Helen Maria Williams' manipulation of history

     In Canto the second, HMW manipulates history to serve her own agenda. The second canto helps to set up the tone for the rest of the contos; in order to set the desired tone, HMW distorted the truth. It is in this canto that first truly describes the Peruvians as simple loving people and the conquistadors as heartless villains. HMW frames three different historical moment in this canto skew the truth; either by depict the Incas in a more positive light or the Spanish in a more negative one.
     The first instance is found on page 59, in these lines she describes Ataliba and his interaction with the bible, stating "He dropp'd the hallowe'd volume from his hands./Sudden, while zeal each breast inspires" (24-25). She frames the historical interaction  as one in which Ataliba is so amazed by the bible and the religious enlightenment he received that he could not even hold on to the book. Yet, it is revealed in the footnote that not only was Ataliba not impressed by the bible, and not only did he drop it to the ground on purpose, but threw it, with "disdain" stating "This is silent; it tells me nothing" (59).
     The next instance is found on the following page. This time HMW adds a female character, lover to Ataliba, that is not found in the Robertson history book.  Alzira is her name, and though her name is not in the history book, it does happen to be the name of a town in Spain. Alzira is mentioned in the lines that read "Soon Alzira felt affliction's dart/ Pierce her soft soul, and rend her bleeding heart"(51-52). The rest of the poem is devoted to her and the pain she experiences due to Ataliba's capture. The canto ends with and almost Romeo and Juliet like ending where she plunges a dagger into her breast after Ataliba has been killed, which calls into question the final slant on history HMW applies to her second canto.

     The last twist on history that HMW spins is the death of Ataliba. HMW spins a heart wrenching story of the nearly immediate death of the Inca's ruler meanwhile he was held for ransom for some time. HMW's tale of his death works to further tarnish the already blackened character of the Spanish. Not only did they terrorize and kill the people, but they took their leader and killed him before anything could be done. It was like adding salt to a wound.HMW's used her manipulation of history to support her own agenda; each change with its own effect on the implications of history.

Link to a this day in history article about the capture of Ataliba (Athualpa).

Though her changes seem to effectively support her poem, how might/ in what ways does HMW's manipulation of history either strengthen of weaken her work? 

What is the effect of adding Alzira to the poem?