CHAPTER XV.

PANAMÁ AND PERU. 1538-1550.

Administration of Doctor Robles—Interoceanic Communication—Proposed Change of the Site of Panamá—Nombre de Dios and its Trade—The Isthmus the Highway of Commerce between the Hemispheres—Vasco Nuñez Vela Lands in Peru—Gonzalo Pizarro at the Head of a Rebellion—Dissolution of the Audiencia of Los Reyes and Arrest of the Viceroy—His Release—His Defeat and Death at Añaquito—Gonzalo's Dreams of Conquest—He Despatches Bachicao to Panamá—Hinojosa's Expedition—His Bloodless Conquest of the Province—Melchor Verdugo's Invasion—Pedro de la Gasca—His Negotiations with the Revolutionists—Gasca Lands in Peru—Execution of Gonzalo Pizarro 245