This nucleus of empire, once obtained, they had spread to the
south and to the north, and to a certain extent to the east, conquering
all with whom they had come into contact, with the notable exception of
the Araucanians in Southern Chile.
The Chibchas, too, in the far north, whose civilization in some respects
equalled that of the Incas, might be termed a conquering race. They
dominated the north of the Continent, and upheld their empire securely
by force of arms. Yet it is curious that both these nations,
representing the chief civilizing and inventive powers of the Continent,
presented nothing beyond the most futile resistance to the invaders.
Their gods desecrated, their faith outraged, stung to utter fury and
hate, even these passions failed to lead them to a single victory of
consequence, notwithstanding the fact that their tens of thousands of
warriors were faced by no more than a few dozen Spaniards. Disheartened
by the terrifying onslaught of the men in mail mounted on gigantic
horses, they appear to have reconciled themselves with melancholy
submission to a fate which only on two or three occasions during the
following centuries they endeavoured with any earnestness at all to
disturb.
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