The Ransom of Atahualpa

On November 16, 1532, Atahualpa, Lord of the Inca Empire, agreed to meet with a handful of bedraggled foreigners who had intruded upon his realm. These foreigners were some 160 Spanish conquistadors under the command of Francisco Pizarro and they treacherously attacked and captured the young Inca Emperor. Atahualpa offered to bring his captors a fortune in ransom and he did so: the amount of treasure was staggering. The Spanish, nervous about reports of Inca generals in the area, executed Atahualpa anyway in 1533. Atahualpa and Pizarro Francisco Pizarro and his band of Spaniards had been exploring the western coast of South America for two years: they were following reports of a powerful, wealthy empire high in the frosty Andes Mountains. They moved inland and made their way to the town of Cajamarca in November of 1532. They were fortunate: Atahualpa, Emperor of the Inca was there. He had just defeated his brother Huà ¡scar in a civil war over who would rule the kingdom. When a band of 160 foreigners showed up on his doorstep, Atahualpa was not afraid: he was surrounded by an army of thousands of men, most of them war veterans, who were fiercely loyal to him. The Battle of Cajamarca The Spanish conquistadors were aware of Atahualpas massive army - just as they were aware of the massive quantities of gold and silver carried by Atahualpa and the Inca nobles. In Mexico, Hernà ¡n Cortes had found riches by capturing Aztec Emperor Montezuma: Pizarro decided to try the same tactic. He hid his cavalrymen and artillerymen around the square in Cajamarca. Pizarro sent Father Vicente de Valverde to meet the Inca: the friar showed the Inca a breviary. The Inca glanced through it and, unimpressed, threw it down. The Spanish used this supposed sacrilege as an excuse to attack. Suddenly the square was filled with heavily armed Spaniards on foot and horseback, massacring native nobility and warriors to the thunder of cannon fire. Atahualpa Captive Atahualpa was captured and thousands of his men were murdered. Among the dead were civilians, soldiers and important members of the Inca aristocracy. The Spanish, practically invulnerable in their heavy steel armor, did not suffer a single casualty. The horsemen proved particularly effective, running down terrified natives as they fled the carnage. Atahualpa was placed under heavy guard in the Temple of the Sun, where he finally met Pizarro. The Emperor was allowed to speak with some of his subjects, but every word was translated for the Spanish by a native interpreter. Atahualpa’s Ransom It didn’t take long for Atahualpa to realize that the Spanish were there for gold and silver: the Spanish had wasted no time in looting corpses and the temples of Cajamarca. Atahualpa was made to understand that he would be freed if he paid enough. He offered to fill a room with gold and then twice over with silver. The room was 22 feet long by 17 feet wide (6.7 meters by 5.17 meters) and the Emperor offered to fill it to a height of about 8 feet (2.45m). The Spanish were stunned and quickly accepted the offer, even instructing a notary to make it official. Atahualpa sent out word to bring gold and silver to Cajamarca and before long, native porters were bringing a fortune to the town from all corners of the empire and laying it at the feet of the invaders. The Empire in Turmoil Meanwhile, the Inca Empire was thrown into turmoil by the capture of their Emperor. To the Inca, the Emperor was semi-divine and no one dared risk an attack to rescue him. Atahualpa had recently defeated his brother, Huà ¡scar, in a civil war over the throne. Huascar was alive but captive: Atahualpa feared he would escape and rise again because Atahualpa was a prisoner, so he ordered Huascars death. Atahualpa had three massive armies in the field under his top generals: Quisquis, Chalcuchima and Rumià ±ahui. These generals were aware that Atahualpa had been captured and decided against an attack. Chalcuchima was eventually tricked and captured by Hernando Pizarro, whereas the other two generals would fight against the Spanish in the months that followed. The Death of Atahualpa In early 1533, rumors began flying around the Spanish camp about Rumià ±ahui, greatest of the Inca generals. None of the Spaniards knew exactly where Rumià ±ahui was and they greatly feared the massive army he led. According to the rumors, Rumià ±ahui had decided to free the Inca and was moving into position to attack. Pizarro sent out riders in every direction. These men found no sign of a large army, but still the rumors persisted. Panicked, the Spanish decided that Atahualpa had become a liability. They hastily tried him for treason – for allegedly telling Rumià ±ahui to rebel – and found him guilty. Atahualpa, last free Emperor of the Inca, was executed by garrote on July 26, 1533. The Inca’s Treasure Atahualpa had kept his promise and filled the room with gold and silver. The treasure brought to Cajamarca was staggering. Priceless works of art in gold, silver and ceramic were brought, along with tons of precious metals in jewelry and temple decorations. Greedy Spaniards smashed priceless objects to pieces so that the room would fill up more slowly. All of this treasure was melted down, forged into 22 karat gold and counted. Atahualpa’s ransom added up to over 13,000 pounds of gold and twice that much silver. After the â€Å"royal fifth† was taken out (the King of Spain imposed a 20% tax on conquest loot), this treasure was divided up among the original 160 men according to a complicated arrangement involving footmen, horsemen and officers. The lowliest of the soldiers received 45 pounds of gold and 90 pounds of silver: at today’s rate the gold alone is worth over a half million dollars. Francisco Pizarro received roughly 14 times the amount of a common soldie r, plus substantial â€Å"gifts† such as Atahualpa’s throne, which was made of 15 karat gold and weighed 183 pounds. The Lost Gold of Atahualpa Legend has it that the Spanish conquistadors did not get their greedy hands on all of Atahualpa’s ransom. Some people believe, based on somewhat sketchy historical documents, that a group of natives was on its way to Cajamarca with a load of Inca gold and silver for Atahualpa’s ransom when they received word that the Emperor had been murdered. The Inca general in charge of transporting the treasure decided to hide it and left it in an unmarked cave in the mountains. Supposedly it was found 50 years later by a Spaniard named Valverde, but then was lost again until an adventurer named Barth Blake found it in 1886: he later died suspiciously. No one has seen it since. Is there a lost Inca treasure in the Andes, the final installment of Atahualpa’s Ransom? Source    Hemming, John. The Conquest of the Inca London: Pan Books, 2004 (original 1970).

Is Justice Universal And Never Changing - 1759 Words

A question that pervades every modern culture when it comes to their system of justice is whether, â€Å"Is our justice based on an inalienable plane that cannot be changed by humans or nature?† That is to say, is justice universal and never changing? For over two millennia since civilizations have existed, civilizations have conveniently supported their justice system as universal through their religion. Thomas Hobbes will suggest an alternative to this explanation of justice, that justice is not universal among all men, but it takes another element to decide what justice is. This would seem to discount the thought of an universal justice that exists in everyday life. However, what arises is another question that needs to be answered, â€Å"Is there universal justice in nature?† Nature being the plane of existence that everyone in this universe exists in. Nature is the stimuli and experiences that all humans and creatures alike encounter in their life. If Hobbes is co rrect in saying that there is no universal law that dictates how man may live, is there a law of nature that dictates how man may react to his surroundings? When that question is answered, Hobbes then throws another question that builds off of that answer. If there does exist a universal law of justice in nature, then what is just and what is not just? While we may be satisfied in whatever conclusion we draw, Hobbes throws a wrench into our satisfaction by stating that, â€Å"just and unjust have no place prior to theShow MoreRelatedThe United Nations Universal Human Rights Essay1657 Words   |  7 PagesThe United Nations’ Universal Declaration of Human Rights stands as the current gold standard for every individual’s rights. Focusing on culture, one may see that cultural rights are not clearly defined and are oftentimes in conflict with other types of rights. 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Various effects of Low-Interest Rates

Question: Describe about the clear demonstration of focused rigorous research from recognised authoritative sources? Answer: Introduction In the case of UK economy, the rate of interest was very low from the past seven years. The lower rates of interest will encourage borrowing which will lead to attracting the investment as well as the citizens spending (Aspromourgos, 2011). The aggregate demand of UK citizens become higher and thus economic growth in the UK has taken place. However, the inflationary pressure can be seen due to a rise in the aggregate demand. It can be argued that the rate of interest must stay at the very bottom level in the current year. Thus, Central Bank of England should take some policies to increase the rate which will set the standard for overdraft, mortgage and loans. This report will discuss the effects of low-interest rates in the context of UK economy and the possible measures taken by Central Bank of England to control the situation. Effects of low rate of interest There are some situations which will arise due to the low rate of interests. The effects are- Firstly, the lower rates of interest give a lower yield from saving. Thus, the incentive to save will be lower which attracts the customers spending rather than the holding on to money. Secondly, the lower rate of interest makes a cheaper borrowing cost in the UK. This situation encourages the citizens, as well as firms, take the loans to finance investment as well as greater spending (Gerlach and Lewis, 2013). Thirdly, the price of assets increases due to the low-interest rates. Thus, purchasing the assets are attractive for the UK citizens. Thus, the price of houses had increased and hence there is a rise in the wealth. This will encourage the spending among customers (Bolt et.al., 2015). Fourthly, when the rate of interest is lower, there is a reduction in the mortgages monthly costs. Thus, more disposable income has been seen among UK citizens which raise the customer spending. Lastly, as the rate of interests is low from last seven years, then UK citizens save relatively lesser amount. Thus, there is a fall in the value. Fall in the rate of exchange makes the import costlier which affect the AD (Bhattarai, 2011). Macroeconomic Model The model of AD shows AD= C+I+G (X-M). As the rate of interest is lower, the components like C, I, (X-M) have increased (Blanchard and Johnson, 2013). Figure 1: UK Interest rate To enhance the growth in the UK after recession UK government body were cut the rate of interest. The below figure will help to understand the effects of lower interest rate. Figure 2: AD-AS model Source: (Blanchard and Johnson, 2013). Lower interest rate increases the aggregate demand from AD to AD2. There will be no change in AS curve. Previously, the real GDP was Y1 and after the shift in the AD, the real GDP increases to Y2. It shows that there is a higher economic growth in the UK. Inflation rises as AD increases (Mankiw, 2012). Impact of lower interest rate in the UK The above study has shown that from 2007 the interest rate is very low which has proved to be partially successful in affecting the high level of growth in the UK. Table 1: Interest Rate in the UK (WorldDataBank, 2016). Series Code Country Name Country Code 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 FR.INR.RINR United Kingdom GBR 2.574535317 1.764719688 -1.375897334 -2.532556408 -1.563418231 -1.107699076 -1.456129255 -1.186293701 When the interest rate is lower, that is, from 2008 to 2014, it will have a different impact on societys various groups. The homeowners, borrowers and the mortgage holders get privilege from the lower interest rate in the UK. Thus, these people will spend more money. However, savers face some negative impact. The retired person of UK have lower disposable income from the savings and hence the spending surely be lower. In the UK, a higher proportion of people depends on their saving. The lower rate of interest reduces the income of them. The UK is known as a region of borrowers. Thus, the level of debt mortgage is higher. Therefore, the low level of interest rate has a greater impact in the United Kingdom. Thus, it can be said that EU nations have a tendency to depend on rent rather than buying. The lower interest rate will also affect the current account of trade. As it attracts the spending of the citizens, there is a noticeable rise in the import spending. Thus, the current account has been deteriorated. It also causes an exchange rate depreciation in UK economy. Thus, the export is competitive than before as well as elastic demand can be seen in the UK. This incident will lead to an improvement in UKs current account. Thus, the effects are little confusing for the researcher. The service sectors of UK has been affected adversely due to the continuous slowdown of interest rate. Lower rate creates turmoil in the financial sectors which will lead to the lowest growth from the past three years. The rate of interest is low historically from the past 7 years and the figures have given the assurance to the policymakers of the bank of England that costs of borrowing will be low without a rise in inflation. The snapshot of service sectors has shown that the different business actions in the UK cover the insurers hairdressers and has expanded at a very slow rate from 2013 March when UK economy was a fragile economy and recessions came into place. Role of Central Bank of England In this situation, the Central Bank of England will try to modify its monetary policy to bring monetary stability in the UK by bringing inflation stability in the economy, and also controlling the social and economic consequences (Kirby, 2013). There are some factors which should be taken into account to manage the interest rate. Factors In the meetings of setting or changing the rate of interest, the policymakers should know every information about the UK economy. While taking the decision the bank members should be taken into account Capacity The rate of GDP growth and output gap size should be taken into account. Hence, the bank will set the monetary policy in a manner by which the bank can control the AD of UK economy and make it productive in nature. Consumer credit and Bank lending It includes the withdrawal of equity from the market of housing as well as the credit card lending data which should support the demand of the consumer. Housing prices and Equity markets Both are very important for UK economy in the determination of wealth of household. The monetary policy should not have any target officially for the housing price inflation annually. Average earning and growth of wages The wage inflation will lead to a cost-push inflation. Thus, the bank should be careful about the wage rate. To control this situation, the contractionary monetary policy may be used by the central bank of England. This policy will help to finance the slowdown situation of UK economy. It is basically used in the money supply reduction as well as spending in the UK. The Central Bank can use this policy by increasing the interest rate, raising the requirements of reserves and by reducing the supply of money (McTaggart et.al., 2012). As the rate of interest is very low from last 7 years, this policy may be used to enhance the rate. After assigning a high-interest rate, the government as well as other banks will start borrow at that rate, however, to build the level of money, the other banks will also lend the interest rate which will be higher. When the Central bank have imposed the higher rate, other banks also start following it (Gordon, 2012). Thus, the borrowing will be lower by the consumers. Thus, inflation will be also reduced from the UK economy. When interest rate increases, the savings will be raised and retired individuals will start spending more than this slowdown situation. The central bank of can also increase the requirements of reserves over the other commercial banks to monitor the withdrawals on a regular basis. When the requirement is greater, the banks will borrow at a lower rate from the citizens. Thus, spending will be decreased automatically which will control the demand pull inflation (Escolano et.al., 2014). The central bank can reduce the supply of money directly along with indirectly. With a higher demand, the policy will enhance the exchange rate. Thus, there will be an increase in the rate of import and decrease in export. The circulation of money will be managed the Central Bank of England (Olugbode et.al., 2013). Conclusion In this study, the researcher has shown that interest rate in the UK has fallen down from last seven years. The various effects of low-interest rates have been discussed by using microeconomic and macroeconomic theories. Basically, it has risen the AD. Thus, Central Bank of England should perceive the monetary policy to control demand-pull inflation as well as slowdown situation. References Aspromourgos, T. (2011). CAN (AND SHOULD) MONETARY POLICY PURSUE A ZERO REAL INTEREST RATE, PERMANENTLY?. Metroeconomica, 62(4), pp.635-655. Bhattarai, K. (2011). The impact of the exchange rate and money supply on growth, inflation and interest rates in the UK. IJMEF, 4(4), p.355. Blanchard, O. and Johnson, D. (2013). Macroeconomics. Boston (Mass.): Pearson. Bolt, W., Demertzis, M., Diks, C., Hommes, C. and Leij, M. (2015). Identifying booms and busts in house prices under heterogeneous expectations. [Luxembourg]: [Publications Office]. Escolano, J., Kolerus, C. and Lonkeng Ngouana, C. (2014). Global Monetary Tightening. Washington: International Monetary Fund. Gerlach, S. and Lewis, J. (2013). Zero lower bound, ECB interest rate policy and the financial crisis. Empir Econ, 46(3), pp.865-886. Gordon, R. (2012). Macroeconomics. Boston: Addison-Wesley. Kirby, S. (2013). Prospects for the UK Economy. National Institute Economic Review, 226(1), pp.F46-F64. Mankiw, N. (2012). Macroeconomics. New York: Worth. McTaggart, D., Findlay, C. and Parkin, M. (2012). Macroeconomics. Frenchs Forest, N.S.W.: Pearson. Olugbode, M., El-Masry, A. and Pointon, J. (2013). Exchange Rate and Interest Rate Exposure of UK Industries Using First-order Autoregressive Exponential GARCH-in-mean (EGARCH-M) Approach. The Manchester School, 82(4), pp.409-464. WorldDataBank. (2016). [online] Databank.worldbank.org. Available at: https://databank.worldbank.org/data/reports.aspx?source=2country=series=FR.INR.RINRperiod=#

Job Vs. J.B. Essays - Book Of Job, Job, Prophets Of Islam, J.B.

Job Vs. J.B. J.B. and Job There are many similarities but also many differences between the story of Job in The Bible and Archibald MacLeishs J.B. These similarities and differences falls along the categories of style, story line, and characterization. First, the style of both pieces of literature. J.B. is a play by Archibald MacLeish whereas the story of Job is a drama. In both of these pieces a prologue is present. However, the prologue differs greatly. In Job, the prologue merely states a vague background of the life of Job and his family. On the other hand, the prologue of J.B. gives detailed descriptions of J.B. and each and every one of his family members. In both cases, an antagonist is present. The antagonist is not necessarily evil or bad, but simply just one who disagrees. Second, the story line. Although Archibald MacLeish wrote the play based on the story of Job in The Bible, there are many differences in the story line. In The Bible, Jobs misfortune was spawned by Satan trying to show God that Job was not as holy as God had thought. God gave Satan the power to destroy everything Job had, including his health. Jobs children all died together when the roof of the house collapsed on them while they were all dining at the house of the oldest brother. His wife died also, and all of his possessions was taken from him. Furthermore, he contracted painful sores all over his body. As for J.B., his children died separately, one after the other. The oldest had died in the army. Two were involved in a car accident. One daughter was killed by an explosion that also took out J.B.s millions. And the youngest was raped. However, J.B.s wife, Sarah, was not killed, but instead she left him. In The Bible, Job is confronted by his three friends. His friends encourages h im to turn against God and to curse him, but he refused to do so. On the other hand, J.B. was confronted with four friends, the first three encouraging him to turn against God but the fourth telling him to pray to God and to praise Him. In the end, God gives back Job his original wife Sarah and his ten kids. He is rid of the painful sores and his possessions were doubled. On the other hand, J.B.s wife came back and they produce new children; he also received his wealth back. The biggest difference between the two story lines is that in J.B. the presence of God is not really emphasized. Third, the characterization. J.B. was based on a 20th century New England millionaire, while Job was a wealthy man who lived in the land of Uz in 1000 B.C. J.B. had a wife named Sarah, two sons, three daughters, and was wealthy financially. Job also had a wife names Sarah, but he had seven sons, three daughters, and was wealthy in land and cattle. Jobs children were vaguely described, for they only existed for a short part of the story. On the other hand, J.B.s children were individually introduced, and participated in a scene together with J.B. and his wife. Also, another characterization difference that was mentioned earlier was that Job only had three friends who come to speak to him, meanwhile, J.B. had four. Its amazing to see how an author can make a 3000-year-old drama come to life with only a few changes. Archibald MacLeish has created a wonderful play and it will continue to remind its readers the insignificance of materialistic things. English Essays