The conquest of the Inca Empire by the Spanish in the early 16th century was an important event in world history, especially in relation to the Age of Exploration. The conquest of the Inca Empire was carried out by Francisco Pizarro and a relatively small crew of other Spanish conquistadors. Despite being vastly outnumbered, the Spanish used a combination of deception, military technology, local alliances, and disease to bring about the fall of the Inca Empire.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – BEFORE THE ARRIVAL OF THE SPANISH
Francisco Pizarro and other Spanish conquistadors came upon the Inca Empire in 1532. At the time it was one of the largest empires in the world. The Inca civilization arose from the highlands of Peru sometime in the early 13th century. The empire included the territory between the Pacific coast and the Amazon River basin and stretched from Ecuador to northern Chile. In total, the Inca Empire included a diverse population with many different groups of people and contained a population in the millions. In fact, at its peak, it included over 10 million people and featured advanced infrastructure such as an extensive road system, agricultural terraces, storehouses, and a centralized government based in Cuzco.
The Inca were skilled administrators and engineers, maintaining control through a combination of military strength, strategic alliances, and cultural dominance. Despite lacking a written language or iron tools, the empire was highly organized and efficient. However, by the time the Spanish arrived, the empire was politically unstable due to a recent civil war between two royal brothers: Atahualpa and Huáscar, both sons of the deceased emperor Huayna Capac. As such, when the Spanish arrived they came upon a weakened Inca Empire that was going through a period of instability. This is important because it played a role in the eventual collapse of the Inca Empire.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – FRANCISCO PIZARRO
Francisco Pizarro was a Spanish conquistador during the Age of Exploration who followed in the footsteps of earlier explorers, such as: Christopher Columbus and Hernan Cortes. He first left Spain for the New World in 1509 and would set sail on a number of expeditions to take control of land within the Americas. For example, he was given permission by the Spanish Queen Isabel to take control of Peru in 1532. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro landed on the northern coast of Peru with around 180 men, 27 horses, and a few cannons. Although his force was small, it was well-armed and highly motivated.
He went on to battle with the Inca people who were living in the area, which today is modern-day Peru. Pizarro and his men were clever, and had modern weapons; as a result they were able to strategically take control of the Inca land.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – MAJOR EVENTS
The conquest of the Inca Empire unfolded as a series of major events. First, European diseases had spread throughout the region of the Inca Empire in the years before Pizarro first encountered the civilization. Earlier explorers to the area had unknowingly transmitted their diseases to the native peoples and this had a profound effect on the overall Inca Empire. The Inca Empire that Pizarro eventually encountered was weakened drastically by the spread of these diseases which also helped lead to a civil war among the Inca people. Arguably, this aided Pizarro’s conquest of the empire because it was in a weakened state and more easily conquerable.
Similar to Hernan Cortes’ earlier conquest of the Aztecs, Pizarro benefited from confusion on the part of the indigenous people. For instance, when Pizarro first entered their territory, the Inca were not sure whether he and the other Spanish conquistadors were gods or not. The advanced weapons and strange clothing of the Spanish caused some Incas to question if they were gods of the people. While the Inca ultimately did not consider the Spanish explorers to be gods, the confusion helped Pizarro to establish himself in the region and prevented the Inca from pushing him and other conquistadors out of the area sooner.
The Inca were led by Atahualpa who ruled over the Inca people as an emperor. When Pizarro and his 168 men first encountered the Inca, Atahualpa sent an Inca warrior to meet the conquistadors and to act as an interpreter. The Inca warrior returned to tell Atahualpa that the Spanish were evil men and appeared to want to take everything for themselves. As such, the warrior suggested that Atahualpa trap the Spanish in their camp and burn them to death. Instead, Atahualpa agreed to meet with Francisco Pizarro’s brother, Hernando, and his fellow conquistador Hernando de Soto. Both men suggested that they are in the region to bring the word of god to the Incan people. As a result, the Spanish agree to meet with Atahualpa the next day at the city of Cajamarca.
The next day, Atahualpa arrived with over 6,000 followers who were unarmed. Meanwhile, the Spanish conquistadors arrived fully armed with their weapons. A Spanish friar approached Atahualpa and offered him a bible, to which Atahualpa refused and protested against. The Spanish friar responded by urging the conquistadors to begin attacking the Incan people, which they did. Since the Incan’s were unarmed, the Spanish attack was a complete massacre with over 2,000 of the Inca people dying as a result. The Spanish gunfire and cavalry charges stunned the Inca people and allowed the outnumbered Spanish to dominate the situation. The end result was the capture of Atahualpa by Pizarro.
The capture of Atahualpa would prove to be extremely beneficial to the Spanish and Pizarro. Pizarro would use Atahualpa to control the Inca people and remaining resistance against the Spanish in the region. For example, soon after capture, Pizarro forced Atahualpa to order his military leaders to back down and to not fight against the Spanish. This was important for Pizarro as he was heavily outnumbered in the region and was afraid of an Incan attack.
In exchange for his freedom Atahualpa promised Pizarro a room filled with gold and silver. Pizarro, at first, agreed to the request and the Spanish conquistadors oversaw the Incan people gathering trinkets of gold and silver from across the Inca Empire. By May of 1533, the Incas had collected the amount promised by Atahualpa and the Spanish began to melt it down in order to prepare it for shipment out of the Inca territory. Having received their gold and silver, the Spanish were faced with the issue of what to do with Atahualpa. In general, there was a disagreement among the conquistadors with some wanting him to be returned to Spain and others calling for his death. In the end, he was baptized as a Christian and killed by strangulation.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – FALL OF THE INCA EMPIRE
Following the death of Atahualpa, the Inca Empire effectively collapsed under the pressure of the Spanish conquistadors. For instance, the Spanish marched to Cuzco, the Inca capital, and took it with the help of native allies who were hostile to the Inca elite. The Spanish then installed a puppet ruler, Manco Inca Yupanqui, who later led a failed rebellion and retreated to the jungle stronghold of Vilcabamba. Sporadic resistance continued, but by 1572, the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru, was captured and executed, marking the formal end of the Inca Empire.
The Spanish imposed their rule by establishing the ‘Viceroyalty of Peru’, centered in Lima, which Pizarro founded in 1535. Spanish settlers and officials quickly moved to exploit the region’s vast resources, especially silver, which became one of the most important mining centers in all of the Spanish Empire.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – FACTORS OF SPANISH SUCCESS
The conquest of the Inca Empire by Spanish conquistadors, was made easier due to a variety of factors. First, the Spanish were aided due to the impact of European diseases, such as smallpox. It had arrived in the Americas ahead of the Spanish and decimated the indigenous population, including Emperor Huayna Capac and his heir. This, ultimately, led to a crisis that weakened the Inca Empire.
The Spanish also benefited from having access to superior weapons, technology, and horses. In fact, the Spanish had steel swords, armor, guns, and horses, which were all unknown to the Inca. While the Inca had many skilled warriors and access to deadly weapons, they were ultimately no match. In fact, the Spanish weapons and horses provided a psychological advantage for the Spanish conquistadors. the Inca people were likely shocked and confused by the Spanish, especially when the conquistadors moved to capture Atahualpa. The sudden capture and execution of Atahualpa disrupted the Inca political structure and created further confusion and fear among the Inca people.
Finally, the Spanish conquistadors were aided by other indigenous groups that lived around the Inca Empire. In fact, many indigenous groups resented Inca domination and sided with the Spanish. This essentially provided the Spanish conquistadors with extra manpower and intelligence of the local terrain and peoples.
CONQUEST OF THE INCA EMPIRE – SIGNIFICANCE
In 1532, accompanied by his brothers, and around 180 Spanish soldiers, Francisco Pizarro overthrew the Inca leader Atahualpa and conquered Peru, which ended the reign of the Inca Empire. Three years later, he founded the new capital city of Lima, which still exists today. The Inca conquest is one of the biggest conquests of the time, and is also the one that Pizarro is most well known for. The conquest was one of the most important campaigns of the Spanish colonization of the Americas because it led to a number of other spin off conquests that resulted in the campaigns into modern day places like Chile and Colombia. The Inca conquest has been compared to that of Cortes’ and the Aztecs. In fact, Pizarro was inspired by the earlier actions of Cortes and had even read Cortes’ account of his conquest of the Aztecs. However, Pizarro had fewer men and much less resources and as a result, Pizarro’s conquest of the Inca’s has been said to have been one of the most improbable military victories in recorded history.
As such, historians consider the conquest of the Inca Empire to be highly significant in world history. This is because the Inca Empire was essentially replaced by a Spanish colonial system that introduced European laws, religion, and economic structures. Spanish rule turned the regions of the Inca empire into a major source of wealth for the Spanish Crown, particularly through silver mining. The resulting labor systems used against the indigenous people were based on exploitation and led to massive suffering and depopulation of native communities. As a result, much of the Inca culture was destroyed, including temples, records, and rituals. With that said, it should be noted that some elements of Inca knowledge, such as : language (Quechua) and agricultural practices survived and continue still to this day.
