had appeared in the north of his empire. It was a small group of Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro. The new Inca ruler agreed to meet them. Meanwhile a force of some one hundred and eighty Spaniards marched to the region. Arriving in Cajamarca, Pizarro and his men greeted Atahualpa in the town square.
‘The Inca leader, a figure of impressive splendour, was accompanied by several thousands of Inca warriors. Then, without warning, the soldiers of Pizarro came out of hiding and killed all the Incas. Atahualpa was captured, put in chains and imprisoned in one of the buildings of the city. He offered to buy his freedom by proposing a lavish ransom of gold, silver and jewels and called for them to be conveyed to Cajamarca. Once he’d received the first part of the ransom, Pizarro, convinced the rest would soon follow, ordered his men to kill Atahualpa.’
‘Okay,’ Didier interrupted Florent’s tale. ‘But there is one thing I don’t understand. Why didn’t the Incas not try to free him from his prison?’
‘Because Atahualpa had told them not to attempt any rescue. He had his own plans. He made friends among the Spaniards. Wishing to win Pizarro’s favor he even went so far as to give him one of his sisters to be his wife, the one that after becoming a Christian was called Inés Huaylas Yupanqui. Can you imagine she was just a fifteen-year-old girl then, and Pizarro was fifty-six. However, the old man never married the Inca princess officially. He made her his mistress and had with her two children.
Atahualpa had been sure that the Spaniards, once they’d received the ransom, would set him free. Well, he was wrong. At the end of August 1533 Atahualpa was led to the main square of the city, tied to a pole and then strangled with a garrotte. His death marked the end of the great Inca empire.
‘At the news of the execution of their leader,’ Florent continued, ‘the Indian troops heading towards Cajamarca with the second part of the ransom fled into the depths of the tropical rainforest together with their valuable burden and, according to legend, settled in the mysterious city of Paititi. Neither the Spaniards nor anyone else could ever find the Homeland of the Jaguar Father, despite numerous expeditions to search for the city. But everyone thought that it was located somewhere east of the Andes, in the rainforest of south-eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, or even in the Brazilian Amazon basin – but not in Ecuador.
‘Later, legend had it that the fabulous treasures meant to be the price of Atahualpa’s freedom were hidden somewhere in the Ecuadorian jungle along with his body, which was stolen by the Incas from the Spanish burial ground. Other rumours said that the treasure was thrown into a mountain lake or was hidden in some inaccessible cave. The truth is no one really knows exactly where to look for it. Apparently, before his death, Atahualpa cursed the gold of the Incas: any white stranger who dared to touch it would be the subject of great misfortune. ’
Didier found himself hanging on every word of Florent’s account, completely fascinated by the whole story.
‘Go on! Intriguing story. So interesting, the way you tell it. You know so many details. And what about Pizarro?’
‘Pizarro? You mean his conquests? As for his amorous ones, soon after the death of Atahualpa he left Inés and took another lover, also an Inca princess. You won’t believe who it was.’
‘Who?’
‘Atahualpa’s principal wife at the time of his death.’
‘What was her name?’
‘Her name? As a matter of fact she had two different ones. Her original name was Cuxirimay Ocllo, but after accepting the Christian faith she changed it to Angelina Yupanqui. She was only ten years old when she married Atahualpa, just a child.’ Florent paused for emphasis, then continued. ‘ And she was his cousin. Since the royal Incas - to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline - married close family members. Angelina
‘The Inca leader, a figure of impressive splendour, was accompanied by several thousands of Inca warriors. Then, without warning, the soldiers of Pizarro came out of hiding and killed all the Incas. Atahualpa was captured, put in chains and imprisoned in one of the buildings of the city. He offered to buy his freedom by proposing a lavish ransom of gold, silver and jewels and called for them to be conveyed to Cajamarca. Once he’d received the first part of the ransom, Pizarro, convinced the rest would soon follow, ordered his men to kill Atahualpa.’
‘Okay,’ Didier interrupted Florent’s tale. ‘But there is one thing I don’t understand. Why didn’t the Incas not try to free him from his prison?’
‘Because Atahualpa had told them not to attempt any rescue. He had his own plans. He made friends among the Spaniards. Wishing to win Pizarro’s favor he even went so far as to give him one of his sisters to be his wife, the one that after becoming a Christian was called Inés Huaylas Yupanqui. Can you imagine she was just a fifteen-year-old girl then, and Pizarro was fifty-six. However, the old man never married the Inca princess officially. He made her his mistress and had with her two children.
Atahualpa had been sure that the Spaniards, once they’d received the ransom, would set him free. Well, he was wrong. At the end of August 1533 Atahualpa was led to the main square of the city, tied to a pole and then strangled with a garrotte. His death marked the end of the great Inca empire.
‘At the news of the execution of their leader,’ Florent continued, ‘the Indian troops heading towards Cajamarca with the second part of the ransom fled into the depths of the tropical rainforest together with their valuable burden and, according to legend, settled in the mysterious city of Paititi. Neither the Spaniards nor anyone else could ever find the Homeland of the Jaguar Father, despite numerous expeditions to search for the city. But everyone thought that it was located somewhere east of the Andes, in the rainforest of south-eastern Peru, northern Bolivia, or even in the Brazilian Amazon basin – but not in Ecuador.
‘Later, legend had it that the fabulous treasures meant to be the price of Atahualpa’s freedom were hidden somewhere in the Ecuadorian jungle along with his body, which was stolen by the Incas from the Spanish burial ground. Other rumours said that the treasure was thrown into a mountain lake or was hidden in some inaccessible cave. The truth is no one really knows exactly where to look for it. Apparently, before his death, Atahualpa cursed the gold of the Incas: any white stranger who dared to touch it would be the subject of great misfortune. ’
Didier found himself hanging on every word of Florent’s account, completely fascinated by the whole story.
‘Go on! Intriguing story. So interesting, the way you tell it. You know so many details. And what about Pizarro?’
‘Pizarro? You mean his conquests? As for his amorous ones, soon after the death of Atahualpa he left Inés and took another lover, also an Inca princess. You won’t believe who it was.’
‘Who?’
‘Atahualpa’s principal wife at the time of his death.’
‘What was her name?’
‘Her name? As a matter of fact she had two different ones. Her original name was Cuxirimay Ocllo, but after accepting the Christian faith she changed it to Angelina Yupanqui. She was only ten years old when she married Atahualpa, just a child.’ Florent paused for emphasis, then continued. ‘ And she was his cousin. Since the royal Incas - to ensure the purity of the royal bloodline - married close family members. Angelina
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