The Incas

          From the mountains of Peru, the god-emperor of the Incas ruled a highly organized empire. Civil war and Spanish invasion finally caused the empire to fall. The Incas took over from the Chimu as rulers of the Andes mountains of South America. Their civilization reached its peak during 1400s under the ruler Pachacuti, who defeated an invading army from neighboring state. Pachacuti reformed the way the kingdom was run. He appointed a central administration to control the building of towns and ensure that farms and workshops were run efficiently. From the capital, Cuzco, he and his successors expanded the Inca empire to to include parts of Chile, Bolivia and Ecuador.

Inca Banner

          The Incas built stone cities and fine roads, which were used by traders. Goods were  exchanged for goods of equal value. They did not use money. Farmers terraced the mountain slopes to grow corn, cotton and potatoes. Though they had neither writing nor wheeled vehicles, the Incas had many skills including music, bridge-building and medicine. The Incas communicated over long distances by sending fast runners with messages in the form of quipos (knotted cards). A message could be sent mote than 200 KM in a day along a system of paved roads. Masks of gods were worn by priests for ceremonies and were often richly decorated.

Inca God

          The Inca army was the most powerful in the area at that time, because they could turn an ordinary villager or farmer into a soldier, ready for battle. This is because every male Inca had to take part in war at least once so as to be prepared for warfare again when needed. The Incas had no iron or steel, and their weapons were not much better than those of their enemies. They went into battle with the beating of drums and the blowing of trumpets. The armor used by the Incas included:

• Helmets made of wood, copper, bronze, cane, or animal skin; some were adorned with feathers
• Round or square shields made from wood or hide
• Cloth tunics padded with cotton and small wooden planks to protect the spine.

The Inca weaponry included:

• Bronze or bone-tipped spears
• Two-handed wooden swords with serrated edges
• Clubs with stone and spiked metal heads
• Woolen slings and stones
• Stone or copper headed battle-axes
• Bolas (stones fastened to lengths of cord)

          In 1525, the Inca empire was at it peak. But in 1527, after emperor Huayna Capac died, the empire was split between his two sons Atahualpa and Huascar and civil war broke out. In the 1530s, a Spanish expedition led by Francisco Pizarro arrived seeking gold. The Europeans were impressed by Cuzco's palaces, temples and water supply. They were also surprised by the fortress of Sacsahuaman, which was built from huge stones that fitted together perfectly without mortar. Though they were few in numbers, the Spaniards had horses and guns, which were both new to Incas. In 1532, Pizarro captured the Inca ruler Atahualpa and demanded for a ransom a room full of gold and two rooms full of silver. The ransom was paid, but Atahualpa was killed anyway. The leaderless Inca armies were swiftly defeated, although resistance to Spanish rule continued from scattered mountain forts such as Machu and Pichhu, until 1572.

Machu Pichhu