This was brought
about by the arrangements which Pizarro had concluded in Spain, and in
which Almagro considered, doubtless rightfully, he had not been fairly
dealt with by his partner.
After a while a truce was patched up between the pair, and in 1531 an
expedition, carried in three small vessels, set sail for the South. The
troops were landed on the Peruvian coast, and they marched inland,
defeating such small forces as endeavoured to oppose their progress. The
valour and greed of the little army were every day becoming more deeply
stirred by the trophies of gold and silver which they captured as they
went. Fate was fighting strongly in favour of these desperate Spaniards.
No circumstances could have been better adapted to successful invasion
than those which obtained when Pizarro and Almagro entered the country,
although these adventurous spirits knew nothing of this at the time. The
land was divided against itself, for the first time in the comparatively
short Inca history. Atahualpa and Huasca, the two sons of the recently
dead Inca, Huana Capac, were engaged in a fierce struggle for the
throne.
This in itself was something of a shock to the devout subjects of the
Inca race, looking as they did upon the Imperial Children of the Sun as
superhuman beings.
Pages:
57
58
59
60
61
62
63
64
65
66
67
68
69
70
71
72
73
74
75
76
77
78
79
80
81