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Explanation:
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. Within 20 years, the Empire was in ruins and the Spanish were in undisputed possession of the Inca cities and wealth: Peru would continue to be one of Spain's most loyal and profitable colonies for another three hundred years. The conquest of the Inca looks unlikely on paper: 160 Spaniards against an Empire with millions of subjects. How did Spain do it? Here are the facts about the fall of the Inca Empire.
01
of 10
The Spanish Got Lucky
Portrait of Huascar
Liselotte Engel/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
As late as 1528, the Inca Empire was a cohesive unit, ruled by one dominant ruler, Huayna Capac. He died, however, and two of his many sons, Atahualpa and Huáscar, began to fight over his empire. For four years, a bloody civil war raged over the Empire and in 1532 Atahualpa emerged victoriously. 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.
02
of 10
The Inca Made Mistakes
Portrait of Atahualpa
Liselotte Engel/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
In November of 1532, Inca Emperor Atahualpa was captured by the Spanish: he had agreed to meet with them, feeling that they did not pose a threat to his massive army. This was but one of the mistakes the Inca made. 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: one general even believed Spanish promises of friendship and let himself be captured.
03
of 10
The Loot Was Staggering
Prague Inka Gold exhibition
Karelj/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
The Inca Empire had been collecting gold and silver for centuries and the Spanish soon found most of it: a great amount of gold was even hand-delivered to the Spanish as part of Atahualpa’s ransom. The 160 men who first invaded Peru with Pizarro became very wealthy. When the loot from the ransom was divided, each foot-soldier (the lowest in a complicated pay scale of infantry, cavalry, and officers) received about 45 pounds of gold and twice that much silver. The gold alone is worth over a half-million dollars in today’s money: it went even further back then. This doesn’t even count the silver or the loot received from subsequent paydays, such as the looting of the rich city of Cuzco, which paid out at least as well as the ransom had.
04
of 10
The Inca People Put up Quite a Fight
Pachacútec using a sling or Huaraca.
Scarton/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
The soldiers and people of the Inca Empire did not meekly turn over their homeland to the hated invaders. Major Inca generals such as Quisquis and Rumiñahui fought pitched battles against the Spanish and their native allies, notably at the 1534 Battle of Teocajas. Later, members of the Inca royal family such as Manco Inca and Tupac Amaru led massive uprisings: Manco had 100,000 soldiers in the field at one point. For decades, isolated groups of Spaniards were targeted and attacked. The people of Quito proved particularly fierce, fighting the Spanish every step of the way to their city, which they burned to the ground when it became apparent that the Spanish were certain to capture it.
05
of 10
There Was Some Collusion
The first image of the Inca in Europe, Pedro Cieza de León, Cronica del Peru, 1553
A.Skromnitsky/Wikimedia Commons/Public Domain
Although many of the native people fought back fiercely, others allied themselves with the Spanish. 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: by the time they realized that the Spanish were an even bigger threat it was too late. 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. The Spanish also co-opted a servant class called the yanaconas: the yanaconas attached themselves to the Spaniards and were valuable informants.
