why did the spanish conquered the incas

The conquest of the Inca was essentially a long-term armed robbery on the part of the conquistadors. 1475–1541) arrived in present-day northern Peru late in 1531 with a small force of about 180 men and 30 horses. 1537 – Almagro seizes Cuzco from Hernando and Gonzalo Pizarro. Here are the facts about the fall of the Inca Empire. In the ensuing battle Huáscar was captured, and resistance completely collapsed. Why didn't the Incas know about the Spanish conquest of other tribes? Some accounts say that Atahualpa sent messengers with presents to Pizarro and his men to induce them to leave, and others contend that it was Pizarro who sent a messenger to Atahualpa requesting a meeting. The victorious generals immediately sent word north by chasqui messenger to Atahualpa, who had moved south from Quitu to the royal resort springs outside Cajamarca. If they were runa quicachac or "destroyers of peoples" then he should flee. "Only Emperor") in Cuzco, but the army declared its loyalty to Atahualpa. He conquered the Incas, the largest empire in the Western Hemisphere, with only a few hundred men and established a Spanish foothold in South America that would last for several centuries to come. Particularly successful was the overthrow of the Aztecs in Mexico by Hernán Cortés. Like Lenny said the Book "Guns,Germs, and Steel" basically explains why Europeans were able to dominate the rest of the world. The situation went quickly downhill. Contemporary accounts by members of Pizarro's force explain how the Spanish forces used a cavalry charge against the Inca forces, who had never seen horses, in combination with gunfire from cover (the Inca forces also had never encountered guns before). This was but one of the mistakes the Inca made. Spanish armor and helmets, made of steel, made their wearers practically invulnerable and fine steel swords could cut through any armor that Indigenous peoples could put together. Its last stronghold was conquered by the Spanish in 1572. In the five years before the Spanish arrival, a devastating war of succession gripped the empire. Many historical figures are mentioned, and the (fictional) brother of Pizarro who is mentioned as the pursuer of the protagonist. [5], At this point in time Pizarro had 168 men under his command: 106 on foot and 62 on horses. 41–74. But it did … Pizarro was uneducated but clever enough to exploit the weaknesses he swiftly identified in the Inca. 2. The messengers went back to Tangarala and Atahualpa sent Cinquinchara, an Orejon warrior, to the Spanish to serve as an interpreter. ... Francisco Pizarro and the Conquest of the Inca. Atahualpa feared that if Huáscar came into contact with the Spanish, he would be so useful to them that Pizarro would no longer need Atahualpa and have him killed. Diego de Almagro, originally one of Francisco Pizarro's party, returned from his exploration of Chile, disappointed in not finding any wealth similar to that of Peru. This meant that once the Spaniards held the emperor hostage, they effectively paralyzed the empires' forces for a time. "Inka Administration of the Far South Coast of Peru". Later, Atahualpa's generals, fearing for his safety in captivity, did not attack the Spanish while there were still only a few of them in Peru. As Pizarro and his men took over portions of South America they plundered and enslaved countless people. [13] The fact that the Inca did not have as strong of a writing tradition as the Aztecs or Maya is one reason why it is more difficult to estimate population decline or any events after subjugation. High in the Andes Mountains of Peru, the Inca built a dazzling empire that governed a population of 12 million people. Atahualpa had been hearing tales of "white bearded men" approaching his territory. The first was of 30–50 percent during the first outbreak of smallpox. Atahualpa and his forces met with the Spaniards at Cajamarca on the evening of 15 November. In less than a century the empire had grown in extent from about 155,000 sq mi or 400,000 km2 in 1448, to 690,000 sq mi or 1,800,000 km2 in 1528, just before the arrival of the Spaniards. The Spanish recognized the wealth and abundance that could be had in this territory; at this point the Inca Empire was at its largest, measuring around 690,000 square miles. After four long expeditions, Pizarro established the first Spanish settlement in northern Peru, calling it San Miguel de Piura. All of the Pizarros became wealthy, taking such a large share of the profits that they eventually sparked a civil war among the conquistadors over the spoils. If they conquered them, they could constantly extract the wealth without having to … When Atahualpa came with 7,000 unarmed soldiers and attendants, Friar Valverde spoke with him about the Spanish presence in his lands as well as engaged in a poorly executed attempt to explain to him the precepts of the Catholic religion, an attempt which was certainly not helped by an unskilled translator. After the Spanish regained control of Cuzco, Manco Inca and … While Spanish armour was very effective against most of the Andean weapons, it was not impenetrable to maces, clubs, or slings. I beg God to pardon me, for I am moved to say this, seeing that I am the last to die of the Conquistadors.". The illegitimate son of a Spanish The Incas, from their capital at Cuzco, ruled a territory that stretched 4,000miles along the western coast of South Americaand up into the Andean highlands. While this is the case for every group of Native-Americans that encountered Europeans from the fifteenth century onwards, the Incan population suffered a dramatic and quick decline following contact. Digital object identifier: de Betanzos, Juan; Hamilton, Roland; Buchanan, Dana (1996). Salvation of Pagan souls (conversion to Christianity) 2. This was a major disadvantage for the Inca and their undoing was due to a lack of self-confidence, and a desire to make public demonstration of fearlessness and godlike command of situation. When did the civilization exist? You can opt-out at any time. Old World diseases brought over unknowingly by colonists and conquistadors wreaked havoc on native populations at a greater rate than any army or armed conflict. Here we share some of the most important factors that played a role in their success in overthrowing the Empire. the Spanish and Portuguese) . Spanish reinforcements arrived and took the city once again. Collectively these declines amounted to a decline of 93 percent from the population pre-contact in the Andes region. Incan architecture is the most significant pre-Columbian architecture in South America. For the conquistadors it was difficult to realise what they were encountering, partly because they were remarkably ignorant and dismissive of any pre-existing South American culture. ThoughtCo. Pizarro had conquered most of the Inca Empire during his lifetime and 40 years after his death, other conquistadores continued to fight with the poorly-armed Incas until the empire's territories finally became Spanish. The Spanish had been in full expansion mode for several decades. In 1528 Pizarro went back to Spain to ask for the official blessing of the Spanish crown to the conquer the area and become governor. [15], Another significant effect on the people in South America was the spread of Christianity. [12], The single greatest cause of the demise of native populations was disease. Minster, Christopher. The basic policy of the Spanish towards local populations was that voluntary vassalage would yield safety and coexistence while continued resistance would lead to more death and destruction. "'Heavy Shadows and Black Night': Disease and Depopulation in Colonial Spanish America". Forensic evidence suggests that the natives were killed by European weapons, probably during the uprising in 1536.[11]. The 160 or so conquistadors who participated in the original expedition became wealthy beyond their wildest dreams, rewarded with treasure, land, and enslaved people. De Soto spoke with Atahualpa for a while and told them that they were emissaries from King Charles I of Spain. The messenger arrived with news of the final victory on the same day Pizarro and his small band of adventurers, together with some Indian allies, descended from the Andes into the town of Cajamarca. [7], One of the main events in the conquest of the Incan Empire was the death of Atahualpa, the last Sapa Inca on 29 August 1533, The question eventually came up of what to do with Atahualpa; both Pizarro and Soto were against killing him, but the other Spaniards were loud in their demands for death. Then, when smallpox was followed with the measles, another decline of 25–30 percent occurred. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca Empire in the early 16th-century, as part of the discovery and conquest of the . Atahualpa had heard tales of "white bearded men" (i.e. Submission involved enslavement, with the women being used for sex by their new owners, and the males worked to death in mines and fields. They did produce a big psychological effect on those occasions when they managed to fire. Archaeological evidence of the rebellion incident exists. The vast destruction wiped out and brought a loss to these civilizations. The conquest is also parodied in The Simpsons TV series, in the chapter "Lost Verizon", written by John Frink. Spanish weaponry was far superior to anything used by the Aztecs or Incas. After doing so, he offered Atahualpa a Bible in the expectation that he and his men would immediately convert to Christianity in preference to being considered an enemy of the Church and Spain by the Spanish Crown. 119–138. The Inca Empire also had a highly centralized chain of command directly related to the emperor's well-being or military victories which created a fictional perception of how the various gods perceived the Inca to either soldiers or commoners alike. After a period of diplomatic posturing and jockeying for position open warfare soon broke out. The long term effects of the arrival of the Spanish on the population of South America were simply catastrophic. More importantly, Huayna Capac was the son of the previous ruler, Túpac Inca, and the grandson of Pachacuti, the Emperor who had begun the dramatic expansion by conquest of the Inca Empire from its base in the area around Cuzco. The power of the Sword. He promoted economic development using commercial monopoly and built up the extraction from the silver mines of Potosí, using slavery based on the Inca institution of mandatory public service called mita. In 1529, Francisco Pizarro obtained permission from the Spanish Monarchy to conquer the land they called Peru. The last vestiges were conquered by … 14. Also the Inca empire had just finished a Civil war so its army was pretty weak. In total, the conquest took about forty years to complete. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. Though the historical accounts relating to these circumstances vary, the true motivations for the attack seemed to be a desire for loot and flat-out impatience, in that the Inca did not adequately understand the conquistadors' demands. After deadly confrontations, he was murdered by the Spanish in 1572. May 13, 1532. 4.7/5 (72 Views . Hulton Archive/Getty Images. When I set out to write for the people of today and of the future, about the conquest and discovery that our Spaniards made here in Peru, I could not but reflect that I was dealing with the greatest matters one could possibly write about in all of creation as far as secular history goes. Towards the open country there is another small door, with a narrow staircase, all within the outer wall of the plaza. The conquest of the Inca looks unlikely on paper: 160 Spaniards against an Empire with millions of subjects. At the signal to attack, the Spaniards unleashed volleys of gunfire at the vulnerable mass of Incas and surged forward in a concerted action. The earliest date that can be confidently assigned to Inca dynastic history is 1438, when Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui, a son of Viracocha Inca, usurped the throne from his brother Inca Urcon.Under Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438–71) the Inca conquered territory south to the Titicaca Basin and north to present-day Quito, making subject peoples of the powerful Chanca, the Quechua, and the Chimú. [2] These two sons would play pivotal roles in the final years of the Inca Empire. Atahualpa was thus closer to, and had better relations with the army and its leading generals. On his accession to the throne, Huayna Capac had continued the policy of expansion by conquest by bringing Inca armies north into what is today Ecuador. (For a discussion of Inca population, see Inca Empire.). Thus the Spanish conquest was achieved through relentless force, legendary cruelty and deception, aided by factors like smallpox and a great communication and cultural divide. Manco Inca initially had good relations with Francisco Pizarro and several other Spanish conquistadors. While this frightened the attendants, the Inca was unblinking. When first spotted by the natives, Pizarro and his men were thought to be viracocha cuna or "gods". Pizarro held Atahualpa for a ransom of gold and silver which began to arrive from Cuzco on 20 December 1532 and flowed steadily from then on. Pizarro had help, however: his four brothers, Hernando, Gonzalo, Francisco Martín, and Juan. As late as 1528, the Inca Empire was a cohesive unit, ruled by one dominant ruler, Huayna Capac. Pizarro was able to capture the Inca ruler, Atahualpa, easily. [4] It appears that of the two brothers, Atahualpa was probably more popular with the people, and certainly so with the army, the core of which was based in the recently conquered northern province of Quitu. False interpretations from the interpreter Felipillo made the Spaniards paranoid. He conquered the Incas. Although they had no writing system, they had an elaborate government, great public works, and a brilliant agricultural system. Then, Pizarro sent his captain Hernando de Soto to invite Atahualpa to a meeting. Most of Alvarado's men joined Benalcázar for the siege of Quito. Which killed many of the Incas. Atahualpa's death meant that there was no hostage left to deter these northern armies from attacking the invaders. Francisco Pizarro, the governor of Peru and conqueror of the Inca civilization, is assassinated in Lima by Spanish rivals. List 3. Why did the Spaniards pass their diseases onto the Incas, and not the other way around? Spaniards executing Túpac Amaru, the last Inca of Vilcabamba, in 1572. Atahualpa seems to have spent more time with Huayna Capac during the years when he was in the north with the army conquering Ecuador. It took just a generation for the entire continent to be under Christian influence.[2]. In the end, however, the Spanish succeeded in re-capturing Quito, effectively ending any organized rebellion in the north of the empire. pp. The roofs are covered with straw and wood, resting on the walls. "Pacariqtambo and the Mythical Origins of the Inca". Most accounts agree, however, that Atahualpa met with Pizarro voluntarily. Huáscar had himself proclaimed Sapa Inca (i.e. Cortés and his men used over a dozen large portable guns, mainly for their shock value against the Aztecs. His body was taken, probably at his prior request, to its final resting place in Quito. "Indian Population Patterns in Colonial Spanish America". When did the Spanish land on the Caribbean Coast? However, Atahualpa quickly escaped and returned to Quitu. The battle, which is sometimes considered to be an ambush or a skirmish, saw a small band of Spaniards led by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro capture Atahualpa, the Sapa Inca, i.e. [7] The main view is that the Inca were eventually defeated due to inferior weapons, 'open battle' tactics, disease, internal unrest, the bold tactics of the Spanish, and the capture of their emperor. But now things have come to such a pass in offence of God, owing to the bad example we have set them in all things, that these natives from doing no evil have turned into people who can do no good.. In fact he knew of their earlier atrocities against the nuns dedicated to serve the god Inti in his temple. It is estimated that parts of the empire, notably the Central Andes, suffered a population decline ratio of 58:1 during the years of 1520–1571. While numbers are unavailable, Spanish records indicate that the population was so devastated by disease that their forces could hardly be resisted. Bored with administering Central America, Alvarado had set sail for the south without the crown's authorization, landed on the Ecuadorian coast, and marched inland to the Sierra. Minster, Christopher. Click to see full answer. They were so free of crime and greed, both men and women, that they could leave gold or silver worth a hundred thousand pesos in their open house..So that when they discovered that we were thieves and men who sought to force their wives and daughters to commit sin with them, they despised us. In 1532, Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro first made contact with the mighty Inca Empire: it ruled parts of present-day Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Colombia. The Spaniards destroyed almost every Inca building in Cuzco,[citation needed] built a Spanish city over the old foundations, and proceeded to colonize and exploit the former empire. When Spanish conquistadors arrived in the Americas in the 1500s, among the native civilizations they encountered were two great empires. Sure, the Spanish could have simply traded with the Aztecs and Incas for gold, slaves and other resources, but then they would have to give up a certain amount of their own resources to continuously do so. Many kingdoms and tribes had been conquered or persuaded to join the Inca empire. In the Spanish conquest of the Incas, guns played only a minor role. Also the Inca empire had just finished a Civil war so its army was pretty weak. He could trace his lineage back to a "stranger king" named Manco Cápac, the mythical founder of the Inca clan, who supposedly emerged from a cave in a region called Pacariqtambo. Digital object identifier: Newson, Linda A. Atahualpa was fearful of what the white men were capable of. There are some Spanish documents that suggest that the local populations entered into vassalage willingly, but these are likely cases of people being threatened with death after the destruction of their region. Two factors had undermined their ability to fight, and one of these was civil war. new world.. Europeans started to emigrate to the Americas and settle down and an exchange between these two cultures started. Pizarro promised that he would release Atahualpa if the Inca's gave him gold. It was at this precise moment, when the Empire was in ruins, that Pizarro and his men showed up: they were able to defeat the weakened Inca armies and exploit the social rifts that had caused the war in the first place. They were not ordered to stop them. The messengers went back to Tangarala and Atahualpa sent Cinquinchara, an Orejon warrior, to the Spanish to serve as an interpreter. The second was Atahualpa, an illegitimate son who was likely born of a daughter of the last independent King of Quitu, one of the states conquered by Huayna Capac during the great expanse of the Inca Empire. Why did the Spanish conquistadors want to conquer the Aztecs and the Incas? When both Huayna Capac and his eldest son and designated heir, Ninan Cuyochic, died suddenly in 1528 from what was probably smallpox, a disease introduced by the Spaniards into the Americas during their conquest of Mexico, the question of who would succeed as emperor was thrown open as Huayna had died before he could nominate the new heir. T… Why was there a civil war among the Incas? The most obvious answer to explain Spanish success was their swords. However, in 1535 he was left in Cuzco under the control of Pizarro's brothers, Juan and Gonzalo, who so mistreated Manco Inca that he ultimately rebelled. The gold alone is worth over a half-million dollars in today’s money: it went even further back then. He is a former head writer at VIVA Travel Guides. 18. From two young local boys who he had taught how to speak Spanish in order to translate for him, Pizarro learned of the civil war and of the disease that was destroying the Inca Empire.[3]. "'Failing to Marvel': Atahualpa's Encounter with the Word". The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire was a process through which a group of Spaniards led by Francisco Pizarro succeeded in toppling the Inca Empire in the early 16th-century, as part of the discovery and conquest of the . The Spanish also had three small cannon which were used to great effect on the crowded town square. Hernando de Soto was one of Pizarro's most trusted lieutenants. This told the Spaniards that they were not dealing with a fearful one like Moctezuma II in Mexico and it gave them even more fear the night of the 15th and early on the 16th. He recommended trapping the men inside of their sleeping quarters and burning them to death. [10] During Atahualpa's captivity, the Spanish, although greatly outnumbered, forced him to order his generals to back down by threatening to kill him if he did not. After Huayna died of smallpox, a civil war broke out between his two sons. pp. Expansion had created problems, however. [citation needed] Pizarro executed Atahualpa's 12-man honor guard and took the Inca captive at the so-called Ransom Room, where they demanded one room full of gold and two of silver to be exchanged for Atahualpa. However, it is apparent that illness from the Spaniards predated their actual presence in the region by several years. This time, the Incas were ready. Although many of the Indigenous people fought back fiercely, others allied themselves with the Spanish. After establishing a colony in Mexico, Spanish nobleman Hernan Cortes: Fast Facts rallied native allies and conquered the Aztec Empire. (2021, February 7). Digital object identifier: Lovell, W. George (1992). (1985). The conquest of the Inca Empire led to spin-off campaigns into present-day Chile and Colombia as well as expeditions towards the Amazon Basin. With fewer than 200 men against several thousand, Pizarro lures Atahualpa to a feast in the emperor's honor and then opens fire on the unarmed Incans. Thousands of men set out in dozens of expeditions to find the legendary kingdom of El Dorado, but it was only an illusion and never existed except in the fevered imaginations of the gold-hungry men who so desperately wanted to believe it. On November 16, 1532, Francisco Pizarro, the Spanish explorer and conquistador, springs a trap on the Incan emperor, Atahualpa. The Incas inherited an architectural legacy from Tiwanaku, founded in the 2nd century BCE in present-day Bolivia. Who was the first white man ever seen by the Incas? Lysimachos11. The next morning, Pizarro had his men strategically placed around the square where they were to meet. His son, Túpac Amaru, was the last Inca. By the time Huayna Capac (the father of Atahualpa) died, i.e. Nevertheless, the Viceroyalty of Peru was not organized until the arrival of a later Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in 1572. What did the Spanish conquer first, the mainland or islands in the Caribbean? They did not have time for trade. Amid the ruins of the city of Tumbes, he tried to piece together the situation before him. why did the Aztecs and Incas suffer more from smallpox than the Spanish did? At the end of their meeting, the men agreed to meet the next day at Cajamarca.[3]. Regarding this, who did the Incas conquer? Scarton / Wikimedia Commons / Public Domain. However, under the administrative mechanisms established by the Incas, all parts of the empire answered to, and were ultimately under the direct control of, the Emperor. In any case, a study by N. D. Cook, the results of which were published in 1981, show that the Andes suffered from three separate population declines during colonization. The Inca treated their subjects fairly, unlike the Aztec, which might be why the Inca ruled their empire better than the Aztecs. The effect was devastating, the shocked Incas offered such feeble resistance that the battle has often been labeled a massacre with the Inca losing 2,000 dead compared to five of Pizarro's men. Several battles were fought between the Incas and the Spanish who worked together with the native allies. When the Spanish arrived at the borders of the Inca Empire in 1528, the empire spanned a considerable distance. On the first day of the battle for Cuzco, the forces loyal to Huáscar gained an early advantage. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish soldiers under Francisco Pizarro and their native allies captured the Sapa Inca Atahualpa in the 1532 Battle of Cajamarca. Like many thieves, they soon began to squabble among themselves over the spoils. On November 15th 1532, 168 Spanish conquistadors arrive in the holy city of Cajamarca, at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru. At the foot of Mount Chimborazo, near the modern city of Riobamba (Ecuador) he met and defeated the forces of the great Inca warrior Rumiñahui with the aid of Cañari tribesmen who served as guides and allies to the conquering Spaniards. Before long, desperate, ruthless men were arriving in the small towns and ports of the New World. Christianity was imposed on the conquered people. The Inca were not universally loved by the neighboring tribes they had subjugated over the centuries, and vassal tribes such as the Cañari hated the Inca so much that they allied themselves with the Spanish. 426–443. The son of a Spanish soldier, Pizarro, like Hernan Cortes, was not of royal descent. The unquestioned leader of the conquest of the Inca was Francisco Pizarro, an illegitimate and illiterate Spaniard who at one time had herded the family's pigs. Unknown to Pizarro, as he was lobbying for permission, his proposed enemy was being devastated by the diseases brought to the American continents by the earlier Spanish contacts. By 3 May 1533 Pizarro received all the treasure he had requested; it was melted, refined, and made into bars. Despite the war, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Other factors in the Spaniard's favor were their steel swords, helmets and armor, against the Inca forces which only had leather armor and crude armament. [1] Scholars estimate that the population of the Inca Empire probably numbered over 16,000,000.[2]. After his victory over his brother, Atahualpa began his southward march from Quito to claim the Inca throne in Cusco. "Archaeology: Shot by a Conquistador". Manco Inca initially had good relations with Francisco Pizarro and several other Spanish conquistadors. Jared Diamond: This is Francisco Pizarro, a Spaniard who conquered the most powerful state in the New World, the Inca Empire. The interiors are divided into eight rooms, much better built than any we had seen before. Atahuallpa, the 13th and last emperor of the Incas, dies by strangulation at the hands of Francisco Pizarro’s Spanish conquistadors. around … However, when it became clear that defeat was imminent, they retreated further to the mountainous region of Vilcabamba, where the Manco Inca continued to hold some power for several more decades. In battle, a skilled Spanish horseman could cut down dozens of Indigenous warriors. Again, the choice was simple: convert or die. They had little contact with the Mayas and Aztecs. According to historian Raúl Porras Barrenechea, Peru is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo-Hispanic or Hybrid. According to The Biography Channel, Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro was able to defeat the Inca easily because the Incans were embroiled in their own civil war and suffering from the smallpox epidemic, both of which had dramatically weakened the Incan empire. The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire lasted for 40 years from 1532. In that year the Spanish conquered Vilcabamba and killed the last Inca emperor, Tupac Amaru, after a summary trial. Gibson, Charles (1978). The outbreak, believed to be hemorrhagic smallpox, entered the Andes in 1524. Members of the Inca royal family practically fell over one another to gain the favor of the Spanish, who put a series of puppet rulers on the throne. In November 1532, Inca Emperor Atahualpa was captured by the Spanish.

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