Inca Empire Demise
At its height, the Inca empire stretched from modern day Colombia to central Chile, and had about nine to ten million inhabitants, yet in 1532 Francisco Pizarro and a meager 62 horsemen and 102 foot soldiers conquered the empire. Pizarro was able to conquer the Incas not only because of his cunning and ruthlessness, but also because their kingdom was in disarray, therefore, I will discuss what I believe are the three main reasons why the empire fell, and none of them will have anything to do with Francisco Pizarro. My first explanation for the demise of the Incas is their rapid and recent expansion they had gone through only a few decades before Pizarro arrived. Circa 1438 AD Inca Yupanqui (Pachacutec) defeated the Chancas and expanded his empire out of the Cuzco valley. Around 1463 AD, while Inca Yupanqui was busy organizing his conquests and remaking Cuzco, the capital of his empire, his son, Topa Inca, was allowed to take control of the Inca army and continue the task of conquest. During that time, Topa Inca conquered the Northern Highlands of Peru, the Southern and Central Highlands of Ecuador, and then the Northern and Central Coastal areas of Peru. When Inca Yupanqui died around 1471 AD, and Topa Inca became Sapa Inca
The successor to Sapa Inca was his son Huayna Capac in 1493 AD. When Topa Inca died ca. 1493 AD, he was succeeded by his son Huayna Capac. The empire had expanded rapidly to absorb millions of people spread over thousands of miles of land, and Huayna Capac had to concentrate much of his effort on quelling various rebellions in the north and defending the large border. Thus, when Huayna Capac died (c.1527) he was not able to add much land to the empire (Davies, 132). My final reason for the demise of the Incan kingdom is their ruler's own lack of judgment. By sheer coincidence, Pizarro's troops and Atahualpa and his troops were both near Cajamarca. Atahualpa was asked to meet Pizarro and, despite still having most of the kingdom against him, Atahualpa went into Cajamarca with his guard down. On November 16, 1532, Pizarro and his men ambushed Atahualpa, using the advantages provided by their horses and a surprise attack to overcome the Inca and his unarmed retinue, in the end Atahualpa was imprisoned. Despite the generous ransom Atahualpa provided for his freedom, Pizarro had Atahualpa executed on July 26, 1533 (Davies, 190). When Huayna Capac died suddenly in 1527 from what is believed to be smallpox, it was unclear who had been named as his successor. His son Huascar, who the Spanish referred to as the legitimate son, had the support o
Some common words found in the essay are:
Huayna Capac, Atahualpathe Spanish, Francisco Pizarro, Pizarro Atahualpa, Atahualpa Cajamarca, Topa Inca, Atahualpa Huascar's, Huascar Atahualpa, Inca Yupanqui, , huayna capac, topa inca, inca yupanqui, inca empire, civil war, ad inca yupanqui, ad topa, francisco pizarro, pizarro arrived, 1493 ad, sapa inca, son huayna capac, ad topa inca, huayna capac died,
Approximate Word count = 919
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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