He received an
obedience from his vassals more implicit than that of any despot; for his
authority reached to the most secret conduct,--to the thoughts of the
individual. He was reverenced as more than human.1 He was not
merely the head of the state, but the point to which all its institutions
converged, as to a common centre,--the keystone of the political fabric,
which must fall to pieces by its own weight when that was withdrawn.
So it fared on the death of Atahuallpa.2 His death not only left the
throne vacant, without any certain successor, but the manner of it
announced to the Peruvian people that a hand stronger than that of their
Incas had now seized the sceptre, and that the dynasty of the Children of
the Sun had passed away for ever.
The natural consequences of such a conviction followed. The beautiful
order of the ancient institutions was broken up, as the authority which
controlled it was withdrawn. The Indians broke out into greater excesses
from the uncommon restraint to which they had been before subjected.
Villages were burnt, temples and palaces were plundered, and the gold
they contained was scattered or secreted. Gold and silver acquired an
importance in the eyes of the Peruvian, when he saw the importance
attached to them by his conquerors.
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