EDUCATORS’ PERSPECTIVE brutal Incan rule, many non-Incan natives embraced the Spaniards as liberators, and they were eager to take up arms against Atahualpa. The political and economic institutions created and fostered by the Inca Empire were ending.
Successful Entrepreneurial Endeavors Do Not Take Place in a Vacuum
The myth of the great men argues that the Conquistadors prevailed because they were extraordinary men with superior technology. While it is certainly true that the Spaniards possessed superior technology, the claim that they were great men does not hold up to close scrutiny. As mentioned previously, the Conquistadors prevailed by allying themselves with the non-Incan natives who were fed up with oppressive Incan rulers. Without their aid, it is doubtful that the Conquistadors would have succeeded in their conquest of Peru. They also had help from the Spanish government.
Don’ t Ignore the Government
The Spanish crown helped the Conquistadors by giving them exclusive rights to exploit certain areas in the New World in exchange for 10 % of all of the precious metals obtained in the venture. Although the king was not a major source of financing for the Conquistadors, he did provide them with some military equipment.
The crown also retained the right to govern the New World, but it was a world far removed from the courts of Europe. The Conquistadors had a tendency to take the law into their own hands and ignore edicts and directives from across the ocean. For instance, although the king discouraged slavery in the Americas and eventually prohibited the practice, it was widespread in Spanish America. As conditions in Peru began to deteriorate into lawlessness, the king attempted to restore order by sending a personal representative to take over the reins of government.
Age and Education Aren’ t Necessarily Important
Francisco Pizarro was in his early 50s when he conquered Peru. By the standards of his age, he was an old man. He spent the better part of 30 years in the New World and was already wealthy. Nevertheless, he was not too old to take on a new venture.
Although Pizarro was the illiterate, illegitimate son of a Spanish farmer, he did not let these disadvantages stop him from pursuing the opportunities that were available to him in the New World. He serves as an inspiration to those who fear that their age, lack of education or low social standing prohibit them from engaging in entrepreneurial activities.
Profits Should Be Distributed Equitably
We previously noted that in order to participate in the profits of the Company of the Levant, a shareholder had to be present at the event that generated the wealth. So when Diego De Almagro missed out on the capture of Atahualpa at Cajamarca because he was busy obtaining additional men and supplies for the expedition in Panama, his share of the wealth wrested from the Inca overlord was a pittance. This single act eventually led to the demise of Almagro at the hands of Hernando Pizarro and to the death of Francisco Pizarro.
Had the Conquistadors paid more attention to their Catholic faith, they may have become familiar with the story of David( of David and Goliath fame) at the brook Besor. David was living in exile after Saul, the king of Israel, made several attempts on his life. He was living in enemy territory in the Philistine city of Ziklag. While David and his men were off on a military mission with the Philistine king Achish, Amalekite raiders attacked, looted and burned defenseless Ziklag and made off with all the women and children.
David’ s men were upset and threatened to stone David for leaving the city in such a vulnerable state. David, however, rallied his troops and set out to apprehend the Amalekites. They rode with such furious abandon that when they reached the brook Besor, one third of them were too exhausted to cross the brook. Those who could not continue stayed behind with the supplies while David and the rest of his men continued their pursuit. Luckily, they came upon an abandoned Egyptian slave of one of the Amalekites. The slave revealed the Amalekites’ location to David, who immediately mounted an attack on the unsuspecting rogues.
David recovered all the women and children and seized all of the Amalekites’ flocks and herds. When the victorious war party returned to the brook Besor,“… all the wicked and worthless fellows among the men who had gone with David said,‘ Because they did not go with us, we will not give them any of the spoil that we have recovered, except that each man may lead away his wife and children, and depart.’”
David disagreed and said,“ For as his share is who goes down into the battle, so shall his share be who stays by the baggage. They shall share alike.” And he made it a statute and a rule for Israel from that day forward to this day.”( 1 Samuel 30:22 – 25 ESV)
According to pastor and author Eugene Peterson,“ The brook Besor marks an important event in human history.” David, he argues,“… didn’ t bend to the cowardice that we neutralize with our phrase‘ peer pressure’… He had no interest in a security gained at the expense of the people with whom he lived. He wasn’ t out to save his own soul. He was, in a word, compassionate.”
David’ s wise decision at the brook Besor engendered the loyalty and trust of these men for the next 40 years, as he led Israel into its golden era.
The Conquistador’ s decision to reward those present at Cajamarca and stiff everyone else led to disastrous consequences and divided the Conquistadors into two warring factions. Hernando Pizarro, who would later spend over 20 years in a Spanish prison for this act, executed Almagro at Cusco. Almagro’ s angry followers never forgave the Pizarros and vowed vengeance. On a foggy June morning in 1541, less than nine years after the capture of Atahualpa, Almagristas stormed Francisco Pizarro’ s home in Lima and killed the 63-year-old Conquistador.
Did the Conquistadors Take on Too Much Risk?
In the 16th century, it was risky to cross the Atlantic to reach the New World, it was risky to encounter the hostile natives of
www. MoAF. org | Fall 2016 | FINANCIAL HISTORY 11