Further study in 1.3 The downfall of the Incas

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Machu Picchu, the famous Inca city in the Andes, built around 1450. There are a number of different theories about the construction of the city. One is that the city was only inhabited by distinguished citizens who stayed there in the summer. Another theory argues that the city was built for the cultivation of coca leaves, because coca plantations were easily accessible from the city.

According to a third theory, the town was built as a fortress for the defence of the Inca Empire. The city was abandoned after the Spanish conquest.

Who were the Incas?

At the beginning of the fifteenth century, the Incas expanded their empire by conquering other peoples. To control their vast empire, they set up a road network on which armies and messengers could easily reach all parts of the empire from Cusco, the centre of government. The language of the Incas, Quechua, and typical Inca arts and crafts, such as particular woven patterns, spread rapidly across the empire. In addition, the Incas built mighty settlements, such as the city of Machu Picchu.

Religion

The Incas believed in an afterlife and worshipped their ancestors. Nature was very important to the Incas. They regarded the sun and the moon as gods. The sun god Inti was the chief god and the founding deity of the Incas. Solar festivals were held in his honour, and the sacrifices included human sacrifices.

Government

The government was led by the Inca, who was seen as an incarnation of the sun god. The Inca was a political and a religious leader. The other governors were members of his family. The empire was divided in four. The population paid taxes in kind; they provided services by working the fields and building roads.

Economy

Agriculture was the means of subsistence. Potatoes, maize and beans were the staple foods. In order to farm land that was higher up, the Incas built terraces on the mountain slopes. The lama was the beast of burden and a source of wool. The land was owned by the community, it was not private property.

The Spaniards, who had seen the treasures of the Incas, dreamed of moving into Inca territory and obtaining their riches. The Spanish conqueror Pizarro demanded that the Incas meet him unarmed. Atahualpa, the Inca, agreed to a meeting without weapons. He was not afraid of the small group of Spaniards. He hoped that the Spaniards would be so impressed by the Incas that they would keep the peace. It seemed that he ignored the warnings of his father, who had predicted that bearded men (messengers of the Inca god) would come from overseas to destroy the Incas. After a brief altercation the Spaniards did indeed attack. Below you can read reports from a number of sources.

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Quarrel between two Incas

There was a conflict in the kingdom between two brothers: Huáscar, the legitimate Inca, and his brother, Atahualpa. This conflict led to a war that lasted 36 years. Even as a child, Huáscar was arrogant and petty. He did not hesitate to have his officers killed and so they fled. Not a single soldier was loyal to him. And so it was that he lost his kingdom through his arrogance and avarice.

Paraphrased from: Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [The First New Chronicle and Good Government], 1615/1616.

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God or sun god

Brother Vicente, a Spanish friar, carried a crucifix and a bible. He told Atahualpa that he was a messenger from another ruler, a great friend of God, and asked him to agree to a pact of friendship and to worship the crucifix and the Holy Gospel and nothing else, because all other gods were worthless. Atahualpa replied that he had no reason to worship anything other than the immortal Sun and that he would continue to honour his saints and gods. He asked Vicente who had told him about his faith. “The gospel, the book,” Vicente said. “Give me that book, that it may speak to me,” said Atahualpa. He took the book in his hands and began to flick through the pages, but before long he said, “To me the book says nothing, to me it does not speak,” and he threw the book away. Vicente shouted, “Listen, fellows, these Indians are against our holy faith!” At these words, the attack began.

Paraphrased from: Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [The First New Chronicle and Good Government], 1615/1616.

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Guns and horses

The soldiers fired their guns. They killed the Indians as if they were ants. The Indians were shocked by the guns and the horses. The use of weapons and the astonishing appearance of the attackers left the Indians terrified. Many people were trampled. So many Indians were slain that it was impossible to count them. The Spaniards lost only five men. Atahualpa was taken from his throne and became Pizarro’s prisoner. He was kept in chains and guarded by Spanish soldiers. Deprived of his throne, he sat down sadly on the ground.

Paraphrased from: Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala, El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno [The First New Chronicle and Good Government], 1615/1616.

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The old Inca

If Wayna Capac [Atahualpa’s father, the Inca who had died in 1528] had still been alive when we marched into Peru, we would never have been victorious, because he was deeply loved by his people; if the country had not been torn apart by the wars between his successors, we would never have been able to force our way in, let alone conquer them – even if over one thousand Spanish soldiers had come at once.

Paraphrased from: Pedro Pizarro, Relación del descubrimiento y conquista de los reinos del Perú, [Relation of the discovery and conquest of the kingdoms of Peru] 1571.

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Military domination

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Once Atahualpa had been captured and had given the Spaniards all his gold, the Inca chief was sentenced to death at a show trial. The original plan was to burn Atahualpa at the stake, but at his own request, he was strangled instead. The Incas believed that their body had to be as intact as possible to enter the afterlife. Atahualpa first had to agree to be baptized before his request was granted. He received the Christian name Francisco, after his conqueror Francisco Pizarro. After his death, Atahualpa was given a Christian burial. This painting by Luis Montero from the nineteenth century shows Pizarro attending Atahualpa’s funeral.

The Spanish had a force of 160 men. They attacked an empire of between five and ten million people. But Pizarro had lethal weapons and the latest technology: firearms and mechanical crossbows. Pizarro used interpreters to question the locals. He knew that a civil war was shaking the very foundations of the empire. On his march, he mobilized allies among the indigenous population, for many peoples in Peru were hostile to the Inca regime. Pizarro had a force of Bronze Age warriors with him; with their clubs, spears and feathered headdresses they formed a strange contrast to the Spaniards’ lances and steel helmets. Based on Michael Wood, Conquistadors, London, 2000.