ATAHUALLPA or ATABALIPA (atahu, virile, and a//pa, sweet) (c. , "the last of the Incas" (or Yncas) of Peru, was the favourite son of the Inca Huayna Capac, by Pacchas, the daughter of the conquered sovereign of Quito. His half-brother, Huascar, succeeded Huayna Capac in 1525, for, as Atahuallpa was not descended on both sides from the line of the Incas, Peruvian law considered him illegitimate. His father left him, however, the kingdom of Quito. In 1530 a quarrel arose between, them over the suzerainty of an interjacent province. Civil war broke out, and in 1532,about the time that the Spanish conqueror, Pizarro, was beginning his march inland from the coast, Huascar had been defeated and thrown into prison, and Atahuallpa had become Inca. Pizarro set out from San Miguel in Sept. 1532 enroute to Caxamarca, a favourite resort of the Incas, where Atahuallpa had his headquarters. Messengers passed fre quently between them, and the Spaniards on their march were hospitably received by the inhabitants. On Nov. 15 Pizarro entered Caxamarca and sent his brother Hernando and Hernando de Soto to request an interview with the Inca. On the evening of the following day Atahuallpa entered the great square of Caxa marca, escorted by 3,000 or 4,000 of his followers, who were either unarmed or carried only short clubs and slings concealed under their garments. Pizarro's artillery and soldiers were strategically arranged in the buildings and streets opening on to the square. The interview was carried on by the priest, Vicente de Valerde, through an interpreter. He stated briefly and dogmatically the history and tenets of the Christian faith and the Roman Catholic policy, and called upon Atahuallpa to become a Christian and to acknowledge Charles V. as his master. To this extraordinary harangue the Inca pointed out to him vehemently certain diffi culties in the Christian religion, acknowledged the obvious great ness of the emperor, and declined to accept either Christianity or Spanish sovereignty. He then took the bible from the priest's hands, looked at it, and flung it resentfully to the ground. The priest retired to give an account of the interview to Pizarro, and Pizarro immediately gave the prearranged signal for attack. The Spaniards rushed out from all sides, and the Peruvians, astonished and defenceless, were cut down in hundreds. Pizarro himself seized the Inca, and in endeavouring to preserve his life, received the only wound inflicted that day on a Spaniard. Atahuallpa, thus treacherously captured, offered in ransom the famous roomful of gold and silver. He fulfilled his engagement, the Spaniards re ceived $4,000,000 of bullion; but Pizarro still detained him until reinforcements should arrive. While in captivity Atahuallpa was accused of giving secret orders for the assassination of his brother, Huascar, and also of plotting the overthrow of the Spaniards. In the spring of 1533 (February) Almagro arrived from the coast with more than 15o Spaniards; rumours soon spread through the camp of a vast invasion from Quito; and Pizarro ordered the Inca to be brought to trial on the charges of murder, sedition and idolatry. He was condemned to death, and, as an idolator, to death by fire, an act of treachery which called forth the protest of the most influential of Pizarro's advisers—except the priest Valerde. But Pizarro feared the anger of his soldiery if he retracted, and Atahuallpa, having professed himself a Christian and received baptism, died by strangulation on Aug. With him died the Peruvian empire.
The standard authority for these events is still Prescott's History of the Conquest of Peru. Where there is a discrepancy of opinion, he offers comparisons in his voluminous footnotes. (W. B. P.)