Division Of Lands. - Revenues And Registers. - Gr

parta, and, though in a different way, quite as repugnant to the essential principles of our nature. The institutions of Lycurgus, however, were designed for a petty state, while those of Peru, although originally intended for such, seemed, like the magic tent in the Arabian tale,

izen of the United States, who has no other name by which to class himself among nations than what is borrowed from a quarter of the globe. 3 The kingdom, conformably to its name, was divided into four parts, distinguished each by a separate title, and to each of which ran one of the four great roads that diverged from Cuzco, the capital or navel of the Peruvian monarchy. The city was in like manner divided into four quarters; and the

ch blunders have led to the names of many places both in North and South America. Montesinos, however, denies that there is such an Indian term for "river." (Mem. Antiguas, Ms., lib. 1, cap. 2.) According to this writer, Peru was the ancient Op

s. - Garcilasso, Com Real.

the name of a quarter of the globe, inhabited by so many civilized nati

. 9, 10. - Cieza de L

, founded, as pretended, on the different origin of the population; a di

The nation at large was distributed into decades, or small bodies of ten; and every tenth man, or head of a decade, had supervision of the rest, - being required to see that they enjoyed the rights and immunities to which they were entitled, to solicit aid in their behalf from government, when necessary, a

s. - Garcilasso, Com. Real

up gaps that have been left by his fellow-laborers. Whether the filling up will, in

esinos, Mem. Antiguas, Ms., lib. 2,

ndreds and tithings! But the Saxon law was more humane, which imp

tes in each of the towns or small communities, with jurisdiction over petty offences, while those of a graver character were carried before superior judges, usually the governors or rulers of the districts. These judges all held their authority and received their support from the Crown, by which they were appointed and removed at pleasure. They were obliged to determine every suit in five days from the time it was brought before them; and there was no appeal from one tribunal to another. Yet there were important provisions for the security of justice.

eg., Mss. - Garcilasso, Com. Real., Parte 1, lib. 2, cap.

ities are very meagre and unsatisfactory. Even the lively

me extenuating circumstances might be allowed to mitigate the punishment. 8 Blasphemy against the Sun, and malediction of the Inca, - offences, indeed, of the same complexion, - were also punished with death. Removing landmarks, turning the water away from a neighbour's land into one's own, burning a house, were al

Ms. - Herrera, Hist. Gene

he Peruvian law made no distinction between fornication and adultery, both being equally punished with death. Yet the law could hardly have been enforc

Relacion, M

que quiere decir traidor a su Senor." (Cong. i Pob. del Piru, Ms.) "En las rebeliones y alzamientos se hicieron los castigos ta

to crimes. But the Peruvian institutions must be regarded from a different point of view from that in which we study those of other nations. The laws emanated from the sovereign, and that sovereign held a divine commission, and was possessed of a divine nature. To violate the law was not only to insult the majesty of the throne,

que no los castigavan por el delito que avian hecho, ni por la ofensa agena, sino por aver quebrantado el mandamien

punishment attended with no suffering but what arises from the disgrace attached to it is ver

simple, its application easy; and, where the judge was honest, the case was as likely to be determined correctly on the first hearing as on the second. The inspection of the board of visitors, and the monthly returns of the tribunals, afforded no slight guaranty for their integrity. The law which required a decision within five days would seem little suited to th

vicios eran bien castigados y la gente estaba bien sujeta y obediente; y aunque en las dichas penas havia esceso, redundaba en buen govierno y policia suya, y mediante ella eran aumentados. . . . . .

r for the Inca, and the last for the people. Which of the three was the largest is doubtful. The proportions differed materially in different provinces. The distribution, indeed, was made on the same general princip

. - Garcilasso, Com. Real.

en unas es diferente de otras, y finalmte yo tengo entendido que se hacia conforme

the people. It was provided by law, as we shall see hereafter, that every Peruvian should marry at a certain age. When this event took place, the community or district in which he lived furnished him with a dwelling, which, as it was constructed of humble materials, was done at little cost. A lot of land was then assigned to him sufficient for his own maintenance and that of his wife. An additional portion was gra

Ms. - Garcilasso, Com. Rea

y was added for each male child that was born; and half of the quantity for each female. The fanega was as much land as cou

arte 1, lib

ver they resided, besides the interest which they had in those of the Sun and the Inca, as children of the one, and kinsmen of the other. He informs us, also, that they were supplied from the royal table, when living at court. (lib. 6, ca

t approach to the Peruvian constitution was probably in Judea, where, on the recurrence of the great national jubilee, at the close of every half-century, estates reverted to their original proprietors. There was this important difference in Peru; that not only did the lease, if we may so call it, terminate with the year, but during that period the tenant had no power to alienate or to add to his possessions. The end of the brief term found him in precisely the same condition that he was in at the beginning. Such a state of things might

ily, for example - might demand it. 16 Lastly, they cultivated the lands of the Inca. This was done, with great ceremony, by the whole population in a body. At break of day, they were summoned together by proclamation from some neighbouring tower or eminence, and all the inhabitants of the district, men, women, and children, appeared dressed in their gayest apparel, bedecked with their little store of finery and ornaments, as if for some great jubilee. They went through the labors of the day with the same joyous spirit, chanting their popular ballads which com

ng a curaca's ground, his near relation, before that of the poor. The gal

b. 5, cap. 1–3. - Ond

r regions of the country, where they were intrusted to the care of experienced shepherds, who conducted them to different pastures according to the change of season. A large number was every year sent to the capital for the consumption of the Court, and for the religious festivals and sacrifices. But these were only the

rdo, Rel.

the grant of a small number of llamas, - never many. These were not to be disposed of or killed by their owners, but descended as c

ho goes into more detail than any contemporary writer, conce

antity of the cloth needed, as well as the peculiar kind and quality of the fabric, was first determined at Cuzco. The work was then apportioned among the different provinces. Officers, appointed for the purpose, superintended the distribution of the wool, so that the manufacture of the different articles should be intrusted to the most competent hands. 20 They did not leave the matter here but entered the dwellings, from time to time, and saw that the work was faithfully executed. This domestic inquisition was not confined to the labors for the Inca. It included, also, those for the several families; and care was

, Rel. Prim.

ons of the blood royal, who wore garments of a finer texture than was permi

Seg., Ms - Acosta

s - Garcilasso, Com. Real.

with the exception of those already specified, was expected to provide for his own support by the cultivation of his land. A small portion of the community, however, was instructed in mechanical arts; some of them of the more elegant kind, subservient to the purposes of luxury and ornament. The demand for these was chiefly limited to the sovere

obable statement is contradicted by the Report of the Royal Audience, Ms., by Sarmiento, (Relacion, Ms., cap. 15,) and by Ondegardo, (Rel. Prim., Ms.) who all speak of the mines as the property of the gover

1, lib. 5, cap. 13 - 16. - Onde

25 At certain intervals, also, a general survey of the country was made, exhibiting a complete view of the character of the soil, its fertility, the nature of its products, both agricultural and mineral, - in short, of all that constituted the physical resources of the empire. 26 Furnished with these statistical details, it was easy for the government, after dete

p. 6. - Pedro Pizarro, Relacion del Descubrim

os hombres que habian muerto en ella en aquel ano, y por el consiguiente los que habian nacido, y p

m. Real. Parte 1,

rim., Ms. - Sarmient

n el govierno de ella, era muy facil haverla en la division y cobranza de los dichos tributos; porque era

hen succeeded by another for the like term; and it should be observed, that all who were engaged in the employment of the government - and the remark applies equally to agricultural labor - were maintained, for the time, at the public expense. 29 By this constant rotation of labor, it was intended that no one should be overburdened, and that each man should have time to provide for the demands of his own household. It was impossible - in the judgment of a high Spanish auth

, Ms., cap. 15. - Onde

s. - Garcilasso, Com. Real.

posible. . . . . . . Era tanta la orden que tuvieron estos Indios, que a mi parecer aunque mucho se pi

as so regulated that no one felt it a hardship, much less was his life shortened b

hird class of magazines, whose design was to supply the people in seasons of scarcity, and, occasionally, to furnish relief to individuals, whom sickness or misfortune had reduced to poverty; thus, in a manner, justifying the assertion of a Castilian document, that a large portion of the revenues of the Inca found its way back again, through one channel or another, into the hands of the people. 33 These magazines were found by the Spaniards, on their arrival, stored with all the various products and manufactures of the country, - with maize, coca, quinua, woollen and cotton stuffs of the finest quality, with vases and utensils of gold, silver, and copper, in short, with ever

Parte 1, lib. 5, cap. 34. -

los depositos se parece bien que yo visite muchos en diferentes partes, e son may

con color y para efecto del govierno y pro comun de todos asi como lo que se ponia en depos

, lib. 6,

cian y vsavan que faltava tiempo para vello y entendimiento para comprender tanta cosa, muchos depositos de barretas de cobre para las minas

nester se estaba en los depositos e habia algunas vezes comida de diez anos. . . . . . Los cuales todos se halla

rdo, Rel.

ntender como ellos lo tienen en su cuenta e por registros e por menu

certainly so remarkable, that it is hardly credible they should ever have been enforced throughout a great empire, and for a long period of years. Yet we have the most unequivocal testimony to the fact from the Spaniards, wh

ivileged classes claimed exemption - not always with success, indeed - from bearing part of the public burdens. The great hardship in the case of the Peruvian was, that he could not better his condition. His labors were for others, rather than for himself. However industrious, he could not add a rood to his own possessions, nor advance himself one hair's breadth in the social scale. The great and universal motive to honest industry, that of bettering one's lot, was lost upon him. The great law of human progress was not for him. As he was born, so he

m. Real., Parte 1

tributo que se dava, porque ellos no pose

ntly directed to enforce a steady industry and a sober management of his affairs. No mendicant was tolerated in Peru. When a man was reduced by poverty or misfortune, (it could hardly be by fault,) the arm of the law was stretched out to minister relief; not the s

n in these provisions of the Peruvian law, by which the old, the infirm, and the poor were rendered, in a manner, independent of their children, and those nearest of kin, on whom they would naturally have leaned for support; no surer way to harden the heart, he considers, than by thus disengaging it from the sympathies of humanity; and n

med to be at war with change. He moved on in the same unbroken circle in which his fathers had moved before him, and in which his children were to follow. It was the object of the Incas to infuse into their subjects a spirit of passive obedience and tranquillity, - a perfect acquiescence in the established

. 12, 15. - Sarmiento,

, aqueducts, and other public works, which, whatever degree of science they may display in their execution, astonish him by their number, the massive character of the materials, and the grandeur of the design. Among them, perhaps the most remarkable are the great roads, the broken remains of which are s

d up with solid masonry; in short, all the difficulties that beset a wild and mountainous region, and which might appall the most courageous engineer of modern times, were encountered and successfully overcome. The length of the road, of which scattered fragments only remain, is variously estimated, from fifteen hundred to two thousand miles; and stone pillars, in the manner of European milestones, were erected at stated intervals of somewhat more than a league, all along the r

e la Aud.

pedrado por las laderas, bien sacado por las sierras, deshechado, por las penas socavado, por junto a los Rios sus paredes, entre nieves con escalones y descanso, por todas

nsi suspendu en l'air comme un pont fait d'une seule piece." (Velasco, Hist. de Quito, tom. l. p. 206.) This writer speaks from personal observation, having examined and measured different parts of the road, in the latter part of the road, in the latter pa

enormous cables, bound together, formed a bridge, which, covered with planks, well secured and defended by a railing of the same osier materials on the sides, afforded a safe passage for the traveller. The length of this aerial bridge, sometimes exceeding two hundred feet, caused it, confined, as it was, only at the extremities, to dip with an alarming inclination towards the centre, while the motion given to it by the passenger occasioned an oscillation still more frightful, as his eye wandered over the dark abyss of waters

l to be seen in different parts of Peru, may be found in Humboldt. (Vues des Cordilleres, p. 230, et seq.)

embankment of earth, and defended on either side by a parapet or wall of clay; and trees and odoriferous shrubs were planted along the margin, regaling the sense of the traveller with their perfumes, and refreshing him by their shades, so grateful under the burning s

. - Relacion del Primer Descubrimi

d probably trustworthy account of both the high roads, which the writer saw

ross the country. - The care of the great roads was committed to the districts through which they passed, and a large number of hands was constantly employed under the Incas to keep them in repair. This was the more easily done in a country where the mode of travelling was altogether on foot; though the roads are said to have been so nicely constructed, that a carriage might have rolled over them as securely as on any of the great roads of Europe. 45 Still, in a region where the elements of fire and water are both actively at work in the business of destruction, they must, witho

onica, cap. 37. - Zarate, Conq. del Peru, lib. 1, cap.

j'aie vues en Italie, en France et en Espagne . . . . . . Le grand chemin de l'Inca, un des ouvrages les plus ut

were on a much more extended plan than those in Mexico. All along these routes, small buildings were erected, at the distance of less than five miles asunder, 47 in each of which a number of runners, or chasquis, as they were called, were stationed to carry forward the despatche

more than three fourths of a league. I have preferred the authority of Ondegardo, who usually

." (Me. Antiguas, Ms., cap. 7) But Garcilasso, a better authority for his own tong

ra, i proveian lo que querian con maior obediencia, que en ninguna Provincia del Mundo

hole extent of the long routes, at the rate of a hundred and fifty miles a day. The office of the chasquis was not limited to carrying despatches. They frequently brought various articles for the use of the Court; and in this way, fish from the distant ocean, fruits, game, and different commodities from the hot regions on the coast, were taken to the capital in

, Ms., cap. 18. - Dec.

es from the capital, in twenty-four hours after it was drawn from the ocean! (Men. Anti

rst visited the country; and ample notices of it may be found in Sarmiento, Relacion, Ms., cap. 15. - Dec. de la Au

It is singular, that an invention designed for the uses of a despotic government should have received its full application only under a free one. For

f the Incas in immediate correspondence. Intelligence from the numerous provinces was transmitted on the wings of the wind to the Peruvian metropolis, the great focus to which all the lines of communication converged. Not an insurrectionary movement could occur, not an invasion on the remotest frontier, before the tidings were conveyed to the capit

military communication. It formed an important item of their milita

onger shaken by these military movements, and the country enjoyed, in a great degree, the blessings of tranquillity and order. But, however tranquil at heart, there is not a reign upon record in which the nation was not engaged in war against the barbarous nations on the frontier. Religion furnished a plausible pre

kindness. Far from provoking hostilities, they allowed time for the salutary example of their own institutions to work its effect, trusting that their less civilized neighbours would submit to their sceptre, from a conviction of the blessings it would secure to them. When this course failed, they employed other measures, but still of a p

a." Ondegardo, Rel. Prim., princ

ce in a month, of the inhabitants of every village, raised the soldiers generally above the rank of a raw militia. The Peruvian army, at first inconsiderable, came, with the increase of population, in the latter days of the empire, to be very large, so that their monarchs could bring into the field, as contemporaries assure us, a force amounting to t

., Ms. - Dec. de l

cap. 195 - Conq. i

eads were protected by casques made either of wood or of the skins of wild animals, and sometimes richly decorated with metal and with precious stones, surmounted by the brilliant plumage of the tropical birds. These, of course, were the ornaments only of the higher orders. The great mass of the soldiery were dressed in the peculiar costume of their provinces, and their heads were wreathed with a sort of turban or roll

ento, Relacion, Ms., cap. 20. - Velasc

arms, comprehending nearly every thing familiar to the European so

f the blood royal, or, more frequently, headed by the Inca in person. The march was rapidly performed, and with little fatigue to the soldier; for, all along the great routes, quarters were provided for him, at regular dista

lib. 1, cap. 11. - Sarmie

his visit to South America in 1737; some of which he has described with great minuteness. Memoire sur Quelques Anciens Monumens d

pported their own armies for a long time on the provisions found in them. 57 The Peruvian soldier was forbidden to commit any trespass on the property of the inhabitants whose territory lay in the line of march. Any violation of this order was punished with death. 58 The soldier was clothed and fed by the industry of the people, and the Incas rightly resolved

lli siete semanas a lo que me acuerdo, se hallaron en deposito maiz de cuatro y de tres y de dos anos mas de 15 hanegas junto al camino, e alli comio la gente, y se entendio que si fuer

. - Cieza de Leon, Cronica, cap. 44.

l yoke. Yet, once in the field, the Inca did not usually show any disposition to push his advantages to the utmost, and urge his foe to extremity. In every stage of the war, he was open to propositions for peace; and although he sought to reduce his enemies by carrying off their harvests and distressing them by famine, he allowed his troops to commit no unnecessary outrage on person or property. "We must spare

es el Senor, presto seran estos nuestros como los que ya lo son; como esto tenian conocido, pro

, quam vincendo imperium auxi

. 61 But while thus economical of life, both in their own followers and in the enemy, they did not shrink from sterner measures when provoked by the ferocious or obstinate character of the resistance; and the Peruvian annals contain more than one of those sanguinary pages which cannot be pondered at the

m. Real., Parte 1

zled them by the display of its rich and stately ceremonial. 62 Yet the religion of the conquered was not treated with dishonor. The Sun was to be worshipped above all; but the images of their gods were removed to Cuzco and established in one of the temples, to hold t

, Relacion,

. - Garcilasso, Com. Real.

people should patiently have acquiesced in an arrangement which involved such a total surrender of property. But it was a conquered nation that did so, held in awe, on the least suspicion of meditating resistance, by armed garrisons, who were established at various commanding points throughout the country. 65 It is probable, too, that the Incas made no greater changes than was essential to the new arrangement, and that they assigned estates, as far as possible, to their former proprietors. The curacas, in particular, were confirmed in their ancient authority; or, when it was found ex

, cap. 13, 14. - Sarmient

, Relacion,

. del Peru, Parte

s of mankind, whom mankind are wise enough to requite with higher admiration, even, than it bestows on its benefactors. As Sarmiento, who was President of the Royal Council of the Indies, and came in

rty well recognized by its people, admitted the institutions of the Incas "not only without repugnance, but with joy." (H

moved for a time to Cuzco. Here they learned the language of the capital, became familiar with the manners and usages of the court, as well as with the general policy of government, and experienced such marks of favor from the sovereign as would be most grateful to their feelings, and

l., Parte 1, lib. 5, ca

South American dialects. Teachers were provided in the towns and villages throughout the land, who were to give instruction to all, even the humblest classes; and it was intimated at the same time, that no one should be raised to any office of dignity or profit, who was unacquainted with this tongue. The curacas and other chiefs, who attended at the capital, became familiar with this dialect in their intercourse with the Court, and, on their return home, set the example of conversing in it among themselves. This example was imitated by their followers, and the Quichua gradually became the language of elegance and fashion

. 7, cap. 1, 2. - Ondegardo, Rel. Seg.,

uchos se pusieron en no quere deprender mas lenguas de las suyas propias, los Reyes pudieron tanto que salieron con su intencion y ellos tubieron por bien de c

ho regarded each other with an eye of jealousy, that served as an effectual check on any mutinous proceeding. In time, the influence of the well-affected prevailed, supported, as they were, by royal authority, and by the silent working of the national institutions, to which the strange races became gradually accustomed. A spirit of loyalty sprang up by degrees in their bosoms, and, before a generation had passed away, the different tribes mingled in harmony together as members of the same community. 71 Yet the different races continued to be distinguished by difference of

. - Fernandez, Hist. del Per

as held to be of great importance to the order and

Pob. del

the cold countries were not transplanted to the warm, nor the inhabitants of the warm countries to the cold. 74 Even their habitual occupations were consulted, and the fisherman was settled in the neighbourhood of the ocean, or the great lakes; while such lands were assigned to the husbandman as were best adapted to the cul

cuales mandaban pasar a poblar otra tierra del temple y manera de donde salian, si fria fria, si caliente calien

do, Rel. P

e so at the close of the last century, according to Velasco, distinguished

t it was in miniature at its commencement, as the infant germ is said to contain within itself all the ramifications of the future monarch of the forest. Each succeeding Inca seemed desirous only to tread in the path, and carry out the plans, of his predecessor. Great enterprises, commenced under one, were continued by another, a

narch return laden with spoils, and followed by a throng of tributary chieftains to his capital. His reception there was a Roman triumph. The whole of its numerous population poured out to welcome him, dressed in the gay and picturesque costumes of the different provinces, with banners waving above their heads, and strewing branches and flowers along the path of the conqueror. The Inca, borne aloft in his golden chair on the shoulders of his nobles, moved in solemn procession, under the triumphal arches that were thrown across the way, to the great temple of the Sun. There, without a

, lib. 3, cap. 11, 17; lib. 6 cap. 5

o spread wide the worship of the Sun, to reclaim the benighted nations from their brutish superstitions, and impart to them the blessings of a well-regulated government. This, in the favorite phrase of our day,

which raised them above the physical evils of a state of barbarism, secured them protection of person, and a full participation in all the privileges enjoyed by their conquerors; and, as they became more familiar with the peculiar institutions of the country, habit, that second nature, attached them the more strongly to these institutions, from their very peculiarity. Thus, by degrees, and without violence, arose the great fabric of the Peruvian empire, composed of numerous independent and even hostile tribes, yet, under the influence of a common religion, com