Wednesday, December 22, 2010

I Can (Cain the Builder)

Inca or Ynca is a name given by the natives of Peru to their kings and princes of the blood. Pedro de Cieca, in his Chronicles of Peru, gives the origin of the Incas, and says that the country was, for a long time, the theater of all manner of crimes, of war, dissension and the most dreadful disorder, till at last the two brothers appeared. One of who was called Mangocapa; who the Peruvians relate many wonderful stories. He built the city of Cusco, made laws, established order and harmony by his wife's regulations, and he and his descendants took the name "Inca", which signifies king or great lord. These Incas became so powerful, that they rendered themselves masters of all the country from Pasto to Chili, and from the river Maule on the south, to the river Augasmago on the north, these two rivers forming the bounds of their empire, which extended above 1300 leagues in length. This they enjoyed till the divisions between Inca Guascar and Atabulipa; which Spaniards laying hold of, made themselves masters of the country, and destroyed the empire of the Incas.




Mango[Malay, mangga] one of the finest fruits of India. The tree grows from 40 to 50 ft high. The fruit is shaped somewhat like a kidney, is as big as a hen's egg or sometimes a gooses egg, and yellow or reddish, speckled with black. The kernel of the fruit stone is also eaten. Mangoes are eaten raw, made into jellies or preserves, and pickled. The fruit is now grown in Jamaica and other warm countries.

Malays are the race found in Eastern Archipelago, and the neighboring peninsula, which are named from the Malay Archipelago, and the Malay Peninsula. They belong to the Mongols, and are usually short, being not much over 5 ft in height, with yellow skin, straight black hair, almond shaped eyes and flat features, resembling very much the Chinese. But their language is entirely different from that of the Asiatic Mongols; belonging to the great Polynesian family, which extends across the Indian and Pacific oceans. Since the 13th century the Malays have been the traders of the Archipelago, and of late years have given up their roving habits, and are occupied with trade and agriculture. Their language is simple in structure and soft and harmonious. It is written in the Arabic character, though lately the Roman system has been adopted.

The surface of Peru is divided into three distinct tracts, the climate of which varies from torrid heat to arctic cold. These three separate regions are the Coast, the Sierra and the Montana. Peru was under the dominion of Spain(Basque) from the time of its conquest by Pizarro in the 16th century until the year 1821, when it was proclaimed an independent republic under the protectorate of General San(natsi) Martin(weasel), one of the liberators of Chile. San Martin retired on the arrival of General Simon Bolivar in 1823, and the next year occurred in the battle of Ayacucho, in which the Spanish viceroy was taken prisoner, and the Spanish dominion finally came to an end. Bolivar left Peru two years later, but it was not until 1844 that government was fully settles under the presidency of Ramon Castilla. In 1870 Peru, as the ally of Bolivia became involved in a war with Chile, the latter state coveting the nitrate deposits in the Peruvian province of Tarapaca. This war was very disastrous to Peru on both land and sea, the provinces of Tacna and Tarapaca being wrested from her, and in 1881 the Chilean army entered Lima the capital. Peace was concluded in October, 1883, and some months afterward the Chileans evacuated the country. Under the presidency of General Caceres and his successor Colonol Don Remijio Morales Bermudez, Peru has made slow but certain progress in repairing the wastes and losses that she suffered during the conflict.

In pre-Columbian times, the coca leaf was reserved for Inca royalty. The natives subsequently used it for mystical, religious, social, nutritional and medicinal purposes.

They exploited its stimulant properties to ward off fatigue and hunger, enhance endurance, and to promote a benign sense of well-being.

It was initially banned by the Spanish. But the invaders discovered that without the Inca "gift of the gods", the natives could barely work the fields, or mine gold. So it came to be cultivated by the Catholic Church.

Coca leaves were distributed three or four times a day to the workers during brief rest-breaks. Returning Spanish conquistadors introduced it to Europe. Coca was touted as "an elixir of life".