The Ancash Region of Peru is a land of contrast. It has two, great longitudinal Valleys: the Alley of Huaylas (Callejon de Huaylas) and the High Maranon (Alto Maranon).
The Alley of Huaylas is an inter-andean Valley in the North-Central Highlands. Due to its location between two mountain ranges it is known as the Alley of Huaylas, whereas Huaylas refers to the territorial division's name during the colonial times (Viceroyalty of Peru).
Going in North direction from Lima, the road climbs to an altitude of 3,945m, from Callejon de Huaylas to Chiquian, where the Lake Cono-Cocha (Warm Lake) at an altitude of 4,050m, marks the head of the Valley. The lake is seen as the headwaters of the santa River which from this point runs 200kms in a Northerly direction, between the Black Mountain Range and the snowcapped White Mountain Range. It is fed by small streams from the Black Mountain Range in the West and the white Mountain Range in the East. The main tributary of the lake is the Tuco River which has its source in Laguna Tuco at 5,000m above sea level at one of the glacier tongues of Nevado de Tuco. The village Cono-Cocha is located on the western shore of the lake, where connecting roads to Lima, Pativilca, Huaraz and Chiquian are crossing. Despite its altitude, the lake is reach in fish; among others, salmon and trout are found. A unique species of frogs also are distinctively found only in that lake.
The regional copper and zinc mining company Antamina, in the hands of international investors has been accused of lowering waters levels of the Cono-Cocha Lake and thus affecting plant and animal species, and contaminating the Region with toxic mineral residues. This damage, done on the sacred land that once belonged to people who really respect it, is not going to be forgotten by the spirits who still watch the land, only it is a matter of time to see how the reversal process begin to affect in the same measure to the ones responsible for it.
Huaraz, the capital of Ancash, is the largest city in the Alley (Callejon), located at 3,000m above sea level. In the Valley North of Huaraz there are the towns Carhuaz, Yungay and Caraz which is considered the large city in the Valley.
Yungay is located in the Alley on the Santa River at an elevation of approximately 2,500m, 450km North of Lima, Peru's capital. East of the small town are the Mountain ridges of the snow-covered White Mountain Range, with Huascaran, Peru's highest mountain, no more than 15km East of Yungay.
A remarkable event if the history of Peru happened in Yungay, where in the Guitarrero Cave, in 1969, the US archaeologist Thomas F. Lynch (Cornell University), discovered cultural remains from c.10,000 BC, making this place "one of the great testimonies of the origin of agriculture in America."
The Guitarrero Cave is located in the Alley of Huaylas Valley, 50m above the Santa River and at 2,580m above the sea level. Some of the earliest cultivated plants in South America have been found in the cave. They include: Aji Pepper, Oca, Aji, Common bean, Pallar, Lucuma, Olluco, Zapallo, Corn.
On May 31, 1970 the Ancash earthquake caused a substantial part of the North Side of a mountain, Nevado Huascaran to fall. This caused a debris avalanche, burying the town of Yungay and killing instantly 20,000 people. More than 50 million cubic meters of debris slid approximately 15 kms downhill at an angle of about 14 degrees. Speeds between 450km/h to 980km/h were achieved. The current town was rebuild 1500 m North of the destroyed city.
Thursday, March 31, 2016
Saturday, March 19, 2016
JOHAN REIN-HARD, A MUMMY HUNTER.
Johan Rein-Hard, born on December 13, 1943 in Joliet, Illinois, USA. Much of his experience focuses in the finding of sacred sites of mountain peoples, especially in the Andes. Johan is famous for his findings of Inca Mummies on the peaks of the Andes in Peru and Argentina. He also have performed underwater investigation in Lake Titicaca, the World's highest navigable lake (12,500ft) and explored pre-hispanic ceremonial sites built on Andean Mountain summits, and the ancient ceremonial centers of Machu Picchu, Chavin, and Tiahuanaco. His drive for hunting sacred places made him the one who climbed the most peaks in the Andean Mountains in search for his treasures. He also is known as an Himalayan, Greece and Austria climber exploring and hunting in their sacred places.
He works with the National Geographic Society, one of the largest institutions in the World who sponsors and funds explorations. Its 21 members include business executives, former government officials and conservationists. It began as a club for an elite and wealthy patrons interested in travel "to increase and diffuse geographical knowledge" located in Lafayette Square, Washington DC. It was incorporated on January 27, 1888. Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822-December 11, 1897) became its 1st president. He was born in Boston and was a lawyer, financier and philanthropist. His father was a Massachussetts Supreme Court justice and his grandfather, Gardiner Greene, was a cotton planter in Demerara (Guyana) and merchant from Boston. The estate that he owned was known for its sweeping harbor views and lush hillside garden. Greene Hubbard was also a descendant of Lion Gardiner, an early English settler in the New World who founded the 1st English settlement in what layer became the State of New York, and whose legacy includes Gardiners Island which remains in the family. Gardiner Hubbard helped establish the city water works in Cambridge and was a founder of the Cambridge gas Co. and later organized a Cambridge to Boston trolley system. He also was intimately connected with the Bell Telephone Company, which evolved into the National Bell telephone Company and then the American Bell Telephone Company. In 1899, at the very end, it evolved into AT&T, at times the World's largest telephone company. He also became the principal investor in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company. When Edison neglected it, he helped his son-in-law Alexander Graham Bell, organize a competing company in 1881 that developed wax-coated cardboard cylinders and disks for used on a graphophone. The company merged with other shares that later evolved into Columbia Records. In 1890, Mount Hubbard on the Alaka-Yukon border was named in his honor by an expedition co-sponsored by the National Geographic Society while he was president. His son-in-law Alexander Graham Bell succeeded him in 1897. In 1899, Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor was named 1st full-time editor and served the organization for 50 years until 1954. Members of the Grosvenor elite have played important roles in the organization since.
He works with the National Geographic Society, one of the largest institutions in the World who sponsors and funds explorations. Its 21 members include business executives, former government officials and conservationists. It began as a club for an elite and wealthy patrons interested in travel "to increase and diffuse geographical knowledge" located in Lafayette Square, Washington DC. It was incorporated on January 27, 1888. Gardiner Greene Hubbard (August 25, 1822-December 11, 1897) became its 1st president. He was born in Boston and was a lawyer, financier and philanthropist. His father was a Massachussetts Supreme Court justice and his grandfather, Gardiner Greene, was a cotton planter in Demerara (Guyana) and merchant from Boston. The estate that he owned was known for its sweeping harbor views and lush hillside garden. Greene Hubbard was also a descendant of Lion Gardiner, an early English settler in the New World who founded the 1st English settlement in what layer became the State of New York, and whose legacy includes Gardiners Island which remains in the family. Gardiner Hubbard helped establish the city water works in Cambridge and was a founder of the Cambridge gas Co. and later organized a Cambridge to Boston trolley system. He also was intimately connected with the Bell Telephone Company, which evolved into the National Bell telephone Company and then the American Bell Telephone Company. In 1899, at the very end, it evolved into AT&T, at times the World's largest telephone company. He also became the principal investor in the Edison Speaking Phonograph Company. When Edison neglected it, he helped his son-in-law Alexander Graham Bell, organize a competing company in 1881 that developed wax-coated cardboard cylinders and disks for used on a graphophone. The company merged with other shares that later evolved into Columbia Records. In 1890, Mount Hubbard on the Alaka-Yukon border was named in his honor by an expedition co-sponsored by the National Geographic Society while he was president. His son-in-law Alexander Graham Bell succeeded him in 1897. In 1899, Bell's son-in-law Gilbert Hovey Grosvenor was named 1st full-time editor and served the organization for 50 years until 1954. Members of the Grosvenor elite have played important roles in the organization since.
Friday, March 18, 2016
CAPAC COCHA, A SACRIFICIAL RITE OF THE INCAS.
Capac Cocha (Quechua 'Capac'=Noble, Principal, Mighty, Royal; 'Cocha'=Crime, Sin, Guilt) was an important sacrificial rite among the Inca religious society. The rite was intrinsically associated with high-altitude occurrences at the very tops of mountains or at the Sacred Titicaca Lake site.
The ceremonial rite typically involved the offering of a mighty child from noble blood to the Supreme God to appease His Judgment under serious circumstances that provoked the breaking of the Law of Nature by the Hand of the Inca or through any of the royal class in charge of the administration of the religious power invested in them.
The signs involving illnesses, death, succession of the Throne, or the birth of a son, were interpreted as the result of key events in the life of the Inca Emperor and his administration. The ceremony were undertaken to stop natural disasters or were performed during major festivals at important ceremonial sites.
To their ideology everything had to be in harmony, and the lack of it had a reason and a consequence in the realms of the Earth, the Cosmos, and the Underworld. The solemn sacrifice or royal obligation was understood as returning to the Supreme God an amount of sacred religious energy invested in the purity of the child ancestry equal to the weight of wrongful nature of the action committed against the Law of Nature, to ensure that harmony would be restore and the certainty that the life and soul of the child was preserved by having the opportunity to come to life again.
Humanity's best and honorable sacrifice was to be a messenger to the Supreme God and his court and to join their deities.
The child chosen to be a messenger had to be perfect, unblemished by even a freckle or scar. They could come from any region of the empire. The male children were no older than 10 and girls could be up to age 16 and a virgin when chosen.
They were prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically, since the day that they were borne. They had to increase their spiritual power to carry their mission. They were trained in high places and usually ascend up to the ceremonial site on top of the very high mountains to meditate and recreate themselves there, adapting to the height and fed with the royal food produced at high altitudes until the time of the sacrifice come. This was to ensure that they would be happy when they reach the gods.
The children were paired off, girl and boy, and dressed finely like little royal creatures. They also were paraded often around the 4 large statues: -of the Creator, -of the Sun God, -of the Moon God, and -of the Thunder God.
The ceremonies were circular in nature, and the sacrificial child and material offerings being brought from local and chosen communities in the provinces to the capital of Cuzco had to be in a circular and symbolic way before being redistributed to sacred places throughout the empire. The way in which it was planned fulfilled their religious and political goals. Usually the ritual was not performed in the Region from which the sacrificial child originated.
The first Inca to do this sacrifice was Pacha-Cutec, and started at the capital city of Cuzco. The chosen ones were sent to every ceremonial place around the Kingdom, if some place was forgotten or left out, it could cause political uproar there or the displease the gods in the Upper World. Then Pacha-Cutec ordered that the chosen Huacas (Shrines), representing the energy power of each of the Quarters (Suyos) or Regions of the Tahuantinsuyo, had to divide the lifeless body of the sacrificial child in four, each part representing each quarter and be performed at an exact cosmological time selected by the priests. The offering along with the sacrifice included gold, silver, and thorny oysters known as spon-Dylus.
Spon-Dylus are not related to true oysters, however they do cement themselves to rocks, rather than attach themselves by a bundle of filaments. Their key characteristic is that they have multiple eyes around the edges of their shells, and have relatively well-developed nervous systems. They were sacred to the Incas and often offered in their sacrificial rites.
Prayers were done to the gods (the Creator, the Sun, the Moon, and the Thunder) to keep the Sapa Inca safe and to guard the people of the empire as long as they existed.
In the Acon-Cagua peak, an Incan mummy of a 7-year-old boy was found buried in a semicircular stone structure. The frozen body was discovered by hikers in 1985 at 5,300/17,400ft above sea level. The mummy is well-preserved, due to the extreme cold and dry conditions of its high altitude burial.
The body was wrapped in textiles in a style derived from central coastal Peru. Six statuettes were also found buried with the boy. An analysis shows that the boy's diet consisted primarily on quinoa, dry potatoes, maize, and meat from the local fauna. A year and a half before his sacrificial dead, his diet became more marine-based. The presence of achiote (shrub which seeds produce a natural red color) was also found inside his stomach and colon.
DNA was extracted from one of his lungs. His lineage contains 10 distinct mutations. The researchers determined that it likely arose around 14,300 years ago.
In the dormant Mount Am-Pato, a 6,309m/20,700 strato-volcano in the Andes of Southern Peru, about 100km/60mi North West of Arequipa, and part of a 20km/12mi North-South chain of 3 major strato-volcanoes, a well-preserved frozen body of an Inca girl who was sacrificed as an offering to the Inca gods, was found by a group on climbers in September 1995.
During an ascent the climbers noticed a bundle inside the crater that had fallen from an Inca religious site on the summit. They also found many items that had been left as offerings strewn about the mountain slope down which the body had fallen. These include statues and food items.
Two more ice mummies, a young girl and a boy, were discovered in an archeological expedition to Ampato, two months later, in search for more bodies. In December 1995, they recovered another female mummy. Owing to melting caused by volcanic ash from nearby erupting volcano of Saban-Calla (5,976m/19,606ft), the most active volcano in Peru, most of the Inca burial site had collapsed down into a gully that led into the crater.
The ceremonial rite typically involved the offering of a mighty child from noble blood to the Supreme God to appease His Judgment under serious circumstances that provoked the breaking of the Law of Nature by the Hand of the Inca or through any of the royal class in charge of the administration of the religious power invested in them.
The signs involving illnesses, death, succession of the Throne, or the birth of a son, were interpreted as the result of key events in the life of the Inca Emperor and his administration. The ceremony were undertaken to stop natural disasters or were performed during major festivals at important ceremonial sites.
To their ideology everything had to be in harmony, and the lack of it had a reason and a consequence in the realms of the Earth, the Cosmos, and the Underworld. The solemn sacrifice or royal obligation was understood as returning to the Supreme God an amount of sacred religious energy invested in the purity of the child ancestry equal to the weight of wrongful nature of the action committed against the Law of Nature, to ensure that harmony would be restore and the certainty that the life and soul of the child was preserved by having the opportunity to come to life again.
Humanity's best and honorable sacrifice was to be a messenger to the Supreme God and his court and to join their deities.
The child chosen to be a messenger had to be perfect, unblemished by even a freckle or scar. They could come from any region of the empire. The male children were no older than 10 and girls could be up to age 16 and a virgin when chosen.
They were prepared spiritually, mentally, and physically, since the day that they were borne. They had to increase their spiritual power to carry their mission. They were trained in high places and usually ascend up to the ceremonial site on top of the very high mountains to meditate and recreate themselves there, adapting to the height and fed with the royal food produced at high altitudes until the time of the sacrifice come. This was to ensure that they would be happy when they reach the gods.
The children were paired off, girl and boy, and dressed finely like little royal creatures. They also were paraded often around the 4 large statues: -of the Creator, -of the Sun God, -of the Moon God, and -of the Thunder God.
The ceremonies were circular in nature, and the sacrificial child and material offerings being brought from local and chosen communities in the provinces to the capital of Cuzco had to be in a circular and symbolic way before being redistributed to sacred places throughout the empire. The way in which it was planned fulfilled their religious and political goals. Usually the ritual was not performed in the Region from which the sacrificial child originated.
The first Inca to do this sacrifice was Pacha-Cutec, and started at the capital city of Cuzco. The chosen ones were sent to every ceremonial place around the Kingdom, if some place was forgotten or left out, it could cause political uproar there or the displease the gods in the Upper World. Then Pacha-Cutec ordered that the chosen Huacas (Shrines), representing the energy power of each of the Quarters (Suyos) or Regions of the Tahuantinsuyo, had to divide the lifeless body of the sacrificial child in four, each part representing each quarter and be performed at an exact cosmological time selected by the priests. The offering along with the sacrifice included gold, silver, and thorny oysters known as spon-Dylus.
Spon-Dylus are not related to true oysters, however they do cement themselves to rocks, rather than attach themselves by a bundle of filaments. Their key characteristic is that they have multiple eyes around the edges of their shells, and have relatively well-developed nervous systems. They were sacred to the Incas and often offered in their sacrificial rites.
Prayers were done to the gods (the Creator, the Sun, the Moon, and the Thunder) to keep the Sapa Inca safe and to guard the people of the empire as long as they existed.
In the Acon-Cagua peak, an Incan mummy of a 7-year-old boy was found buried in a semicircular stone structure. The frozen body was discovered by hikers in 1985 at 5,300/17,400ft above sea level. The mummy is well-preserved, due to the extreme cold and dry conditions of its high altitude burial.
The body was wrapped in textiles in a style derived from central coastal Peru. Six statuettes were also found buried with the boy. An analysis shows that the boy's diet consisted primarily on quinoa, dry potatoes, maize, and meat from the local fauna. A year and a half before his sacrificial dead, his diet became more marine-based. The presence of achiote (shrub which seeds produce a natural red color) was also found inside his stomach and colon.
DNA was extracted from one of his lungs. His lineage contains 10 distinct mutations. The researchers determined that it likely arose around 14,300 years ago.
In the dormant Mount Am-Pato, a 6,309m/20,700 strato-volcano in the Andes of Southern Peru, about 100km/60mi North West of Arequipa, and part of a 20km/12mi North-South chain of 3 major strato-volcanoes, a well-preserved frozen body of an Inca girl who was sacrificed as an offering to the Inca gods, was found by a group on climbers in September 1995.
During an ascent the climbers noticed a bundle inside the crater that had fallen from an Inca religious site on the summit. They also found many items that had been left as offerings strewn about the mountain slope down which the body had fallen. These include statues and food items.
Two more ice mummies, a young girl and a boy, were discovered in an archeological expedition to Ampato, two months later, in search for more bodies. In December 1995, they recovered another female mummy. Owing to melting caused by volcanic ash from nearby erupting volcano of Saban-Calla (5,976m/19,606ft), the most active volcano in Peru, most of the Inca burial site had collapsed down into a gully that led into the crater.
THE INCA' S BRIDGE.
The Inca's Bridge is a natural arch that form a bridge over the Cows' River, a tributary of the Mendoza River, in Mendoza Province, Argentina, near a place named "The Caverns." It is situated at 2,740m/8,990 ft above sea level. The area has a cold semi-arid climate, with moderate summers and snowy winters.
The Mendoza River is formed in the Andes Range between the Acon-Cagua and the Tupun-Gato Mountains, by the confluence of the Cows' River, the Caverns' River, and the Tupin-Gato River, the last being its major tributary.
The Upper Valley of Mendoza begins at around 2,600m/8,500ft above mean sea level, and it is U-shaped, of Glacial origin. The Mendoza River reaches Uspa-Llata, village situated in a scenic location on the road which crosses the Andes between Mendoza, in Argentina, and Santiago, in Chile ; then crosses the Pre-Cordillera through the settlement of Pot-Rerillos (1,380m above mean sea level); then flows along the Ca-Che-Uta Canyon and reaches the Plain. It forms an Arc and turns North East, finally emptying into the place named "Baths of Guana-Cache, which join the Saint John River, part of the system of the Desaguadero River. The Desaguadero River marked the traditional boundary between the Vice-royalties of Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The interaction of extreme elements like ice and hot springs was involved in the origin of the formation. In ancient times ice covered the Mendoza River and acted as support for avalanches of snow, dust and rocks. So the dust over the ice on top of the River served as a path for the sulfurous water and petrified the surface, so when the snow melted, the Bridge remained by itself.
This area of the Andes is known for many Hot Springs. In the hayday of the Argentina's boom in 1904 the spa at Ca-Che-Uta was developed on a massive scale. Financed by the issue of shares to "speculative investors," a very substantial and luxurious hotel was built on the hill side above the River, with a bathing establishment below consisting of a large space lit from roof lanterns with individual bathrooms leading off it. The establishment achieved a "particular success" through its link with the Trans-Andine Railway, which opened in 1910. The line straight passed the Hotel, and a special railway station was erected there. Passengers alighting on the platform at the spa would descend a staircase directly into the spa hotel, while their luggage would be brought down in a lift constructed within a tower modeled on a Italian campanile. Special packages and excursions were offered, and a wide range of glittering special events were celebrated in the local press. In 1934 a Glacial Flood in the Canyon completely destroyed the spa. The establishment never recovered. In 1986 a new less ambitious project was taken forward. Within the ruins of the original buildings a new smaller hotel was constructed. While the railway was abandoned in 1984, the spa is no longer in route to other destinations. Foreign tourism is less noticeable.
In March 1835, Charles Darwin (12 February 1809-19 April 1882) visited the Inca's Bridge site, and made some drawings with large stalactites.
The area is located between the two trail-heads for climbing the Acon-Cagua. The abandoned railway station has been turned into a Mountaineering Museum to display the cultural history of the area. It is open during the summer and is run by the founding group of friends.
The Mendoza River is formed in the Andes Range between the Acon-Cagua and the Tupun-Gato Mountains, by the confluence of the Cows' River, the Caverns' River, and the Tupin-Gato River, the last being its major tributary.
The Upper Valley of Mendoza begins at around 2,600m/8,500ft above mean sea level, and it is U-shaped, of Glacial origin. The Mendoza River reaches Uspa-Llata, village situated in a scenic location on the road which crosses the Andes between Mendoza, in Argentina, and Santiago, in Chile ; then crosses the Pre-Cordillera through the settlement of Pot-Rerillos (1,380m above mean sea level); then flows along the Ca-Che-Uta Canyon and reaches the Plain. It forms an Arc and turns North East, finally emptying into the place named "Baths of Guana-Cache, which join the Saint John River, part of the system of the Desaguadero River. The Desaguadero River marked the traditional boundary between the Vice-royalties of Peru and Buenos Aires, Argentina.
The interaction of extreme elements like ice and hot springs was involved in the origin of the formation. In ancient times ice covered the Mendoza River and acted as support for avalanches of snow, dust and rocks. So the dust over the ice on top of the River served as a path for the sulfurous water and petrified the surface, so when the snow melted, the Bridge remained by itself.
This area of the Andes is known for many Hot Springs. In the hayday of the Argentina's boom in 1904 the spa at Ca-Che-Uta was developed on a massive scale. Financed by the issue of shares to "speculative investors," a very substantial and luxurious hotel was built on the hill side above the River, with a bathing establishment below consisting of a large space lit from roof lanterns with individual bathrooms leading off it. The establishment achieved a "particular success" through its link with the Trans-Andine Railway, which opened in 1910. The line straight passed the Hotel, and a special railway station was erected there. Passengers alighting on the platform at the spa would descend a staircase directly into the spa hotel, while their luggage would be brought down in a lift constructed within a tower modeled on a Italian campanile. Special packages and excursions were offered, and a wide range of glittering special events were celebrated in the local press. In 1934 a Glacial Flood in the Canyon completely destroyed the spa. The establishment never recovered. In 1986 a new less ambitious project was taken forward. Within the ruins of the original buildings a new smaller hotel was constructed. While the railway was abandoned in 1984, the spa is no longer in route to other destinations. Foreign tourism is less noticeable.
In March 1835, Charles Darwin (12 February 1809-19 April 1882) visited the Inca's Bridge site, and made some drawings with large stalactites.
The area is located between the two trail-heads for climbing the Acon-Cagua. The abandoned railway station has been turned into a Mountaineering Museum to display the cultural history of the area. It is open during the summer and is run by the founding group of friends.
Thursday, March 17, 2016
WHAT WAS THE MISSION OF A VICEROY?
Viceroys were the milicia created by the Ruling Dynasties of Europe in order to protect their riches.
When the power Dynasty of Habs-Burg learned the intention of other powerful and noble families in getting the riches of the New World, this milicia were in charge to protect the Pacific Coast from the French contraband of goods and precious metals and from the English and Dutch who sent their pirates.
The famous English Henry Morgan was a Welsh guy who happen to be the eldest son of Robert Morgan (1615) a descendant from a "Cadet Branch" of the "Tredegar Morgans". Robert had two brothers, Thomas and Edward. There is no record of Robert Morgan before 1655. He later said that he left his place of birth and went to sail. Morgan came to Jamaica in 1658 as a young man, and raise himself to fame and fortune.
The Anglo-Spain War, was a conflict between the England Protectorate (which at that time included Wales, Ireland, and Scotland) in the hands of Oliver Cromwell and the Dynasty controlling the Crown of Spain. Each side attacked the other's commercial and colonial interests in various ways on the Sea.
In 1657, England formed an alliance with France, merging the Anglo-Spanish War with the larger Franco-Spanish War.
A Cade Branch that consisted of the male-line descendants of a Monarch or patriarch's younger sons (cadets) in ruling Dynasties and "Noble Families" of much of Europe, were trained to defend their interest and the first to participate in any type of conflict. Family's major assets -Realm, Titles, Fiefs, Property and Income- have historically been secured in this way and passed from father to his firstborn son in what is known as primogeniture; younger sons -"Cadets"- inherited less wealth and authority to pass to future generations of descendants and the wealth accumulated in any manner by their own hands were kept as a personal reward or shared with the Monarchy when they needed large funds to cover up expenses as the one done by Cristobal Colon.
Henry Morgan's uncle was made Lieutenant-Governor of Jamaica after the restoration of Charles II of England in 1660. Morgan was entrusted with a fleet willing to engage in bold attacks on Spanish settlements. In the Cartagena's Raid he attracted 900 men to his 11 ships. Morgan brought his men to the Isla de Vaca (Cow Island), just to decide which city to attack first. The night they decided to attack Cartagena, they celebrated. During the rum-filled activities, a number of intoxicated sailors lit a fuse that ignited explosives on board of the Morgan's Flagship, "The Oxford" and destroyed it. Many men lost their lives, and many others deserted, seeing the tragedy as a bad omen. This decreased the fleet to 10 ships and 800 men. Morgan anyway continued to his plan, supplementing his fleet with another ship (a French Vessel: Le Cerf Volant), coincidentally, he desired to acquire it on the night of the explosion.
The voyage was disastrous. The sailors were too exhausted and the ships under too much stress. The French vessels that he seized under false accusations were sent to Jamaica and the sailor imprisoned and
threatened with hanging. A commission from the Governor of Baracoa determined that the French were legally trading with with Spain. A French captain (Pierre Le Picard) on board suggested to Morgan that they attemp to sack Maracaibo. This captain had spent 3 years under the leadership of the notorious brutal pirate Francois L'Olonnais. Also Maracaibo was not an easy feat. The town was located on Lake Maracaibo, but to reach the Lake they had to go through a narrow and shallow channel. Unknown to the French Captain was that the Spanish constructed a Fortress at the channel narrowest point. During the night Morgan and his men approached the Fort and found a great amount of explosives ready to blow up. Morgan's crew discovered it on time to disarm the trap. Morgan stole all the supplies abandoned inside the Fortress. The residents were able to escape before the pirate's arrival. Then they set to attack Gibraltar on the Southern shore of Lake Maracaibo, again with unsuccessful results.
On 15 December 1670, he recaptured Santa Catalina, and on 27 December he gained possession of the Fortress of San Lorenzo in the Caribbean Coast of Panama, killing 300 men on the garrison. Then with 1,400 men he reached the Pacific Coast and Panama City. Morgan discovered that Panama City had roughly 1,200 infantry. Much of the city's wealth had been removed unto the Spanish treasure galleon, The Holy Trinity, which then sailed out into the Gulf of Panama., beyond the looters'reach.
Morgan's men decided to celebrate without knowing that the treasures of the city had been sailed away.
When they discovered the news they burnt the city and killed all the remained residents and looted it.
After Morgan's attack, the city had to be rebuilt in a new site, close by the old one. Because the sack of Panama "violated" the 1670 Peace Treaty between England and Spain, Morgan was arrested and sent to the Kingdom of England in 1672. He "proved" he had no knowledge of the "Treaty." Morgan was "Knighted" in 1674 before returning to Jamaica to take the post of Lieutenant Governor.
By 1681, then-acting Governor Morgan had "fallen out of favor"with King Charles II (His father was executed at White Hall on 30 January 1649 at the climax of the English Civil War), who his intent was to weaken the semi-autonomous Jamaican Council, and was replaced by long-time political rival Thomas Lynch.
Morgan is an example of a bloodthirsty man, an opportunist, like many who happened to be related with the ruling Monarchies in Europe, and was able to successfully use the conflicts of interests between England and the rest of Europe, both to support England Monarchy and to enrich himself and his crews. The Viceroys were the other side of the Battle with the same purpose to enrich their Crowns and themselves.
Wednesday, March 16, 2016
WHAT TYPE OF GOVERNMENT CAME AFTER THE INCAS
The Viceroyalty of Peru was created in 1542 as an administrative district to exercise control over most of lands invaded by the Europeans in South America. It governed from the capital of Lima, Peru.
The Viceroyalty of Peru was one of the two viceroyalties in the Americas from the 16th to the 18th centuries (1544-1826). The creation of Viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata at the expense of Peru's territory reduced the importance of Lima and shifted the lucrative Andean Trade to Buenos Aires.
In order to understand how lucrative it was and how this Viceroyalties exercised its power in the New World, we take as an example what was happening in Peru during the time of the Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro.
Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro (20 October 1632-6 December 1672), 10th Count of Lemos was Viceroy of Peru from 1667 (age of 35) until his death. He was educated for the milicia. He was a court favorite when King Charles II appointed him Viceroy of Peru. He married a wealthy widow, since 1663(she had been the 3rd wife of Enrique Pimentel), in Madrid, on 20 July 1664. She was the daughter of the 8th Duke of Gandia. The Count and Countess of Lemos arrived in Peru at the Port of Callao on November 9, 1667. They were received by the Spanish of the colony with so much pomp.
In order to understand how this "Noble Society" made its way up, a brief summary of the ancestry of the House of Castro (from where Fernandez de Castro ancestry came from) is presented.
In the12th century Leon and Castilla, it was uncommon for the lords of the Southern Frontier (primaty responsibility the defence against the Almoravids) attend the itinerant royal court. Fernando Garcia de Hita, a Castillian nobleman, founder of the House of Castro, seems to have done both. He was given charge of several Frontier Fiefs (tenencias) and still managed to witness to 12 Royal Charters during the reign of Urraca. He was the Royal Official in charge of Guadalajara and Madinaceli in 1107. In 1,111 Fernando convinced Count Henry of Portugal to break his alliance with King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, and negotiate a renewed alliance between Alfonso and Queen Urraca, after she distanced herself from Count Henry.
Fernando 1st wife was Trigidia, a relative of the powerful Count Pedro Ansurez. She died before him, leaving 2 sons: Gutierre Fernandez de Castro and Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro. Fernando 2nd wife, Stephanie, daughter of Count Ememgol V of Urgell. On 12 November of 1119 Fernando had a grant of Bride Wealth drawn up for his 2nd wife. He bestowed on her his 1/2 of properties at Castro-Jeriz and Cerrato, adquired with his 1st wife and divided between him and his children. Earlier that year, Queen Urraca had granted those lands at Uceda and some others at Hita to the betrothed couple. Also she granted the lands at Cevico to Stephanie to be held independently of her husband or his existing children. Fernando disregarded this Royal Charter, placing greater stock in aristocratic custom based on Visigothic Law, by which he acquired 1/2 of all his wife's acquisitions during their marriage.
The couple had 2 daughters: Urraca Fernandez and Sancha Fernandez. Urraca was betrothed to Count Rodrigo Martinez, who granted her a Bride Wealth when she was only 10 years old. Stephanie also bore 2 sons to Fernando: Pedro Fernandez de Castro, who became the 1st Grand Master of the Order of James, and Martin Fernandez de Castro. Fernando died in 1125. After 10 years of being a widow and still young, married Count Rodrigo Gonzales de Lara in 1135.
In April 1126 Gutierre and Rodrigo Fernandez Castro made submission to the new king (later emperor) Alfonso VII, along with the rest of the Castillian nobility. In 1137 Rodrigo succeded Count Rodrigo Gonzales de Lara as governor of Toledo. Shortly after he raided the environs of Cordoba and defeated an army under Tashfin Ibn Ali, the future sultan. The mercenary experiences against the moors were indeed great. In April 1139 Rodrigo and his brother were ordered to besiege Oreja with their own knights assisted by local cavalry and infantry units of the Frontier Towns. He was dead by 1148. His eldest son, Fernando, the "Castilian," became the leader of the House of Castro.
The House of Castro, then is believed to have its origins in Castille, and the name is deriving from the Town of Castro-Geriz (Province of Burgos), and it had deep Branches and strong ties in Visigothic Galicia.
In 1665 the rich "mine owners" Jose Gaspar Salcedo, brothers from the Province of Paucar-Colla (now part of Puno Region), "revolted against the colonial government." The reason of the "revolution" was that they had discovered the very rich Lay-Cacota silver mines in 1657, and by this time they were the richest men in Latin America. The Salcedo brothers, who were Andalusians having women from Inca's nobility as his in-laws, were equal-opportunity employers in relation to his European background. The local people who really did the hard work of mine exploitation were treated as slaves. The way in which they hired people showed preference for Andalusians, Castilians, Creoles, and their in-laws growing family of mixed race (mestizo), than to Catalans, Galicians, and Basques. This type of friction formed a rival faction which battled the main stream faction of the Salcedos. The Royal Audiencia blamed the Salcedos for the riots, but the Salcedos defeated the Royalist Troops and became the undisputed authority in the Town.
When Fernandez de Castro, who was from Galicia, known as good mercenaries, came to Peru, this rebellion had reached such proportion that he felt he needed to resolve the conflict in his own way. He left to Paucar-Colla on June 7, 1668, and soon suppressed the Rellion with "an iron hand," and sentenced Jose Salcedo and 41 others to de. His brother Gaspar Salcedo was banished for 6 years and fined 12,000 francs and costs. He also ordered the population (10,000 people) of the Town of San Luis Alva, the settlement that had grown up around the mines, be removed to a short distance to the town of Puno, which he made the capital of the province, securing for himself all the wealth of the Salcedo family. After all the wealth confiscated including the property of the lucrative mines was transfered to his Royal and personal Crown, he burned San Luis the Alva, who was before him, the land and the town of the Salcedo family that also had strong connections with the Spanish Crown.
The sentences were appealed to the Crown of Spain, where they were reversed. Gaspar Salcedo was freed and the fines were refunded. What was offered in trading for that freedom is not known. A natural son of Jose, his brother, also named Jose, was made Marques de Villa Rica by King Philip V in 1703. Before his reign in Spain (1Nov.1700-15Jan.1724), Philip occupied an exalted place in the Royal Family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV. His father , Louis, the grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. Since the Grand Dauphin and Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of burgundy, could not be displaced from their place in the succession to the French Throne, King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will. It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one Monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it. Indeed, Philip's accession in Spain provoked the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession, which continued until the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) forbade any future possibility of unifying the French and Spanish Crowns. Philip was the 1st member of the House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain. The sum of his 2 reigns, 45 years and 21 days, is the longest in modern Spanish history.
In other words, European Monarchies forever will need the material riches in order to maintain its power, however, the Incan Empire reached the fullest of its power without exploiting it. The had the natural balance of its nature and was the main reason why they called themselves "The Empire of the Children of the Sun."
The Viceroyalty of Peru was one of the two viceroyalties in the Americas from the 16th to the 18th centuries (1544-1826). The creation of Viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata at the expense of Peru's territory reduced the importance of Lima and shifted the lucrative Andean Trade to Buenos Aires.
In order to understand how lucrative it was and how this Viceroyalties exercised its power in the New World, we take as an example what was happening in Peru during the time of the Viceroy Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro.
Pedro Antonio Fernandez de Castro (20 October 1632-6 December 1672), 10th Count of Lemos was Viceroy of Peru from 1667 (age of 35) until his death. He was educated for the milicia. He was a court favorite when King Charles II appointed him Viceroy of Peru. He married a wealthy widow, since 1663(she had been the 3rd wife of Enrique Pimentel), in Madrid, on 20 July 1664. She was the daughter of the 8th Duke of Gandia. The Count and Countess of Lemos arrived in Peru at the Port of Callao on November 9, 1667. They were received by the Spanish of the colony with so much pomp.
In order to understand how this "Noble Society" made its way up, a brief summary of the ancestry of the House of Castro (from where Fernandez de Castro ancestry came from) is presented.
In the12th century Leon and Castilla, it was uncommon for the lords of the Southern Frontier (primaty responsibility the defence against the Almoravids) attend the itinerant royal court. Fernando Garcia de Hita, a Castillian nobleman, founder of the House of Castro, seems to have done both. He was given charge of several Frontier Fiefs (tenencias) and still managed to witness to 12 Royal Charters during the reign of Urraca. He was the Royal Official in charge of Guadalajara and Madinaceli in 1107. In 1,111 Fernando convinced Count Henry of Portugal to break his alliance with King Alfonso I of Aragon and Navarre, and negotiate a renewed alliance between Alfonso and Queen Urraca, after she distanced herself from Count Henry.
Fernando 1st wife was Trigidia, a relative of the powerful Count Pedro Ansurez. She died before him, leaving 2 sons: Gutierre Fernandez de Castro and Rodrigo Fernandez de Castro. Fernando 2nd wife, Stephanie, daughter of Count Ememgol V of Urgell. On 12 November of 1119 Fernando had a grant of Bride Wealth drawn up for his 2nd wife. He bestowed on her his 1/2 of properties at Castro-Jeriz and Cerrato, adquired with his 1st wife and divided between him and his children. Earlier that year, Queen Urraca had granted those lands at Uceda and some others at Hita to the betrothed couple. Also she granted the lands at Cevico to Stephanie to be held independently of her husband or his existing children. Fernando disregarded this Royal Charter, placing greater stock in aristocratic custom based on Visigothic Law, by which he acquired 1/2 of all his wife's acquisitions during their marriage.
The couple had 2 daughters: Urraca Fernandez and Sancha Fernandez. Urraca was betrothed to Count Rodrigo Martinez, who granted her a Bride Wealth when she was only 10 years old. Stephanie also bore 2 sons to Fernando: Pedro Fernandez de Castro, who became the 1st Grand Master of the Order of James, and Martin Fernandez de Castro. Fernando died in 1125. After 10 years of being a widow and still young, married Count Rodrigo Gonzales de Lara in 1135.
In April 1126 Gutierre and Rodrigo Fernandez Castro made submission to the new king (later emperor) Alfonso VII, along with the rest of the Castillian nobility. In 1137 Rodrigo succeded Count Rodrigo Gonzales de Lara as governor of Toledo. Shortly after he raided the environs of Cordoba and defeated an army under Tashfin Ibn Ali, the future sultan. The mercenary experiences against the moors were indeed great. In April 1139 Rodrigo and his brother were ordered to besiege Oreja with their own knights assisted by local cavalry and infantry units of the Frontier Towns. He was dead by 1148. His eldest son, Fernando, the "Castilian," became the leader of the House of Castro.
The House of Castro, then is believed to have its origins in Castille, and the name is deriving from the Town of Castro-Geriz (Province of Burgos), and it had deep Branches and strong ties in Visigothic Galicia.
In 1665 the rich "mine owners" Jose Gaspar Salcedo, brothers from the Province of Paucar-Colla (now part of Puno Region), "revolted against the colonial government." The reason of the "revolution" was that they had discovered the very rich Lay-Cacota silver mines in 1657, and by this time they were the richest men in Latin America. The Salcedo brothers, who were Andalusians having women from Inca's nobility as his in-laws, were equal-opportunity employers in relation to his European background. The local people who really did the hard work of mine exploitation were treated as slaves. The way in which they hired people showed preference for Andalusians, Castilians, Creoles, and their in-laws growing family of mixed race (mestizo), than to Catalans, Galicians, and Basques. This type of friction formed a rival faction which battled the main stream faction of the Salcedos. The Royal Audiencia blamed the Salcedos for the riots, but the Salcedos defeated the Royalist Troops and became the undisputed authority in the Town.
When Fernandez de Castro, who was from Galicia, known as good mercenaries, came to Peru, this rebellion had reached such proportion that he felt he needed to resolve the conflict in his own way. He left to Paucar-Colla on June 7, 1668, and soon suppressed the Rellion with "an iron hand," and sentenced Jose Salcedo and 41 others to de. His brother Gaspar Salcedo was banished for 6 years and fined 12,000 francs and costs. He also ordered the population (10,000 people) of the Town of San Luis Alva, the settlement that had grown up around the mines, be removed to a short distance to the town of Puno, which he made the capital of the province, securing for himself all the wealth of the Salcedo family. After all the wealth confiscated including the property of the lucrative mines was transfered to his Royal and personal Crown, he burned San Luis the Alva, who was before him, the land and the town of the Salcedo family that also had strong connections with the Spanish Crown.
The sentences were appealed to the Crown of Spain, where they were reversed. Gaspar Salcedo was freed and the fines were refunded. What was offered in trading for that freedom is not known. A natural son of Jose, his brother, also named Jose, was made Marques de Villa Rica by King Philip V in 1703. Before his reign in Spain (1Nov.1700-15Jan.1724), Philip occupied an exalted place in the Royal Family of France as a grandson of King Louis XIV. His father , Louis, the grand Dauphin, had the strongest genealogical claim to the throne of Spain when it became vacant in 1700. Since the Grand Dauphin and Philip's older brother, Louis, Duke of burgundy, could not be displaced from their place in the succession to the French Throne, King Charles II of Spain named Philip as his heir in his will. It was well known that the union of France and Spain under one Monarch would upset the balance of power in Europe, such that other European powers would take steps to prevent it. Indeed, Philip's accession in Spain provoked the 14-year War of the Spanish Succession, which continued until the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) forbade any future possibility of unifying the French and Spanish Crowns. Philip was the 1st member of the House of Bourbon to rule as king of Spain. The sum of his 2 reigns, 45 years and 21 days, is the longest in modern Spanish history.
In other words, European Monarchies forever will need the material riches in order to maintain its power, however, the Incan Empire reached the fullest of its power without exploiting it. The had the natural balance of its nature and was the main reason why they called themselves "The Empire of the Children of the Sun."
Sunday, March 13, 2016
EUROPEAN MONARCHIES TRANSFERRED TO THE NEW WORLD.
There are 13 monarchies in North and South America. By the time Europeans arrived on the continents in the late 15th and early 16th centuries most pre-Columbian cultures of the Americas developed and flourished for centuries under a monarchical system of government completely different than the ones of the Old World. However many of these civilizations were forced to cease by the agents of the European monarchical powers establishing new American administrations overseen by delegated viceroys.
The title of Viceroy was originally used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century it referred to the governors of Sardinia and Corsica. In Europe, until the 18th century the Habs-Burg Crown appointed Viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarra, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples. With the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish Throne, the historic Aragonese Viceroyalties were replaced by new Captaincies General. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish Monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions. These Italian territories, however, continued to have Viceroys under their new rulers for some time.
The Americas were incorporated into the Crown of Castile.
The Crown of Castile was a medieval state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the 3rd and definitive union of Crowns. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the personal union in 1469 of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs up to the Dynastic Union occasioned by the succession of Charles I of Spain, the Habs-Burg heir to both Crowns in 1516. Isabella I and Ferdinand II married in secret. The union was not effective until the reign of his grandson Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Ferdinand and Isabella were related and had married without papal approval. A dispensation arrived later and Pope Alexander VI bestowed upon them the title of "The Catholic Monarchs."
With the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the institution of Viceroys was adapted to govern the highly populated and wealthy regions of the North overseas: New Spain (Mexico and Philippines) and South overseas: Peru and South America. The Viceroys of these 2 areas had oversight over the other provinces, with most of the North American, Central American, Caribbean, and East Indian areas supervised by the Viceroy in Mexico City and the South American ones by the Viceroy in Lima, with the exception of most of today's Venezuela, which was overseen by the High Court, or Audiencia of Santo Domingo on the Island of Hispaniola for most of the Colonial Period. There were 2 Viceroyalties until the 18th century, when the new Bourbon Dynasty established 2 additional Viceroyalties on South America. New Viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 (capital, Bogota) and the Rio de la Plata in 1776 (capital, Buenos Aires).
The House of Bourbon is a European Royal House of French Origin, a branch of the capetian Dynasty. The Capetian Dynasty also known as the House of France, is a Dynasty of Frankish origin founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest European Royal Houses, consisting of Hugh Capet's male -line descendants. It ruled in France as the House of Capet from the ascension of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. Hugh Capet (941-24 October 996) succeeded the last Carolingian King, Louis V. Hugh was the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler. He was born into a well-connected and powerful family with so many ties to the Royal Houses of France and Germany. Through his mother, Hugh was the nephew to: -Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor; - Henry I, Duke of Bavaria; -Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne; - and Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of France. Gerberga was the wife of Louis IV, King of France and mother of Lothair of France and Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine. His paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Ile-de-France. His grandfather had been King Robert I. King Odo was his granduncle and King Rudolph was his uncle by affinity. Hugh was a 7th generation descendant of Charlemagne as follows: -Hugh Capet, son of -Hugh the Great, son of -Beatrice of Vermandois, daughter of -Herbert I, Count of Vermandois, son of -Bernard of Italy, King of the Lombards, son of -Pepin of Italy, King of the Lombards, son of -Chalemagne,
The Dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French State. Members of the Dynasty were traditionally Catholic. The early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of 5 Crusader Kings -Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Saint Louis, and Philip III.
During some periods of the Iberian Union, between 1580 and 1640, the King assigned to Spain, who was also King of Portugal, appointed Viceroys to govern Portugal itself, as the King had multiple Realms throughout Europe and had to delegate his powers to various Viceroys. The title of Viceroy was awarded only to the members of the nobility. From 1505 to 1896 Portuguese India included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from Southern Africa to SouthEast Asia and Australasia.
At the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use also the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.
The title of Viceroy was originally used by the Crown of Aragon, where beginning in the 14th century it referred to the governors of Sardinia and Corsica. In Europe, until the 18th century the Habs-Burg Crown appointed Viceroys of Aragon, Valencia, Catalonia, Navarra, Portugal, Sardinia, Sicily, and Naples. With the ascension of the House of Bourbon to the Spanish Throne, the historic Aragonese Viceroyalties were replaced by new Captaincies General. At the end of War of the Spanish Succession, the Spanish Monarchy was shorn of its Italian possessions. These Italian territories, however, continued to have Viceroys under their new rulers for some time.
The Americas were incorporated into the Crown of Castile.
The Crown of Castile was a medieval state in the Iberian Peninsula that formed in 1230 as a result of the 3rd and definitive union of Crowns. It continued to exist as a separate entity after the personal union in 1469 of the Crowns of Castile and Aragon with the marriage of the Catholic Monarchs up to the Dynastic Union occasioned by the succession of Charles I of Spain, the Habs-Burg heir to both Crowns in 1516. Isabella I and Ferdinand II married in secret. The union was not effective until the reign of his grandson Charles I (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V). Ferdinand and Isabella were related and had married without papal approval. A dispensation arrived later and Pope Alexander VI bestowed upon them the title of "The Catholic Monarchs."
With the Spanish colonization of the Americas, the institution of Viceroys was adapted to govern the highly populated and wealthy regions of the North overseas: New Spain (Mexico and Philippines) and South overseas: Peru and South America. The Viceroys of these 2 areas had oversight over the other provinces, with most of the North American, Central American, Caribbean, and East Indian areas supervised by the Viceroy in Mexico City and the South American ones by the Viceroy in Lima, with the exception of most of today's Venezuela, which was overseen by the High Court, or Audiencia of Santo Domingo on the Island of Hispaniola for most of the Colonial Period. There were 2 Viceroyalties until the 18th century, when the new Bourbon Dynasty established 2 additional Viceroyalties on South America. New Viceroyalties were created for New Granada in 1717 (capital, Bogota) and the Rio de la Plata in 1776 (capital, Buenos Aires).
The House of Bourbon is a European Royal House of French Origin, a branch of the capetian Dynasty. The Capetian Dynasty also known as the House of France, is a Dynasty of Frankish origin founded by Hugh Capet. It is among the largest and oldest European Royal Houses, consisting of Hugh Capet's male -line descendants. It ruled in France as the House of Capet from the ascension of Hugh Capet in 987 until the death of Charles IV in 1328. Hugh Capet (941-24 October 996) succeeded the last Carolingian King, Louis V. Hugh was the son of Hugh the Great, Duke of the franks, and Hedwige of Saxony, daughter of the German king Henry the Fowler. He was born into a well-connected and powerful family with so many ties to the Royal Houses of France and Germany. Through his mother, Hugh was the nephew to: -Otto I, Holy Roman Emperor; - Henry I, Duke of Bavaria; -Bruno the Great, Archbishop of Cologne; - and Gerberga of Saxony, Queen of France. Gerberga was the wife of Louis IV, King of France and mother of Lothair of France and Charles, Duke of Lower Lorraine. His paternal family, the Robertians, were powerful landowners in the Ile-de-France. His grandfather had been King Robert I. King Odo was his granduncle and King Rudolph was his uncle by affinity. Hugh was a 7th generation descendant of Charlemagne as follows: -Hugh Capet, son of -Hugh the Great, son of -Beatrice of Vermandois, daughter of -Herbert I, Count of Vermandois, son of -Bernard of Italy, King of the Lombards, son of -Pepin of Italy, King of the Lombards, son of -Chalemagne,
The Dynasty had a crucial role in the formation of the French State. Members of the Dynasty were traditionally Catholic. The early Capetians had an alliance with the Church. The French were also the most active participants in the Crusades, culminating in a series of 5 Crusader Kings -Louis VII, Philip Augustus, Louis VIII, Saint Louis, and Philip III.
During some periods of the Iberian Union, between 1580 and 1640, the King assigned to Spain, who was also King of Portugal, appointed Viceroys to govern Portugal itself, as the King had multiple Realms throughout Europe and had to delegate his powers to various Viceroys. The title of Viceroy was awarded only to the members of the nobility. From 1505 to 1896 Portuguese India included all Portuguese possessions in the Indian Ocean, from Southern Africa to SouthEast Asia and Australasia.
At the end of the Iberian Union in 1640, the governors of Brazil that were members of the Portuguese high nobility started to use also the title of Viceroy. Brazil became a permanent Viceroyalty in 1763, when the capital of the State of Brazil was transferred from Salvador to Rio de Janeiro.
Friday, March 11, 2016
THE RAINBOW COLORS OF THE TAWANTINSUYO.
The rainbow colors represented the Inca Territories and the People (Tahuantin-Suyo). The actual flag made of the seven colors is originated from the visible spectrum: -Red representing the Earth and the Andean Man. -Orange representing Society and Culture. -Yellow representing the Energy flowing in them. -White representing the Time or cycle in which Live flow in each of them. -Green representing the Natural Resources given to them to take care of. -Blue representing the cosmos. -Violet representing the power of the Mediator between heaven and Earth in the person of the Andean Government and Self-Determination.
All the people that belonged to different cultures and were absorbed by the Inca's power were taught about the representation of each color of the rainbow using as a symbolic means the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye. The use of the colors explained to them the compound way in which all the forces of Nature were put together and then being absorbed by one source, the Inca Empire. The same distribution, according to their common belief, was done in the Universe. If the order of such power was broken then a catastrophic event would follow.
The Incas recognized the power of Light and the way that it travelled, only in straight lines. They also knew about the properties of reflection and refraction. They were also familiar with the different heat transmitted by each of the colors, being the highest the one surpassing the red color.
The geographical way in which the High Lands of the Andes were formed by Nature played an important role in the understanding of many Laws governed by Nature. The human eye's receptors of the High Land inhabitants were more advanced to perceive colors than the ones in the average human in lower altitudes. The fauna at such altitude also developed unusual properties, that were passed to the humans through their everyday diet. Bees, for example, and many other insects, are able to detect ultraviolet light, which helps them find nectar in flowers. Plant species that depend on insect pollination owe reproductive success to their appearance in ultraviolet light rather than how colorful they appear to humans. Birds can see into the ultraviolet and have some sex-dependent markings on their plumage that are visible only in the ultraviolet range. All of this were similar to the way of life familiar to the People who formed the Incan Empire.
The organization were based on the rainbow colors. They were very cautious with the intermarriage between people of different levels of altitudes and on what they ate in order to protect them from losing their powers and from the consequences of the ultraviolet radiation especially in the new-born babies. Many were born with capabilities out of the ordinary and were sent to a special training facilities and become useful to the Inca's authorities.
In the city of Cuzco is common to see the flag displayed in local government buildings and in Cuzco main square. The meaning behind of this flag is the connection that the Incas still have with the Andean High Lands and make everyone be aware of the cosmos-vision and philosophy they had in their time and why they had so much success in the unification of an Empire that possessed the Highest Inhabited Lands of the whole World.
All the people that belonged to different cultures and were absorbed by the Inca's power were taught about the representation of each color of the rainbow using as a symbolic means the electromagnetic spectrum visible to the human eye. The use of the colors explained to them the compound way in which all the forces of Nature were put together and then being absorbed by one source, the Inca Empire. The same distribution, according to their common belief, was done in the Universe. If the order of such power was broken then a catastrophic event would follow.
The Incas recognized the power of Light and the way that it travelled, only in straight lines. They also knew about the properties of reflection and refraction. They were also familiar with the different heat transmitted by each of the colors, being the highest the one surpassing the red color.
The geographical way in which the High Lands of the Andes were formed by Nature played an important role in the understanding of many Laws governed by Nature. The human eye's receptors of the High Land inhabitants were more advanced to perceive colors than the ones in the average human in lower altitudes. The fauna at such altitude also developed unusual properties, that were passed to the humans through their everyday diet. Bees, for example, and many other insects, are able to detect ultraviolet light, which helps them find nectar in flowers. Plant species that depend on insect pollination owe reproductive success to their appearance in ultraviolet light rather than how colorful they appear to humans. Birds can see into the ultraviolet and have some sex-dependent markings on their plumage that are visible only in the ultraviolet range. All of this were similar to the way of life familiar to the People who formed the Incan Empire.
The organization were based on the rainbow colors. They were very cautious with the intermarriage between people of different levels of altitudes and on what they ate in order to protect them from losing their powers and from the consequences of the ultraviolet radiation especially in the new-born babies. Many were born with capabilities out of the ordinary and were sent to a special training facilities and become useful to the Inca's authorities.
In the city of Cuzco is common to see the flag displayed in local government buildings and in Cuzco main square. The meaning behind of this flag is the connection that the Incas still have with the Andean High Lands and make everyone be aware of the cosmos-vision and philosophy they had in their time and why they had so much success in the unification of an Empire that possessed the Highest Inhabited Lands of the whole World.
Wednesday, March 9, 2016
THE ANDES AND ITS UNIQUE NATURAL DESIGN.
The Andes (Quechua meaning "East") are the longest continental Mountain Range of Highlands in the World (7000km/4300mi long, 200 to 700km/120to430mi wide) and the World's highest Mountain Range (average height 4000m/13000ft) outside Asia, situated along the Western Coast of South America, and extending from North to South through present-day seven South American countries: Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile , and Argentina. The World's highest Volcanoes are in the Andes, including "Ojos del Salado"(The Eyes of the Salty Spirit) on the Argentina-Chile border which rises to 6893m/22615ft.
The Andes's highest Mountain is the Aconcagua (Argentina), which rises to an elevation of about 6961m/22838ft above sea level. The peak Chimborazo (Ecuador) is farther from the Earth's center than any other location on the Earth's surface, because of the equatorial bulge that is the difference between the equatorial and polar diameters of the planet, due to the centrifugal force of its rotation. The highest point of Earth, measured from the center outwards is the Chimborazo, rather than the Mount Everest, but the Everest is the highest when measured from above sea level.
The Andes Mountain Range splits into several Ranges, which are separated by intermediate depressions. These, in turn, based on climate, group into 3 major divisions: -Tropical Andes, -Dry Andes, -Wet Andes.
The Andes Mountains naturally divide itself into 3 sections:
-The Southern Andes in Argentina and Chile where the potentially active Volcano Llulla-Illaco is located. A region of very high Volcanic peaks on a High Plateau within the Atacama Desert.
-The Central Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
-The Northern Andes in Venezuela and Colombia, North of the Knot of Pasto. It consists of 3 parallel Ranges, the Western, Central, and Eastern Ranges.
The Andes holds several Plateaux -some of which host major cities, such as Quito, Bogota, Arequipa, Medellin, Sucre, Merida, and La Paz.
The Altiplano Plateau is the World's second highest after the Tibetan Plateau, and the most inhabited Plateau in the whole World.
The Andean Region cuts across several natural Regions due to its extension from Caribbean Venezuela to cold, windy and wet Cape Horn passing the hyper-arid Atacama Desert.
Rainforests and Tropical Dry Forest used to encircle much of the Northern Andes. Now they are greatly diminished, especially in the Choco and Inter-Andean Valleys of Colombia.
The Andes is classified now as a Bio-diversity Hotspot due to the fact that the biogeographic Region is under threat from the humans. The constant exploitation of the Andean Natural Resources by European and American Corporations are disrupting the natural and harmonic cycle that the Andes had in the past when its People were very aware of the Laws of Nature. All shared the same belief that the forces of Nature were small mirrors of the Universal Forces acting in the Universe. A very small change in the cycle was believed to produce a great and universal chain reaction.
About 30,000 species of vascular (Greek term for "Trachea") plants live in the Andes, with half being unique due to their defined geographical location. The vascular species are distinguished by two primary characteristics:
1) They have vascular tissues which distribute resources through the plant, allowing it to evolve to a larger size. Non-vascular plants, which lack these specialized conducting tissues, are restricted to relatively small sizes.
2) The principal generation phase in this type is the sporephyte. It is the diploid multicellular stage that is produced when the (haploid) nucleus of the egg cell is fertilized by a haploid sperm and each sporephite cell therefore has a double set of chromosomes, one set from each parent. In non-vascular plants, the principal generation is the game-tophyte, which is haploid with one set of chromosomes per cell.
One mechanism that works in them is the greater efficiency in spore dispersal with more complex diploid structures. Elaboration of the spore stalk enable the production of more spores, and enable the ability to release them higher and broadcast them farther. Such developments include the ability to grow independent roots, woody structure for support and more branching.
As a direct opposite of the humid Andean slopes, where this Natural structure occurs, are the relatively dry Andean slopes in most Western Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
Along with several Inter-Andean Valleys, they are dominated by deciduous ("tending to fall off") woodland, shrub and xeric (requiring a small amount of moisture) vegetation, reaching the extreme in the slopes near the lifeless Atacama Desert.
The Andes are also rich in fauna with almost 3500 species of which 2/3 are unique and belong only to the region. It is the most important region for amphibians with most species living with terrestrial, others adapted to digging and have a life underground, others arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems.
The diversity of mammals is high, with almost 600 species, 13% of them unique to its habitat.
The birds in the Andes are more than 1700 species, one third unique to their habitats. The reptiles form more than 600 species, 45% of them unique to their habitats. The fish form more than 400 species, 1/3 unique to their habitats.
The vicuna and guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated llama and alpaca are widely kept by the People of the Andes as pack animals and for their meat and wool.
The crepuscular (active during dawn and dusk) rodents (chinchillas), slightly larger and more robust than the ground squirrels, live in colonies at high elevations up to 4270m/14000ft. Historically, they lived in parts of Peru, Argentina and Chile, but today colonies are known only in Chile. Along with their relatives, the viscachas, that look similar to rabbits (longer tails), and form the family of the Chinchillidae.
The chinchilla family name comes after the Chinchilla People of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare due to hunting for their ultra-soft fur. Most of the chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised. Chinchillas are now listed as a critical endangered species due to a severe population decline of almost 90% caused by human hand hunting.
The Northern viscacha lives in the Peruvian Andes. This species lives in large colonies separated into individual family units, like an apartment complex. The rodent eats a wide range of plant matter, setting for almost anything it can find growing in the harsh, rocky environment at 4500 altitude above the sea level.
The Andean Condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is found throughout much of the Andes in very low densities. The bird has a maximum wind-span of 3.2m/10.6ft. It does not hunt for surviving, instead, the bird is a scavenger, feeding on carrion, such as those of deer or cattle. The bird nests at elevations of up to 5000m/16000ft, on inaccessible rock ledges. It is one of the World's longest living birds, with a life span of over 70 years. The Condor is the National Symbol of the Andes and plays an important role in the Folklore and Mythology of its People.
The Andes's highest Mountain is the Aconcagua (Argentina), which rises to an elevation of about 6961m/22838ft above sea level. The peak Chimborazo (Ecuador) is farther from the Earth's center than any other location on the Earth's surface, because of the equatorial bulge that is the difference between the equatorial and polar diameters of the planet, due to the centrifugal force of its rotation. The highest point of Earth, measured from the center outwards is the Chimborazo, rather than the Mount Everest, but the Everest is the highest when measured from above sea level.
The Andes Mountain Range splits into several Ranges, which are separated by intermediate depressions. These, in turn, based on climate, group into 3 major divisions: -Tropical Andes, -Dry Andes, -Wet Andes.
The Andes Mountains naturally divide itself into 3 sections:
-The Southern Andes in Argentina and Chile where the potentially active Volcano Llulla-Illaco is located. A region of very high Volcanic peaks on a High Plateau within the Atacama Desert.
-The Central Andes in Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia.
-The Northern Andes in Venezuela and Colombia, North of the Knot of Pasto. It consists of 3 parallel Ranges, the Western, Central, and Eastern Ranges.
The Andes holds several Plateaux -some of which host major cities, such as Quito, Bogota, Arequipa, Medellin, Sucre, Merida, and La Paz.
The Altiplano Plateau is the World's second highest after the Tibetan Plateau, and the most inhabited Plateau in the whole World.
The Andean Region cuts across several natural Regions due to its extension from Caribbean Venezuela to cold, windy and wet Cape Horn passing the hyper-arid Atacama Desert.
Rainforests and Tropical Dry Forest used to encircle much of the Northern Andes. Now they are greatly diminished, especially in the Choco and Inter-Andean Valleys of Colombia.
The Andes is classified now as a Bio-diversity Hotspot due to the fact that the biogeographic Region is under threat from the humans. The constant exploitation of the Andean Natural Resources by European and American Corporations are disrupting the natural and harmonic cycle that the Andes had in the past when its People were very aware of the Laws of Nature. All shared the same belief that the forces of Nature were small mirrors of the Universal Forces acting in the Universe. A very small change in the cycle was believed to produce a great and universal chain reaction.
About 30,000 species of vascular (Greek term for "Trachea") plants live in the Andes, with half being unique due to their defined geographical location. The vascular species are distinguished by two primary characteristics:
1) They have vascular tissues which distribute resources through the plant, allowing it to evolve to a larger size. Non-vascular plants, which lack these specialized conducting tissues, are restricted to relatively small sizes.
2) The principal generation phase in this type is the sporephyte. It is the diploid multicellular stage that is produced when the (haploid) nucleus of the egg cell is fertilized by a haploid sperm and each sporephite cell therefore has a double set of chromosomes, one set from each parent. In non-vascular plants, the principal generation is the game-tophyte, which is haploid with one set of chromosomes per cell.
One mechanism that works in them is the greater efficiency in spore dispersal with more complex diploid structures. Elaboration of the spore stalk enable the production of more spores, and enable the ability to release them higher and broadcast them farther. Such developments include the ability to grow independent roots, woody structure for support and more branching.
As a direct opposite of the humid Andean slopes, where this Natural structure occurs, are the relatively dry Andean slopes in most Western Peru, Chile, and Argentina.
Along with several Inter-Andean Valleys, they are dominated by deciduous ("tending to fall off") woodland, shrub and xeric (requiring a small amount of moisture) vegetation, reaching the extreme in the slopes near the lifeless Atacama Desert.
The Andes are also rich in fauna with almost 3500 species of which 2/3 are unique and belong only to the region. It is the most important region for amphibians with most species living with terrestrial, others adapted to digging and have a life underground, others arboreal or freshwater aquatic ecosystems.
The diversity of mammals is high, with almost 600 species, 13% of them unique to its habitat.
The birds in the Andes are more than 1700 species, one third unique to their habitats. The reptiles form more than 600 species, 45% of them unique to their habitats. The fish form more than 400 species, 1/3 unique to their habitats.
The vicuna and guanaco can be found living in the Altiplano, while the closely related domesticated llama and alpaca are widely kept by the People of the Andes as pack animals and for their meat and wool.
The crepuscular (active during dawn and dusk) rodents (chinchillas), slightly larger and more robust than the ground squirrels, live in colonies at high elevations up to 4270m/14000ft. Historically, they lived in parts of Peru, Argentina and Chile, but today colonies are known only in Chile. Along with their relatives, the viscachas, that look similar to rabbits (longer tails), and form the family of the Chinchillidae.
The chinchilla family name comes after the Chinchilla People of the Andes, who once wore its dense, velvet-like fur. By the end of the 19th century, chinchillas had become quite rare due to hunting for their ultra-soft fur. Most of the chinchillas currently used by the fur industry for clothing and other accessories are farm-raised. Chinchillas are now listed as a critical endangered species due to a severe population decline of almost 90% caused by human hand hunting.
The Northern viscacha lives in the Peruvian Andes. This species lives in large colonies separated into individual family units, like an apartment complex. The rodent eats a wide range of plant matter, setting for almost anything it can find growing in the harsh, rocky environment at 4500 altitude above the sea level.
The Andean Condor, the largest bird of its kind in the Western Hemisphere, is found throughout much of the Andes in very low densities. The bird has a maximum wind-span of 3.2m/10.6ft. It does not hunt for surviving, instead, the bird is a scavenger, feeding on carrion, such as those of deer or cattle. The bird nests at elevations of up to 5000m/16000ft, on inaccessible rock ledges. It is one of the World's longest living birds, with a life span of over 70 years. The Condor is the National Symbol of the Andes and plays an important role in the Folklore and Mythology of its People.
Monday, March 7, 2016
HUAYNA CAPAC, "THE MIGHTY ONE."
Huayna Capac (original name: Tito-Husi-Hualpa) was born in Tome-Bamba (Plain of Knives), a former city-state held by the Canari People in the Highlands of Ecuador at about 2,500m (8,200 ft) above the sea level. He was the son of Tupac Inca Yupanqui, and grandson of Pachacutec.
The Canari were particularly noted for their resistance against the Inca Empire. Eventually they were conquered by the Incas through wars and marriages under the lead of Huayna Capac. Their land and people formed one of the 4 Suyos of the Empire named Chinchay-Suyo.
Tupac Inca Yupanqui, father of Huayna Capac, conquered the Huanca-Bambas, the most Southern allies of the Canari People. During the time of the European invasion to the lands of South America, they were the first ones to allied with them against the dominion of the Inca Empire. Also he extended the dominion of the Inca Empire Northward along the Andes through modern Ecuador.
The origins of the first inhabitants go back to the year 8060 BC in the cave of Chopsi. They were hunters, and nomads. The culture is represented by tools such as arrows and spears, which have been found throughout the Andean Valley. The culture was most present about 5585 BC. They used the stable climate, fertile soil and abundant water to develop agriculture. They grew potatoes, olluco, choclo, squash and quinoa. From 5000 BC to 2000 BC, the people developed a more highly organized religious society. They had a highly degree knowledge of the management of Water and control of plagues. Shamans were the highly specialized religious and administrative authorities. Though the Incas replaced the architecture with their own, they did not suppress their impressive achievements in astronomy and agriculture of the people of that land. As was customary for the Incas, they absorbed useful achievements into their culture.
Because of its high quality architecture the city-state became known as the 2nd Cuzco, a regional capital. Tupac Yupanqui ordered the construction of the great Puma-Punku ("Puma Door."). Indians tols stories to the Europeans chroniclers about the magnificence of the golden temples and other such wonders built in there. The city was given to Atahualpa when the Empire was divided between the 2 brothers after the death of Huayna Capac in 1527.
During Inca times, the city-state was the most important place of the Northern part of the Empire (Chinchay-Suyo). The center of Tome-Bamba was Puma-Punku ("Puma-Door"), from where the administration of the region was performed. Huayna Capac also had his royal palace here.
Huayna Capac's legitimate wife and full sister was Coya Cusi-Rimay. The couple produced no male heirs, but Huayna Capac had more than 50 sons with other sacred women. Then Huayna Capac took another sister, Ar-Aua Ocllo, as his royal wife; they had a son called Tupac-Cusi-Hualpa, also known as Huascar. Other children included Ninan Cuyochi, Atahualpa, Tupac Hualpa, Manco Inca Yupanqui, Atoc, Pa-Ullu Inca, and Quispe Sisa.
Despite the geographical and cultural challenges, the Tahuantinsuyo (the united 4 Regions), was a sophisticated Empire for its time and place. At its height, the dedicated ruler did much to improve the live of his people, building Temples in monumental cities, fortresses of stone marvelously engineered, roads cut through granite mountain slopes, and massive agricultural terraces and hydraulic works. He greatly expanded the Road Network building store houses along it for food so that aid could be quickly rushed to any who were in danger of starvation.
At his hand, the Empire stretched over present-day Bolivia, Peru, Northern Argentina, further South on the Coast up to Maule River in present-day Chile, on the North present-day Ecuador, and South-Western Colombia. The geography of the land included varying terrain from high frozen Andes at very high altitude to the densest swamps, and more than 200 ethnic groups, each with their own customs and languages. Before his death, Huayna Capac, knowing about the arrival of the Europeans, divided the Empire, leaving the newly conquered North (Chinchay-Suyo) to his son Atahualpa (not from a royal line) and the rest of the Suyos to his legitimate heir Huascar. They reigned peacefully for 5 years.
Huayna Capac contracted fever from measles or smallpox while campaigning in Colombia. The Europeans invaders carried smallpox to South America, known in Europe centuries before and acquiring immunity, but it was knew to the population of the Andes and did not have immunity against it developed by itself in the human body because they were not exposed to it. Europeans used it to their advantage. Huayna Capac and millions of other Highlanders in South and Central America died in the epidemic, including the successor and elder son of Huayna Capac, Ninan Cuyochi. Huayna Capac died at the age of 80, having reigned 60.
The fate of the city-state was decided when the Canari tribal leaders chose to follow Atahualpa's brother, Huascar, during the Inca Civil War, betraying Atahualpa. Atahualpa and his generals took revenge, forcing the city to surrender, and destroying the city completely. By the time that the Europeans found the legendary city, all that remained were ruins. The survivors of the Canari-Inca meddled cultures were the people who preceded the formation of the city of Cuenca, the capital of the Az-Uay Province, in Ecuador.
The Canari were particularly noted for their resistance against the Inca Empire. Eventually they were conquered by the Incas through wars and marriages under the lead of Huayna Capac. Their land and people formed one of the 4 Suyos of the Empire named Chinchay-Suyo.
Tupac Inca Yupanqui, father of Huayna Capac, conquered the Huanca-Bambas, the most Southern allies of the Canari People. During the time of the European invasion to the lands of South America, they were the first ones to allied with them against the dominion of the Inca Empire. Also he extended the dominion of the Inca Empire Northward along the Andes through modern Ecuador.
The origins of the first inhabitants go back to the year 8060 BC in the cave of Chopsi. They were hunters, and nomads. The culture is represented by tools such as arrows and spears, which have been found throughout the Andean Valley. The culture was most present about 5585 BC. They used the stable climate, fertile soil and abundant water to develop agriculture. They grew potatoes, olluco, choclo, squash and quinoa. From 5000 BC to 2000 BC, the people developed a more highly organized religious society. They had a highly degree knowledge of the management of Water and control of plagues. Shamans were the highly specialized religious and administrative authorities. Though the Incas replaced the architecture with their own, they did not suppress their impressive achievements in astronomy and agriculture of the people of that land. As was customary for the Incas, they absorbed useful achievements into their culture.
Because of its high quality architecture the city-state became known as the 2nd Cuzco, a regional capital. Tupac Yupanqui ordered the construction of the great Puma-Punku ("Puma Door."). Indians tols stories to the Europeans chroniclers about the magnificence of the golden temples and other such wonders built in there. The city was given to Atahualpa when the Empire was divided between the 2 brothers after the death of Huayna Capac in 1527.
During Inca times, the city-state was the most important place of the Northern part of the Empire (Chinchay-Suyo). The center of Tome-Bamba was Puma-Punku ("Puma-Door"), from where the administration of the region was performed. Huayna Capac also had his royal palace here.
Huayna Capac's legitimate wife and full sister was Coya Cusi-Rimay. The couple produced no male heirs, but Huayna Capac had more than 50 sons with other sacred women. Then Huayna Capac took another sister, Ar-Aua Ocllo, as his royal wife; they had a son called Tupac-Cusi-Hualpa, also known as Huascar. Other children included Ninan Cuyochi, Atahualpa, Tupac Hualpa, Manco Inca Yupanqui, Atoc, Pa-Ullu Inca, and Quispe Sisa.
Despite the geographical and cultural challenges, the Tahuantinsuyo (the united 4 Regions), was a sophisticated Empire for its time and place. At its height, the dedicated ruler did much to improve the live of his people, building Temples in monumental cities, fortresses of stone marvelously engineered, roads cut through granite mountain slopes, and massive agricultural terraces and hydraulic works. He greatly expanded the Road Network building store houses along it for food so that aid could be quickly rushed to any who were in danger of starvation.
At his hand, the Empire stretched over present-day Bolivia, Peru, Northern Argentina, further South on the Coast up to Maule River in present-day Chile, on the North present-day Ecuador, and South-Western Colombia. The geography of the land included varying terrain from high frozen Andes at very high altitude to the densest swamps, and more than 200 ethnic groups, each with their own customs and languages. Before his death, Huayna Capac, knowing about the arrival of the Europeans, divided the Empire, leaving the newly conquered North (Chinchay-Suyo) to his son Atahualpa (not from a royal line) and the rest of the Suyos to his legitimate heir Huascar. They reigned peacefully for 5 years.
Huayna Capac contracted fever from measles or smallpox while campaigning in Colombia. The Europeans invaders carried smallpox to South America, known in Europe centuries before and acquiring immunity, but it was knew to the population of the Andes and did not have immunity against it developed by itself in the human body because they were not exposed to it. Europeans used it to their advantage. Huayna Capac and millions of other Highlanders in South and Central America died in the epidemic, including the successor and elder son of Huayna Capac, Ninan Cuyochi. Huayna Capac died at the age of 80, having reigned 60.
The fate of the city-state was decided when the Canari tribal leaders chose to follow Atahualpa's brother, Huascar, during the Inca Civil War, betraying Atahualpa. Atahualpa and his generals took revenge, forcing the city to surrender, and destroying the city completely. By the time that the Europeans found the legendary city, all that remained were ruins. The survivors of the Canari-Inca meddled cultures were the people who preceded the formation of the city of Cuenca, the capital of the Az-Uay Province, in Ecuador.
Tuesday, March 1, 2016
THE MAULE RIVER
The Maule River is inextricable linked to the pre-Hispanic Inca Times, the European Invasion, the Colonial Period, Wars of Independence, Agriculture (Wine), Culture (literature, poetry, folklore), Religion, Economic and Politics.
The Maule River marked the extreme Southern limits of the Inca Empire. Troops of the Inca Empire reached the Maule River and had a battle there with the inhabitants between the Maule and the Itata River. They escaped the Inca rule. The contact with the Incas gave them a collective awareness distinguishing them and the invaders and uniting them into loose geo-political units.
The Maule Region run WestWard from the Andes, and bisects the Region. The Region is bordered on the West by the Pacific Ocean; on the East by Argentina Republic; on the North by the O'Higgins Region, and on the South by the Bio-Bio Region.
The River is 240 km long and its basin covers around 20,600 km2. Thirty percent of the basin is located in the Andean Range. It is born at an altitude of 2,200 m in the vicinity of the border with Argentina. From that point the River flows WestWardly and is soon joined on its left bank by one of its main tributaries, the Melado River, which is born in the central Region of the Maule (Laguna Dial). Further on, and still in its upper course, the Maule is joined, this time on its right bank by Rivers Colorado, Claro, Puelche and Cipreses. Before arriving at the Central Valley, the Maule is now dammed into the Colbun Dam Lake that feeds the hydroelectrical power station. Further on, the Maule is joined by another Claro River and the Loncomilla River formed by the union of the Perquilauquen and Longavi Rivers. In its lower reaches, the Maule receives only one modest tributary, the Estero de los Puercos, and, after flowing for nearly 250 km, the Maule ends at the Pacific Ocean.
From 9000 BC to 300 BC, the People who inhabited the Region moved constantly between the Coast and the Valley as well as the Andes. At sites such as Pichilemu, Cahuil, and Bucalemu, they left trash deposits or shell heaps where aquatic resources were processed, bearing testimony to their raids.
From 300 BC -1470 CE, the People experienced changes in their way of life. Agricultural techniques appeared, cultivation of vegetables developed and also the manufacturing of clay objects.
From 600 CE onwards, Beans, Maize, Squashes, Pumpkins and Quinoa were all over the region. All of these except Quinoa and some special type of maize required irrigation.
When the Europeans arrived to the Region, they found 4 groups of speakers: -the Picun-Che (Pikum means"North" and Che "People"); the Huilli-Che (Willi means "South"); the Pehuen-Che (from Pewen "monkey puzzle tree" or "Araucaria Araucana"); and the Molu-Che (from Molu "West"). They were organized and had a network of forts and complex defensive buildings. They also had ceremonial mounds recently discovered near Puren. They already worked copper and quickly adopted iron-metal-working.
The Picun-Che were conquered quite rapidly by the europeans and mingled with them during the colonial times, and their descendants formed a large group of mestizos; whereas the Huilli-Che and the Pehuen-Che living in Araucania and the Patagonia were not assimilated and remained independent until the Chilean Occupation of Araucania and the Argentine Conquest of the Desert in the late19th century.
They learned horseback-riding and the use of cavalry in war from the Europeans, along with the cultivation of wheat and sheep. In the long 300-year of coexistence between the European colonies and the relatively well-delineated autonomus Regions of the 4 groups of speakers, they developed a strong tradition of trading with the Europeans and Chileans.
The Mapu-Che (Mapu "Earth" and Che "people") is a language isolate spoken by the 4 groups. The Mapu-Che language had no writing system before the European arrival. Lexical influence has been discerned from Quechua. Now it is written with the Latin Script.
During 1541 CE to 1811 CE (Colonial Period), the Region became dominated by the European system of ranching and became predominant.
Forestry and agriculture, led by Wine grape plantations, are the main economic activities. The Maule Region is the Wine-making Region, producing 50% of all fine export wines, and a number of the largest vineyards are located there. Wine-making is a traditional activity, dating back to 1830.
In addition to wine, two export-oriented agricultural items have emerged dramatically: fruit and vegetables on one side and flowers in the other side.
The Maule River marked the extreme Southern limits of the Inca Empire. Troops of the Inca Empire reached the Maule River and had a battle there with the inhabitants between the Maule and the Itata River. They escaped the Inca rule. The contact with the Incas gave them a collective awareness distinguishing them and the invaders and uniting them into loose geo-political units.
The Maule Region run WestWard from the Andes, and bisects the Region. The Region is bordered on the West by the Pacific Ocean; on the East by Argentina Republic; on the North by the O'Higgins Region, and on the South by the Bio-Bio Region.
The River is 240 km long and its basin covers around 20,600 km2. Thirty percent of the basin is located in the Andean Range. It is born at an altitude of 2,200 m in the vicinity of the border with Argentina. From that point the River flows WestWardly and is soon joined on its left bank by one of its main tributaries, the Melado River, which is born in the central Region of the Maule (Laguna Dial). Further on, and still in its upper course, the Maule is joined, this time on its right bank by Rivers Colorado, Claro, Puelche and Cipreses. Before arriving at the Central Valley, the Maule is now dammed into the Colbun Dam Lake that feeds the hydroelectrical power station. Further on, the Maule is joined by another Claro River and the Loncomilla River formed by the union of the Perquilauquen and Longavi Rivers. In its lower reaches, the Maule receives only one modest tributary, the Estero de los Puercos, and, after flowing for nearly 250 km, the Maule ends at the Pacific Ocean.
From 9000 BC to 300 BC, the People who inhabited the Region moved constantly between the Coast and the Valley as well as the Andes. At sites such as Pichilemu, Cahuil, and Bucalemu, they left trash deposits or shell heaps where aquatic resources were processed, bearing testimony to their raids.
From 300 BC -1470 CE, the People experienced changes in their way of life. Agricultural techniques appeared, cultivation of vegetables developed and also the manufacturing of clay objects.
From 600 CE onwards, Beans, Maize, Squashes, Pumpkins and Quinoa were all over the region. All of these except Quinoa and some special type of maize required irrigation.
When the Europeans arrived to the Region, they found 4 groups of speakers: -the Picun-Che (Pikum means"North" and Che "People"); the Huilli-Che (Willi means "South"); the Pehuen-Che (from Pewen "monkey puzzle tree" or "Araucaria Araucana"); and the Molu-Che (from Molu "West"). They were organized and had a network of forts and complex defensive buildings. They also had ceremonial mounds recently discovered near Puren. They already worked copper and quickly adopted iron-metal-working.
The Picun-Che were conquered quite rapidly by the europeans and mingled with them during the colonial times, and their descendants formed a large group of mestizos; whereas the Huilli-Che and the Pehuen-Che living in Araucania and the Patagonia were not assimilated and remained independent until the Chilean Occupation of Araucania and the Argentine Conquest of the Desert in the late19th century.
They learned horseback-riding and the use of cavalry in war from the Europeans, along with the cultivation of wheat and sheep. In the long 300-year of coexistence between the European colonies and the relatively well-delineated autonomus Regions of the 4 groups of speakers, they developed a strong tradition of trading with the Europeans and Chileans.
The Mapu-Che (Mapu "Earth" and Che "people") is a language isolate spoken by the 4 groups. The Mapu-Che language had no writing system before the European arrival. Lexical influence has been discerned from Quechua. Now it is written with the Latin Script.
During 1541 CE to 1811 CE (Colonial Period), the Region became dominated by the European system of ranching and became predominant.
Forestry and agriculture, led by Wine grape plantations, are the main economic activities. The Maule Region is the Wine-making Region, producing 50% of all fine export wines, and a number of the largest vineyards are located there. Wine-making is a traditional activity, dating back to 1830.
In addition to wine, two export-oriented agricultural items have emerged dramatically: fruit and vegetables on one side and flowers in the other side.
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