INCA HISTORY READING
The Inca created one of the most carefully planned and administered empires in the Americas. Indeed, so effective as rulers were the Inca that some of their ideas and practices survive today in the countries their empire once encompassed. The story of how they used carefully conceived political and social structures to build their massive empire can be told by investigating the Inca’s relations to other tribes in the Andean region as well as the rule of two remarkable Sapa Inca (the title of the descendent of the Sun God): Pachacuti and Topa Inca Yupanqui.
THE RISE OF THE INCA EMPIRE:
How did the Inca build and manage such a huge empire? In part, the Inca adopted ideas and institutions that had been pioneered by earlier cultures. Two peoples who had an especially strong influence on the Inca were the Moche and Chimu. The Moche lived along the northern coast of Peru from about 100 B.C.E. to 700 C.E. They built cities, dug irrigation canals, and developed special classes of workers. The Chimu kingdom in northern Peru flourished during the 1300’s and 1400’s. Like the Moche, the Chimu built well-planned cities and used elaborate irrigation methods. They preserved the artistic traditions of the Moche and passed them on to the Inca. They also built good roads and created a message system using runners. The Inca adopted and improved upon all of these achievements.
INCA METHODS OF EXANSION:
The Inca had several methods of bringing other groups of people into the empire. They did not immediately resort to war. Instead, the Sapa Inca generally sent a delegate to meet a tribe. The delegate explained that the tribe could join the Inca empire and enjoy peace and prosperity. Everyone understood that the alternative was war against the strong Inca army. When face with these options, many tribes chose to join the empire. Their leaders were then allowed to retain some local power. In this way, the Inca expanded their empire without always having to fight. If a tribe resisted, however, the two sides met in battle. The Inca used a variety of weapons including spears, axes, and clubs. They were especially skilled at hurling stones with a sling. The fighting often cost the enemy tribe many of its men. The Inca usually won. Sometimes the Inca moved a defeated tribe to other parts of the empire so that its people lost their native lands as well.
Becoming part of the empire meant adopting the ways of the Inca. The leaders of the conquered tribe had to build a sun temple. While the tribe could go on worshipping its own gods it had to accept the Inca gods as the most powerful. Local leaders and their sons were brought to Cuzco to study Inca laws as well as Quechua, the official language. Then they returned to their people as curacas.
As the new territory accepted Inca ways, teachers arrived to create Inca styled villages. When necessary, they organized ayllus and taught the people how to build storehouses, irrigation systems, and terraced farming fields. Meanwhile the Inca took an important religious object belonging to the tribe and kept it in Cuzco. The Inca claimed that they acted out of respect for the local religion. In reality, the object was held “hostage” in the capital. If the tribe ever rebelled, the government could destroy the sacred object.
Despite these efforts, sometimes the Inca failed to bring a tribe fully into their empire. In such cases, they might remove and usually kill the local leader. Some rebellious tribes were forced to move far away. The government then settled loyal members of the empire in their place. In this way, the Inca reduced the chance of resistance to their rule.
The Inca believed that even after death, the Sapa Inca continued to rule the lands that he had conquered in life. Because of this belief, each new Sapa Inca was motivated to conquer new lands to establish his own source of power and wealth. Only then would the new Sapa Inca have land that belonged to him alone.
INCA RULERS:
Pachacuti 1438 – 1463 C.E.: In 1438 C.E., Cuzco came under attack by a powerful group of warriors know as the Chancas. Many Inca were forced to leave the city, but Pachacuti, the ninth ruler and the first major Inca emperor, chose to stay and fight. When the Chancas attacked at dawn, Pachacuti, clad in the skin of a puma, led the counterattack and won. Legend has it that the stones of the battlefield turned to warriors and helped Pachacuti repel the enemy. With Cuzco safe, Pachacuti is reported to have had a vision that told him he would use warfare to spread Inca culture and religion. Rather than only attack his opponents, however, Pachacuti would send an emissary to a foe preaching the advantages of surrender. In this manner, by promising peace and gifts, backed by the threat of conquest, Pachacuti was able to win over foe after foe.
After conquering neighboring groups, each of which had its own language, religion, and customs, Pachacuti faced the task of uniting them into a single, expanding empire. Once Pachacuti had seized a new territory, he implemented policies designed to prevent unrest. He allowed the conquered peoples to keep their leaders and to continue worshipping their gods, and he even welcomed local idols into the Inca pantheon. So that everyone in his empire could understand and communicate with one another, he made Quechua, spoken in Cuzco, the official language. He allowed people to speak their native languages, but required everyone to learn Quechua. If these benevolent measures failed, Pachacuti fell back on the threat of resettlement. During his reign, troublesome elements were uprooted and sent to another part of the empire.
Topa Inca Yupanqui 1463 – 1493 C.E.: Upon Pachacuti’s retirement in 1471 C.E., his son, Topa Inca Yupanqui, already in command of the army, took over the rule of the empire, expanding it almost to its ultimate boundaries. By the time of Topa Inca’s death in 1493 C.E., the Inca domain would extend some 2,500 miles and include at least one hundred different ethnic groups, all of whom were united under Inca rule and culture.
Topa Inca used his administrative and diplomatic skills to win over province after province. Pushing north to conquer what is today Ecuador, Topa Inca encountered many different cultural groups. To help establish their perceived cultural superiority, the Inca portrayed their conquered neighbors as inferior. One example of this attitude finds Topa Inca accepting lice instead of valuable tribute from a group described as impoverished. In this way, the Inca also showed some flexibility in their tribute demands. He eventually settled in Quito, making it the capital of the empire.
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