Dominic Sandbrook

They can see the stone buildings of the town glinting in the sunlight.

And then beyond that, four miles behind the town, they can see this, what looks like a sea of white shapes.

And these are the tents of Attawelpazami.

"'tens of thousands strong.'

"'So to quote one of the conquistadors, "'so many tents were visible "'that we were filled with great apprehension.

"'We never thought that Indians,' "'here's terminology not mine, "'could maintain such a proud estate "'nor have so many tents in such good order.'

It filled all of us Spaniards with fear and confusion, but it was not appropriate to show any fear, far less to turn back.

And so Pizarro says, come on then, let's do this.

And they spur their horses and they begin to descend the path towards the town of Cayamaca.

God.

So they approach the wall of Cayamaca.

They go through the gate.

Cayamaca today is a very kind of handsome Spanish colonial town.

At the time, it was an Inca town of about 2000 people.

And when they get there,

There's hardly anybody there.

The streets are deserted, quiet.

There are no people to be seen.

One Spanish memoirist said later, all we could hear was the ghostly keening of women, singing of the death that awaits the strangers who have provoked the wrath of the great Inca.

I mean, that's pretty terrifying.