Speaker 1: Welcome to Aaron Manke's Cabinet of Curiosities, a production of
Speaker 1: iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild.
Speaker 2: Our world is full of the unexplainable, and if history
Speaker 2: is an open book, all of these amazing tales are
Speaker 2: right there on display, just waiting for us to explore.
Speaker 2: Welcome to the Cabinet of Curiosities. In fifteen ninety three,
Speaker 2: Mexico City was somehow both old and new at the
Speaker 2: same time. Built over the Aztec city Tenochtitlan, it was
Speaker 2: the seat of power for what was known as New Spain,
Speaker 2: the area encompassing much of North America. Back then, there
Speaker 2: was no such country as the United States nor Mexico.
Speaker 2: It was all an extension of the Spanish Empire into
Speaker 2: the New World. At the center of Mexico City Lady
Speaker 2: Plaza Mayor, a wide open plaza where the Viceroy's palace sat,
Speaker 2: and on October twenty sixth, fifteen ninety three, palace guards
Speaker 2: noticed an odd man wandering the plaza.
Speaker 1: He looked dazed and uncertain. More oddly than that, though
Speaker 1: he was wearing some kind of uniform, but not won
Speaker 1: anyone in Mexico City recognized. The guards approached this man,
Speaker 1: asking him who he was and where he came from.
Speaker 1: The man introduced himself as gil Perez. He asked the
Speaker 1: guards where he was, and they told him that he
Speaker 1: was in Mexico City, and he seemed completely incredulous over
Speaker 1: that news. When pressed to tell them where he came from,
Speaker 1: all he would say is this. He was a guard
Speaker 1: at the Governor's palace in Manila. He had dozed off
Speaker 1: at his post, and when he opened his eyes, he
Speaker 1: was here in Mexico City. The guards were stunned. Manila
Speaker 1: was in the Philippines. This man had to be lying.
Speaker 1: There was no way that he could have traveled across
Speaker 1: the Pacific Ocean, almost nine thousand miles to reach them there,
Speaker 1: all while unconscious. They seized him immediately and brought him
Speaker 1: before the local officials of the Spanish Inquisition. And I
Speaker 1: bet you weren't expecting that little turn of events, were you,
Speaker 1: Because no one expects the Spanish Inquisition. And as you'd expect,
Speaker 1: our friend gil Perez was interrogated, but he held fast
Speaker 1: to his story. The more they questioned him, the more
Speaker 1: he revealed about his duties back home in Manila. He
Speaker 1: even told them that the day before his miraculous appearance
Speaker 1: in Mexico City. The governor of the Philippines himself, Gomez
Speaker 1: Perez Das Mouranus, had been killed by pirates at sea.
Speaker 1: They were merely watching his palace until a new governor
Speaker 1: could be appointed. Of course, this story didn't buy him
Speaker 1: any credibility with the Viceroy of Mexico City. They had
Speaker 1: heard no such story of the slain Philippine governor. He
Speaker 1: was held in custody, presumed to be a deserter or
Speaker 1: even a spy. But then something miraculous happened. In early
Speaker 1: fifteen ninety four, several months after the man's unexpected appearance,
Speaker 1: a galleon arrived in Mexico from the Philippines. The men
Speaker 1: on board told the viceroy that the governor had been
Speaker 1: killed back in October, the very same day that gil
Speaker 1: Perez said he had. Even more fortunate for Perez, one
Speaker 1: of the sailors said that he recognized the guard, having
Speaker 1: seen him by the governor's palace on October twenty third.
Speaker 1: As a result, the Spanish Inquisition had no choice but
Speaker 1: to release Perez, who returned home to resume his position
Speaker 1: under a new governor. We know little else about his
Speaker 1: life after this, but his story has a life of
Speaker 1: its own. The earliest version of this legend comes from
Speaker 1: sixteen ninety eight in a historical account of the Spanish
Speaker 1: conquest of the Philippines. Although the writer does not name
Speaker 1: the guard, his version says that some form of witchcraft
Speaker 1: teleported the man, But as the story has gotten told
Speaker 1: and retold over time, it was opened up to more
Speaker 1: possible interpretations, and the name of the guard himself, Gil Perez,
Speaker 1: comes from a nineteen oh eight Harper's Magazine version of
Speaker 1: the story. In the century plus since Folklora's, spiritualists and
Speaker 1: hobbyists have all put forward their own theories for the
Speaker 1: transported Spaniard. Everyone agrees, though, that Perez did not have
Speaker 1: control over this ability himself. If he had been a
Speaker 1: witch or sorcerer who transported himself, he probably wouldn't have
Speaker 1: done it while dressed conspicuously in his work uniform. Never
Speaker 1: mind the fact that if he did have control over
Speaker 1: the ability, then he could have teleported himself out of
Speaker 1: prison once he was caught in Mexico City. A recent
Speaker 1: theory is that he fell through a rip in space time,
Speaker 1: or maybe he was even abducted by a Ufo, as
Speaker 1: many Ufo abductees claimed to have lost large patches of
Speaker 1: time and then wound up in wildly different places than
Speaker 1: where they began from. Both of these theories rely on
Speaker 1: wild speculation rather than any facts about the story, but
Speaker 1: by this point most assumed that the story of gil Perez,
Speaker 1: however intriguing it might be, is just an urban legend
Speaker 1: rather than a fact. But one thing is for sure,
Speaker 1: whoever this unlucky man was, if he existed at all,
Speaker 1: he probably never fell asleep on the job ever. Again,
Speaker 1: although they were brothers, Ada Hualpa and Wascar felt no
Speaker 1: love for one another. Compassion wasn't exactly encouraged within the
Speaker 1: Incan Empire, a brutal warrior led society that spanned half
Speaker 1: of the west coast of South America. Ada Hulpa and
Speaker 1: Wascar were princes, which made their father the king. But
Speaker 1: the thing about the Inca line of succession was that
Speaker 1: there was at one a king could pick whoever he
Speaker 1: wanted to follow him after his rule, and even stranger.
Speaker 1: Inca nobles were expected to marry their sisters to keep
Speaker 1: the bloodline pure, but at the same time were allowed
Speaker 1: to have concubines with whom they could sire many children,
Speaker 1: and so the king had over two hundred children with
Speaker 1: as many as fifty wives. Wascar was born of a
Speaker 1: sister wife, but Adawalpa's mother was likely a woman outside
Speaker 1: of the family, and this alone was enough to create
Speaker 1: animosity between the two men, and to make matters worse,
Speaker 1: the king chose one of his other brothers as his successor.
Speaker 1: As a consolation prize, he put Wascar in charge of Cusco,
Speaker 1: the Inca capital, and he put Adawalpa in charge of
Speaker 1: the army. This worked to keep the peace for a time.
Speaker 1: Wascar became beloved by the people of Cuzco and learned
Speaker 1: administration in the process, while Adawalpa earned the love of
Speaker 1: the Inca generals and learned how to conduct a war. However,
Speaker 1: tragedy struck in fifteen twenty seven when a strange plague
Speaker 1: spread across the empire. The disease killed both the king
Speaker 1: and his chosen successor, and this was the worst possible
Speaker 1: outcome because now there was no clear indication of who
Speaker 1: should inherit the throne. So it wasn't a surprise when
Speaker 1: Wascar sent the troops under his command at Cusco north
Speaker 1: to attack Ottawalpa, where he was stationed in the region
Speaker 1: of Quito. But these troops were no match for Otdawalpa
Speaker 1: and his generals. They routed the opposing army with ease,
Speaker 1: and then Adawalpa sent his general self to conquer Cusco.
Speaker 1: As they went, they massacred much of the population that
Speaker 1: was loyal to Wascar. When they arrived at Cusco, they
Speaker 1: stormed the city and took Wascar prisoner. Adawalpa was very
Speaker 1: pleased with himself. He had proven once and for all
Speaker 1: that he was the strongest brother. But the deranged military
Speaker 1: king was about to find himself on the receiving end
Speaker 1: of some cosmic justice. That mysterious plague that had killed
Speaker 1: his father was smallpox, and it was spread by the
Speaker 1: Spanish conquistadors making their way across South America. When they
Speaker 1: arrived in the Inca Empire, they wasted no time in
Speaker 1: taking Adawalpa prisoner. This was easy to do. They simply
Speaker 1: surrounded Atdawalpa's army encampment and sent emissaries to speak with
Speaker 1: him under the banner of peace. When Adawalpa refused to
Speaker 1: accept the authority of the Spanish crown and the Catholic Church.
Speaker 1: They ambushed his camp and killed his men. Adawalpa then
Speaker 1: tried to bribe the Spanish. While he was in captivity.
Speaker 1: He sent his generals to collect all the silver and
Speaker 1: gold they could from the empire to trade for his release.
Speaker 1: He also gave one last horrible order. He commanded that
Speaker 1: his general's murder Wascar, who was still being held prisoner
Speaker 1: in Cusco, and they carried out his order with glee.
Speaker 1: Wascar and every one of his wives and descendants were slaughtered.
Speaker 1: The streets of Cuzco were filled with the screams of
Speaker 1: the victims. It was cruel, but Adawalpa didn't want to
Speaker 1: leave any chance for the Spanish to find and free
Speaker 1: his brother. He wanted to make sure that he was
Speaker 1: the only Inca king that they could negotiate with. And meanwhile,
Speaker 1: his generals were doing everything they could to round up
Speaker 1: enough gold and silver for his ransom. They confiscated and
Speaker 1: melted down every piece available in the empire. But all
Speaker 1: of this mass mobilization made the Spanish nervous. They saw
Speaker 1: how many generals were loyal to Adawalpa and how big
Speaker 1: their armies were. If they were capable of collecting all
Speaker 1: the gold and silver in the empire, what else were
Speaker 1: they capable of speaking with some of the native peoples.
Speaker 1: They learned of Adawalpa's conquests and how he had massacred
Speaker 1: all who opposed him. They thought that it was only
Speaker 1: a matter of time before the Inca armies would march
Speaker 1: to free their king. Not even giving them the chance,
Speaker 1: the Spanish abruptly executed Adawalpa in fifteen thirty three. His
Speaker 1: remaining generals immediately rebelled, trying to salvage the empire and
Speaker 1: keep it out of Spanish hands, but they were fragmented
Speaker 1: without a leader. The Spanish marched on Cuzco and took
Speaker 1: the gold and silver for themselves. They easily defeated any
Speaker 1: resistance that was left within the empire. It was a
Speaker 1: curious case of a quarrel between two brothers leading to
Speaker 1: neither of them getting what they wanted. Perhaps the empire
Speaker 1: was doomed regardless, but also perhaps if the two brothers
Speaker 1: could have learned to rule together, they might have saved
Speaker 1: an entire kingdom. I hope you enjoyed today's guided tour
Speaker 1: through the Cabinet of Curiosities. This show was created by
Speaker 1: me Aaron Mankey in partnership with iHeart Podcasts, researched and
Speaker 1: written by the Grim and Mild team, and produced by
Speaker 1: Jesse Funk. Learn more about the show and the people
Speaker 1: who make it over at Grimandmild dot com slash Curiosities.
Speaker 1: You'll also find a link to the official cabinet of
Speaker 1: Curiosity's hardcover book, available in bookstores and online, as well
Speaker 1: as ebook and audiobook. And if you're looking for an
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Speaker 1: Learn more and sign up over at patreon dot com
Speaker 1: slash grimand Mild, and until next time, stay Curious.
Speaker 2: Two