Peru Before the Conquest; Territories, Institutions, Industries, Religion, Customs, and Characteristics of the Peruvians Prior to the Spanish Invasion

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1901. Excerpt: ... PERU BEFORE THE CONQUEST. CHAPTER I. Cause of Conquest--General View of Peruvian Environment--Extent of Empire--Description of Territory--Diversity of Climate--Forbidding Aspect of the Country--Success of the Peruvians. The metallic riches of Peru made the fame of the country and brought ruin to its civilization. Made more eager for gold by the success of the Mexican conquest, the Spanish adventurers descended from the North, and wrested the sceptre from the Incas. The story of the conquest is a bloody one, and it is not the purpose here to dwell upon its details, but to bring to view the empire that was destroyed. Ancient Peru was the home of contentment and systematic organization of industry. It was a country ruled by the most perfect of despotisms, supported by a distinct and hereditary ecclesiasticism, and in which the people had but one duty--to labor, and but one privilege--to love. The people of this country, at the time which we are about to consider, and as far back as the records of the nation can be traced, had not known the sensation of hunger, had not acknowledged the necessity of privation, had not been subjected to the hardships of burdensome, prolonged, or dangerous toil. They were free from the terrors or even the legends of famine. It was a country from which want had been banished, if for these people it ever existed; a country where the laborer's reward surely awaited his effort, and where an opportunity to labor was not only always present--for the common people, but toil was a part of the routine of their existence, as much as breathing, eating or sleeping. Vice was almost unknown, and the majesty of the law was rarely offended by the commission of the few crimes known to the Incas' calendar. In brief, it was a country of richness a...