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Incas – Conquerors and Conquered

One day, in the final months of the Inca empire, there was a big gathering in the city of Cuzco to celebrate the feast of the Sun. The ceremony stopped part-way through – an eagle, symbol of the Sun God, plummeted out of the sky and fell next to the Inca’s feet . . . it had been pecked to death by buzzards. It was a terrible omen. Women screamed, people fainted, or just fell to the ground, sobbing with tears and shaking with fear.

In the weeks that followed, terrible earthquakes shook the empire – shattering rocks and causing mountainsides to collapse. Freak waves pounded the coastline, destroying fields and villages. Comets flashed across the night sky and, one night, the moon appeared haloed by three rings. The first ring was blood red, predicting war. The second ring was greenish-black, and meant the end of the Incas’ faith and laws. The third ring resembled smoke, and meant the most fearful prediction: "All that you have done, and all that your ancestors have done, will vanish as though it had never been, as though in smoke."

An epidemic swept through the empire, making many people sick and causing thousands of deaths. Soon afterwards, strange new invaders appeared in the land.

Conquerors

The Incas had begun as conquerors. They were the most feared people in South America, and had captured about one-third of the continent – ranging from the deserts of Chile, the high mountain peaks of Argentina, and the jungles of Ecuador and Colombia. The expansion of their empire meant that the Incas conquered many neighbouring peoples and tribes. Many of these tribes had fought long and courageous battles against the Incas, but had eventually been defeated by the Incas’ huge armies and fierce fighting abilities. Loss to the Incas meant the loss of tribal cultures – languages, religions, and traditions were erased and forgotten in favour of the new religion and language which the Incas brought with them.

To prevent rebellion, the Inca ordered huge populations removed from their homelands and relocated elsewhere in the empire. Loyal colonists were moved into the new territories to guarantee that the territory would support the Inca’s laws and authority. But, despite these actions the rebellions still occurred. One such rebellion occurred near Quito in Ecuador. The rebels were captured, slaughtered, and thrown into a nearby lake so that its waters turned red. Since then, the locals have called the lake "Yawar Cocha", the lake of blood.

Conquered

When the twelfth Inca, Topa Capac, died – he divided the empire between two of his sons, Atahualpa and Huascar. Atahualpa was granted the northern part of the empire (with its capital in Quito), and Huascar was granted the southern part (with the capital in Cuzco). Unfortunately, both brothers wanted control of the entire kingdom, and a bitter war began between the two brothers. It started with Huascar killing and mutilating messengers sent with offers of peace from his brother. It ended with Atahualpa ordering the gruesome deaths of over 300 of Huascar’s family and followers, then orchestrating the death of Huascar himself. This war left the empire divided and greatly weakened. Atahualpa was just beginning to gain control of the empire when the Spaniards arrived.

The Spaniards’ arrival in 1532 was swift and sudden. They began by conquering small villages on the outskirts of the empire. They luckily stumbled into a meeting with Atahualpa. On the day that they met with Atahualpa they captured him, then drew their swords and rode horses over the tops of his crowds of followers – killing thousands of people, and terrifying tens of thousands more. Only one Spaniard was slightly injured – in an accident which he had caused himself. Atahualpa surrendered and paid a huge ransom of gold to save his life – but was still executed by the Spaniards.

The sudden defeat, the death of their leader, and the looting of their houses and temples by the greedy Spanish, stunned the Inca people. They didn’t know what to do. Very cleverly, the Spaniards turned rival Inca forces (created as a result of the civil war) against each another – making the Spaniards’ jobs much easier, because Incas were killing Incas, and there was no organised resistance to stop the Spaniards.

The Spaniards’ appointed a new Inca king, Tupac Huallpa. Tupac was appointed to claim the Inca throne, and side with the Spaniards so that it appeared as if the Spaniards were merely "helping" to restore the legitimate Inca when they had executed Atahualpa. But, Tupac Huallpa didn’t last long – he died very soon afterwards under mysterious circumstances (possibly poisoned by Incas unwilling to submit to Spanish rule). He was replaced by Manco Tupac.

Manco Tupac had gone into the Spaniards camp to claim the throne and to offer them his support. He had previously been a fugitive hiding from Atahualpa’s campaign of murdering potential rivals. Because of this he was delighted that the Spaniards had killed Atahualpa. Manco was eager for an opportunity to claim the empire for himself – with the Spaniards’ help. The campaign consisted of several great battles, with Manco and Pizarro fighting side-by-side [footnote 1]. The Spaniards’ better weapons and horses devastated the rival Inca armies, and victory for Manco and Pizarro soon followed with them both marching into the Inca capital at Cuzco in 1533.

But Manco became disillusioned with the Spaniards’ greed and brutality. The troops which he had supplied to their campaign had been abused and starved by the Spaniards. Pizarro’s younger brother, Gonzalo tortured Manco to get him to give up his personal treasure and then stole his wife, who he held hostage [footnote 2]. Manco was tortured even worse and imprisoned when he tried to escape. But, eventually, he broke free (with his wife) and organised the first serious resistance to the Spaniards. Manco waged a guerrilla war from secret locations in the Andes mountains. He raised a huge army, estimated at over 100,000 men, and almost succeeded in defeating the Spanish. However, he was later driven into the jungle at Vilcabamba where he continued his fight against the Spanish until he was tricked and assassinated by Spanish fugitives in 1544. Manco’s sons fought the Spaniards for several more years until Topa Amaru, the last Inca, was captured and executed in 1572.

The Spanish Conquest

Soon after, more Spaniards arrived. They roamed the countryside, plundering gold, killing, and destroying wherever and whatever they pleased. In The History of the Conquest of Peru, written over 100 years ago, Thomas Prescott wrote:

Pizarro found a country well advanced in the arts of civilisation; institutions under which the people lived in tranquillity and personal safety; the mountains and the uplands whitened with flocks; the valleys teeming with the fruits of scientific husbandry; the granaries and warehouses filled top overflowing; the whole land rejoicing in its abundance; and the character of the nation softened under the influence of the mildest and most innocent form of superstition, well-prepared for the reception of Christian civilisation. But far from introducing this, Pizarro delivered up the conquered races to his brutal soldiery; the sacred shrines abandoned to their lust; the towns and villages were given up to pillage; the wretched natives were parcelled out like slaves, to toil for the conquerors in the mines; the flocks were scattered and wantonly destroyed; the beautiful contrivances for the culture of the soil [the irrigation works] were suffered to fall into decay; paradise was converted to desert. Instead of profiting by the ancient forms of civilisation, Pizarro preferred to efface every vestige of them, and on their ruins to erect the institutions of his own country. Yet these institutions did little for the Indian, held in iron bondage. He became an alien in the land of his fathers.

Footnote 1
Francisco Pizarro was the leader of the conquistadors who conquered Peru.

Footnote 2
Gonzalo Pizarro, Francisco’s brother, was later to become the leader of the first major expedition across the Andes in 1541. This expedition led to Francisco de Orellana’s epic journey along the Amazon river.