to west was much less, it being

He, however, brought them all under his government; imparted to them the knowledge of God; gave them laws; and instructed the men in agriculture and other useful arts, while the women were taught to spin and w

were mere savages roaming the woods, without clothing, or any settled place of

and when no circumstance seemed to indicate the approach of any uncommon effort towards improvement, we are told th

to reclaim them. At their persuasion, enforced by reverence for the divinity in whose name they were supposed to speak, several of the dispersed savages

g thus collected some wandering tribes, formed that social union which, by multiplying the des

anco Capac turned his attention towards introducing such laws and policy as might perpetuate their happiness. By his institutions the various relations in p

d the subordination of those under their jurisdiction maintained with such a steady hand, that

Capac did not reach above eight leagues from Cuzco. But within its narrow precincts he exercised absolute and uncontrolled authority. His successors,

ing with that of any other race. The family, thus separated from the rest of the nation, was distinguished by peculiarities in dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful for others to assu

if we may believe the accounts of their countrymen, that prompted the Incas to extend their dominions, but the desire of diffusing the blessings of civilization, and the knowledge of t

two Incas; and he was invited by one of these to visit Caxamalca

e Inca, and on the other a temple of the sun, the whole surrounded with a strong rampart or wall of earth. When he had posted his troops in this ad

at he might explain more fully the intention of the Spaniards in visiting his country. They were treated with all the respectful hospitality usual

d obeyed his commands, astonished those Spaniards who had never met in America with anything more dignified than the petty cazique of a ba

offered to them was served up, the multitude of utensils of every kind formed of those precious metals,

ons for this were so tedious, that the day was far advanced before he began his march. Even then, lest the order of the procession should be deranged, he moved so slowly, that the Spaniards became impatien

way before him. He himself, sitting on a throne or couch adorned with plumes of various colours, and almost covered w

. Several bands of singers and dancers accompanied the cavalcade, and the who

scourse explained to him the doctrine of the Creation, the fall of Adam, the incarnation, the sufferings and resurrection of Jesus Christ, the appointment of St. Peter as God's vice

ul sovereign; promising, if he complied instantly with this requisition, that the Castilian monarch would protect his dominions, and permit him to continue in the exercise of his royal

as so lamely translated by an unskilful interpreter, little acquainted with the idiom of the Spanish tongue, and incapable of expressing himself with propriety in the langua

preposterous grant had been made, he, who was the rightful possessor, refused to confirm it; that he had no inclination to renounce the religious institutions established by his ancestors; nor would he forsake the service of the sun, the immortal divinity whom he and his people rever

to his ear. 'This,' says he, 'is silent; it tells me nothing'; and threw it with disdain to the ground. The enraged monk, running towar

s of which they had now so near a view, immediately gave the signal of assault. At once the martial music struck up, t

the destructive effect of the fire-arms, and the irresistible impression of the cavalry, fled with univ

mbers at his feet, while they vied one with another in sacrificing their own lives, that they might cover the sacred person of their sovereign, the Spania

ontinued to slaughter wretched fugitives who never once offered to resist. The carnage did not cease until the close of the day. About four thousand Peruvians were killed. N

nd they were so transported with the value of the acquisition, as well as the greatness of their success, that they pa

dejection into which he sank was in proportion to the height of grandeur from which he had fallen. Pizarro, afraid of losing all the advantages which he hope

made an attempt to recover his liberty. He offered as a ransom what astonished the Spaniards, even after all they now knew concerning the opulence of his kingdom.

instantly for fulfilling his part of the agreement, by sending messengers to Cuzco, Quito, and other places, where gold had been amassed in largest quantities, either for adorning the temples, or the houses of the Inca, to bring what was necessary for

the empire was still entire, no preparations were made and no army assembled to avenge their own wrongs or those of their monarch. The Spaniards remained in Caxamalca tranquil and unmolested

part of the stipulated quantity was now amassed, and Atahualpa assured the Spaniards that the only thing

of this rich booty. Orders were given for melting down the whole, except some pieces of curious fabric, reserved as a present for the Emperor. After setting apart the fifth due to the crown, and

naticism and avarice, which I have more than once had occasion to point out as a striking feature in the character of the conquerors of the New World. Though assembled to divide the spoils of an innocent peop

nds sterling in the present century, fell to the share of each horseman, and half that sum to each foot-s

his fellow soldiers, which led them to consider its inhabitants as an inferior race, neither worthy of the name nor entitled to the rights of men. In his compact with Atahualpa, he had no other object than to amuse his captive with such a prospect of recovering his liberty as might induce

conquest of the New World. Though Pizarro had seized the Inca, in imitation of Cortes's conduct towards the Mexican monarch, he did not possess talents for carrying on the same artful plan of policy.

Spaniards. Mutual suspicion and distrust accordingly took place between them. The strict attention with which it was necessary to guard a captive of such importance, grea

Inca with all the formalities observed in the criminal courts of Spain. Pizarro himself, and Almagro, with two assistants, were appointed judges, with full power to acquit or to condemn; an at

d the regal power; that he had put his brother and lawful sovereign to death; that he was an idolater, and had not only permitted, but commanded the offering of human sacrifices; that he had a great numb

e, over whom he had no jurisdiction. With respect to each of the articles, witnesses were examined; but as they delivered their evidence in their native tongue, Philippillo had it in his power to give their words whatever turn best suited his malevolent intentions. To judge

e led instantly to execution; and, what added to the bitterness of his last moments, the same monk who had just ratified his doom offered to console, and attempted to convert him. The most powerful argument Valverde employed to prevail with him to embrace

ty, hoping that a young man without experience might prove a more passive instrument i

power and wealth of Solomon, the King of Israel. These three kingdoms were founded by Moses, and peopled and ruled by the descendants of Abraham. The wealth of Solomon was so great

deur and riches before foreigners, and the consequences of th

nd Hezekiah hearkened unto them, and shewed them all the house of his precious things, the silver and the gold, and the spices, and the precious ointment, and

t have they seen in thine house? And Hezekiah answered, All the things that are in mine house have they seen; there is nothing among my treasures that I have not shewed them. And Isaiah said unto Hezekiah, Hear the

ezuma and to his neighbour and kinsman Atahualpa; for they were equally applicable, and the words came true in al

e the colonists from having intercourse with the outer world, who were strangers to them, knowing that they would be envied by them. For wherever indigent adventurers h

North and South A

deranged the order of the Peruvian Government, but almost dissolved its frame. When they beheld their monarch a captive in the power of strangers, and at last sufferin

sacred race sensibly decreased. In consequence of this state of things, ambitious men in different parts of the empire aspired to independent authority, and usurped jurisdiction to which they had no title. The general w

ly the ruins of monuments remain, yet these attest the superior ingenuity of the Peruvians. Ruins of sacred or royal buildings are found in every province of the empire, and by their great number demonstrate that they are

ted together as to form one great structure, above half a league in circuit. In this prodigio

ep caverns in the banks of rivers, and the sides of mountains, and exhausted such veins as did not dip suddenly beyond their reach. In other places, where the vein lay near the surface, they dug pits to such a depth that the person who worked below could throw out the ore, or hand it up in baskets. Moses taught them, moreover, the art of smelting and refining, either by the simple application of

here are remains of similar caverns and pits where mines of the pr

e composed of thin lacquered copper-plates. In the opinion of very intelligent judges, they are evidently eastern.

on the cup. On one side the full face, on the other the profile, on the third the back parts of the head. The relievo is said to have been produced by pinching the inside of the cup, so as to make the representation of a face on the outside. The features are gross, but represented with

unt of the means by which they were preserved from the general wreck of every work of art in America, and communicated to the public. For

to Spain was taken by a French cruiser, and they came into the possession of Thevet, the King's geographer, who, having travelled himself

nd being left by him to Purchas, were published at the desire of the learned antiquary Sir Henry Spelman. They were

their first arrival in the country, and of the various stations in which they settled, before they founded the capital of their empire in the lake of Mexico. The second is a chronological wheel, or cir

these paintings in the text. They have, however, manifestly the appearance of being Mexican productions, and are allowed to be so by Boturini, who was well qualified to determine whether they were genuine or supposititious. Mr

the hand of an European artist. The chronological wheel is a just delineation of the Mexican mode of computing time, as described by Acosta. It seems to resemble one which that learned Jesuit had seen; and if it be admitted as

w Spain, and was led by several incidents to study the language of the Mexicans, and to collect the remains of their histori

erent heads. His idea of a New History appears to me the work of a whimsical, credulous man. But his catalogue of Mexican maps, paintings, tribute-rolls, calendars, &c., is much larger than one could have expected. Unfortunately a ship, in which he

only a prospectus, was never published. The remainder of his Museum seems to have been dispersed. Some part of it came into the possession of

ral illustrious proprietors, it fell into those of Cardinal of Saxe-Eisenach, who presented it to the Emperor Leopold. These paintings are manifestly Mexican, but they are in a style very different from any of the former. An engraving has been made of one of them. Were it an object of sufficient importance, it might, perhaps, be possible, by recourse to the plates of Purchas, and the Archbishop of Toledo, as a key, to form plausible conjectures concerning the meaning of this picture. Many of the figures are evidentl

to the Peruvians, and the manner in which the number of units is represented in the Mexican paintings in my

ard, each the size of a common sheet of writing-paper, with great variety of uncouth and whimsical figures of Mexican painting, in very fresh colours, and with an explanation in Spanish to most of them. The first twenty-two sheets are the signs of the

day is represented by a different sign, taken from some natural object, a serpent, a dog, a lizard, a reed, a house, &c. T

im, first by what he calls a tridecenary progression of days from one to thirteen, in the same manner as in the Calendar of the Escurial, and then by a septenary progression of

n several particulars the figures bear some likeness to those in the plate which I have published. The figures ... which induced me to conjecture that this painting might be a tribute-roll similar to those

hat this curious monument of Mexican art had been obtained soon after the conquest of th

empted from payment of tribute, but at the same time were bound to personal service in war, and to follow the banner of their sovereign with their vassals. The immediate vassals of the crown not only contrib

t to the public markets, whether fruits of the earth or the various productions of artists and manufacturers, was demanded for the public use, and the merchants who paid this tax were exe

duction of the soil, or the result of the industry of the people. Yet what each contributed towards the support of gove