THE NEW WORLD; MEXICO AND PERU 259 the rage of the people on Montezuma himself, who was so injured by missiles that he died a few days later. Cortes was obliged to cut his way out of Mexico with his little force, which suffered severely before it could extricate itself from the overwhelming numbers of the enemy. He succeeded, however, in attracting the support of native peoples, who had no love for the Mexican dominion ; and was presently able to return to the attack and force his way into the capital, where he established himself and organised a government with great ability in the name of the King of Spain. From this time the Spanish supremacy in Mexico was secured. A very different man from the chivalrous Cortes was the unscrupulous adventurer, Francisco Pizarro, who accomplished the conquest of Peru in 1533. Rumours had reached the Spaniards not only of a civilised nation, but of boundless wealth, silver and gold without limit, existing in the far west. Pizarro and other adventurers went on a private expedition, made up their minds that the prospect was good, and entered into a partnership to exploit the country. Pizarro hastened back to Spain, obtained a commission from the emperor, and returned to the west. Thus armed he was able to collect and equip a tiny force of about two hundred men, and with these he made his way down the west coast to Guayaquil. The empire of the Incas was at the moment suffering from a disputed succession. The legitimate heir, Huascar, had been displaced by his brother Atahualpa. The arrival of the tiny body of Spaniards on Peruvian territory created no alarm, and Atahualpa sent messages inviting them to his presence. He received them on their approach, and the next day conquest came in procession to meet them in their camp, of Peru. All the conditions favoured the daring projects of the Spaniards, who seized the person of the unsuspecting Inca, while their guns and horsemen dealt slaughter among the hosts of the Peruvian army which, encamped hard by, hastened to the monarch's rescue. Atahualpa offered vast treasures as ransom, which the Spaniards agreed to accept. But, in the meantime, they dis- covered the existence of the other claimant to the throne,
