-
Cieza de Leon, Cronica, cap. 93. - Conq. i Pob. del Piru, Ms.]
It was the Inca nobility, indeed, who constituted the real
strength of the Peruvian monarchy. Attached to their prince by
ties of consanguinity, they had common sympathies and, to a
considerable extent, common interests with him. Distinguished by
a peculiar dress and insignia, as well as by language and blood,
from the rest of the community, they were never confounded with
the other tribes and nations who were incorporated into the great
Peruvian monarchy. After the lapse of centuries, they still
retained their individuality as a peculiar people. They were to
the conquered races of the country what the Romans were to the
barbarous hordes of the Empire, or the Normans to the ancient
inhabitants of the British Isles. Clustering around the throne,
they formed an invincible phalanx, to shield it alike from secret
conspiracy and open insurrection. Though living chiefly in the
capital, they were also distributed throughout the country in all
its high stations and strong military posts, thus establishing
lines of communication with the court, which enabled the
sovereign to act simultaneously and with effect on the most
distant quarters of his empire. They possessed, moreover, an
intellectual preeminence, which, no less than their station, gave
them authority with the people. Indeed, it may be said to have
been the principal foundation of their authority. The crania of
the Inca race show a decided superiority over the other races of
the land in intellectual power; *59 and it cannot be denied that
it was the fountain of that peculiar civilization and social
polity, which raised the Peruvian monarchy above every other
state in South America.
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