Background
By the 16th century, the Inca Empire had seen many years of strong leadership. Huayna Capac, the Inca in power when Europeans began to arrive in South America, was respected and admired throughout the Inca empire.
Both Huayna Capac and his designated heir died of what was most likely smallpox. The uncertainty that ensued after his death sealed the fate of the Inca empire. After Hauyna Capac died tension between Panakas(the royal lines of the Incas) grew trying to find a new replacement for the king. Without a clear lineage, the empire was thrown into civil war. One of Huayna's sons, Huascar, may have been named the new emperor, though no records remain to confirm that he was indeed the intended heir. Regarded as ugly, bad mannered and half-mad, Huascar came close to murdering his sister and mother. Despite his cruelty, Huascar was well-liked in the southern regions of the empire. Another of Huayna Capac's favored sons, Atahualpa, was chosen to govern the Northern Territory known as the Kingdom of Quito (modern-day Ecuador and southern Colombia).
After a few years of relative peace, war broke out between the two brothers. It is estimated that 100,000 people were killed in this bloodthirsty dispute known as the War of the Two Brothers. After many struggles, Atahualpa finally defeated Huascar. Atahualpa himself became half-mad and treated the losers terribly. Many had stones dropped on their backs to cripple them. Nearly 1500 members of the royal family were cut up in front of Huascar, including his children. Fetuses were ripped from wombs and bodies were stuck on spikes for display. Huascar was sent to prison and Atahualpa finally took the throne.
Atahualpa paid a terrible price for his cruelty. His empire had been shaken and weakened. It was at this critical moment that ‘strange bearded men’ arrived on the coast of present-day Peru. These men turned out to be Conquistadors from Spain, led by Francisco Pizarro.
The Conquest
After Atahualpa’s victory against his brother Huascar, he began his southward march from Quito to claim the Inca throne in Cuzco. Hearing tales of Pizarro and his men, Atahualpa sent an emissary to invite the Spanish to his camp in the Andean city of Cajamarca. His messengers gave presents to the Spanish to incite them to leave. Unfortunately for Atahualpa, the Spaniards did not leave and made their trip to Cajamarca. Pizarro and his 150 men ascended into the mountains in November, 1532.
Pizarro sent a messenger to Atahualpa asking for a meeting. Against the advice of is messenger, Atahualpa agreed to meet Pizarro and his men for a feast in order to find out how they behaved. When Atahualpa arrived at the main square in Cajamarca, he and a small contingent of honor guards were met by the friar Vicente de Valverde . Through a translator, Valverde delivered the ‘Requirement,’ indicating that Atahualpa and his people must convert to Christianity, and if he refused he would be considered an enemy of the Church and of Spain.
Atahualpa’s refusal led to a bloody battle that resulted in the Inca’s capture by the Spanish on November 16, 1532, and they held Atahualpa in Cajamarca's main temple. The Spanish, greatly outnumbered, were able to convince Atahualpa's generals not to attack by threatening to kill their king. In exchange for his release, Atahualpa agreed to fill a large room with gold and promised the Spanish twice that amount in silver. Pizarro in fact had no intention of releasing the Inca because he needed the emperor's influence over the native people to maintain order.
Meanwhile, the captive Huascar was slain not far from Cajamarca. Atahualpa feared that as long as Huascar lived, Pizarro might not need him, for Huascar would make a better puppet ruler than him. Atahualpa feared for his life and so ordered Huascar's execution.
Months passed, and as it became clear to Atahualpa that the Spanish did not intend to free him, he began to call on his generals to launch an attack on the Spanish. Still outnumbered and fearing an imminent attack from the Inca general Rumiñavi, the Spanish saw Atahualpa as too much of a liability and chose to have him executed. Pizarro and the Spanish decided to charge Atahualpa with 12 crimes, the most important being attempting to revolt against the Spanish, practicing idolatry and murdering Huascar. Atahualpa was found guilty of all 12 charges, and was sentenced to execution by burning. After being led to the place of execution, Atahualpa begged for his life. Valverde told Atahualpa that if he agreed to convert he would reduce the sentence. Atahualpa agreed to be baptized and was strangled instead of being burned. Atahualpa died on August 29, 1533.
The situation went quickly downhill. Pizarro installed Atahualpa's brother Tupac Huallpa as a "puppet Inca" until he died unexpectedly. As things began to fall apart, many parts of the Inca Empire revolted, and in some cases joined with the Spanish against the Incas.
It was after the puppet Inca Tupac Huallpa’s death that Manco Inca Yupanqui was throned as Inca. Manco began his rule as an ally of the Spanish. He was respected in the southern regions of the empire, but there was still much unrest in the north, near Quito, where Atahualpa’s generals were amassing troops.
Rebellion and reconquest
After the death of Atahualpa, there was no hostage to deter the Inca armies of the north from attacking the invaders. Led by Atahualpa’s generals Rumiñavi, Zope-Zupahua, and Quisquis, the native armies inflicted considerable damage on the Spanish. The Spanish finally captured Quito, effectively ending any organized rebellion in the north of the empire.
Meanwhile, Manco Inca Yupanqui continued to rule as a puppet Inca in Cusco. Though Manco had good relations with Francisco Pizarro and several other Spanish conquistadors, he was left in Cusco in 1535 under the control of Pizarro’s cousins Juan and Gonzalo. Their mistreatment of Manco Inca led to his ultimate rebellion. By asking permission from the Spanish to perform religious ceremonies in the nearby Yucay valley, Manco was able to escape from Cusco in order to organize his rebellion.
Manco organized the recapture of Cuzco from the Spanish in 1536. But Spanish reinforcements arrived and took the city once again. Diego de Almagro, originally one of Francisco Pizarro's party, returned from his exploration of Chile disappointed that he had not found wealth similar to that which had been found in Peru. King Charles of Spain had awarded the city of Cuzco to Pizarro, but Almagro attempted to claim the city nonetheless. Manco Inca hoped to use the disagreement between Almagro and Pizarro to his advantage. However, Inca revolts such as these were small and short-lived, and the Incas still did not have the full support of the other indigenous groups in Peru.
After the Spanish regained control of Cusco, Manco Inca Yupanqui and his armies retreated to the fortress at Ollantaytambo. When it became clear that they were outnumbered and defeat was imminent, Manco and his followers further retreated to the mountainous region of Vilcabamba, where the Inca continued to hold some power until the 1570's.
Many attacks trying to gain back power of the empire occurred, but none was successful. The conquest actully took about forty years to obtain control of the Inca empire and was not easy. After the collapse many workers that were relocated by the means of the Mimaq labor left and went back to their original locations. The Spaniards built a new town in Cuzco, destroying almost every building built by the Incas.
After the Spanish Conquest
After the fall of Tahuantinsuyu, the new Spanish rulers repressed the people and their traditions, and sadly destroyed their sophisticated farming system. The Spanish also took advantage of the Inca mita system to work these first peoples to death. From each family they would require one member to work in the gold and silver mines, and then when they died, usually within a year or two, the family would be required to send another family member to replace him. The most notable mine was the silver mine at Potosí, this mountain was not only the largest mine discovered on Earth, but was practically a solid block of precious metals that is still being mined for tin today.
The major languages of the empire, Quechua and Aymara, were chosen by the Catholic church to evangelize in the Andean region. They even taught the languages to first peoples who spoke other languages. Today Quechua and Aymara are the most extended Amerindian languages.
The legend of the Inca has also been used to inspire resistance by independence movements in the region, such as the rebellion led by Tupac Amaru II (aka José Gabriel Condorcanqui) and the guerrilla movements Movimiento Revolucionario Túpac Amaru (MRTA), Tupamaros, and the Sendero Luminoso. The empire even has a modern Rainbow flag, which can be seen throughout Peru.
In the first decade of the 21st century archeologists have rediscovered some of the Inca farming methods. They were reintroduced in test plots in the Lake Titicaca area and produced more food per acre than modern methods, even with the intensive use of insecticides and petrochemically based fertilizers.
See also
Last updated: 02-18-2005 23:36:49
Last updated: 05-03-2005 17:50:55
