CHAPTER I.

PIZARRO AND PERU. 1524-1544.

PAGE.

Origin and Character of the Conqueror—The Triumvirate Copartnership of Pizarro, Friar Luque, and Diego de Almagro for Continuing the Discovery of Andagoya—Departure—Attitude of Pedrarias—Slow Development of their Plans—Return and Reëmbarkation—Persistence of Pizarro—Sufferings on Gallo Island—Fate Defied—Discovery of Tumbez and the Coast Beyond—Return to Panamá—Pizarro Visits Spain—A New Expedition—Aboriginal History of Peru—The Rival Incas—Establishment of the Spaniards at San Miguel—Atahualpa at Caxamalca—The Spaniards Visit Him there—Seizure of the Inca—Pacification of Peru—Arrival of Almagro—Death of Father Luque—Judicial Murder of the Inca—A King's Ransom—Downfall of the Peruvian Monarchy—Disputes and Violent Deaths of the Almagros and Pizarros 1