La Paz succeeded in resisting the desperate onslaught of the Indian
army, and the tide of fortune now turned against the Inca leader. After
a battle waged in the open, he was captured and put to a horrible death.
His tongue was torn out by the executioner; each of his limbs was
attached to a horse, then, the four horses being furiously driven in
different directions, his body was torn into four portions. It was in
this way that the unfortunate Tupac-Amaru died, the last of the Inca
race who attempted to assert the rights of his people.
With the exception of rare revolts such as these, and of the periodical
onslaughts which the buccaneers of all nations made upon the Pacific
ports, it is a little remarkable to consider how few dramatic episodes
took place during the colonial era in Peru. It is true that one or two
events occurred deserving of note. Thus, in 1551, the University of San
Marcos was established at Lima, and was the first institution of the
kind to be founded in the New World. In 1573 occurred the first
_auto-da-fe_, followed by numerous other such grim ceremonies, for Lima
was naturally the head-quarters of the Inquisition. In 1746 the capital
suffered from a terrible catastrophe, being visited by an earthquake
which shattered the senior city of the Continent, while at the same time
a great tidal wave swept away the port of the capital, Callao.
Pages:
148
149
150
151
152
153
154
155
156
157
158
159
160
161
162
163
164
165
166
167
168
169
170
171
172