At First Its Extent Was Small; As The Territory
Of Manco Capac Did Not Reach Above Eight Leagues From Cuzco:
But within
these narrow limits he exercised an uncontrolled authority.
His successors,
as their dominions extended, arrogated a similar jurisdiction over the new
subjects which they acquired; the despotism of Asia was not more complete.
The Incas were not only obeyed as monarchs, but revered as divinities.
Their blood was held to be sacred, and by prohibiting intermarriages with
the people, was never contaminated by mixing with that of any other race.
The family thus separated from the rest of the nation, was distinguished
by peculiarities in dress and ornaments, which it was unlawful for others
to assume. The monarch himself appeared with ensigns of royalty reserved
for him alone; and received from his subjects marks of obsequious homage
and respect, which approached almost to adoration. But among the Peruvians,
this unbounded power of their monarchs seems to have been uniformly
accompanied with attention to the good of their subjects. It was not the
rage of conquests, if we may believe the accounts of their countrymen,
that prompted the Incas to extend their dominion, but the desire of
diffusing the blessings of civilization, and the knowledge of the arts
which they possessed, among the barbarous people whom they reduced.
During a succession of twelve monarchs, it is said that not one deviated
from this beneficent character."
"When the Spaniards first visited the coast of Peru in 1526, Huana Capac,
the twelfth monarch from the founder of the state, was seated on the
throne.
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