The

Inca
Empire
 Background
 Empire extended along
the Pacific coast and
Andean highlands from
northern border of
modern Ecuador to
Maule River in central
Chile
 Inca originated in
village of Paqari-tampu,
about 15mi south of
Cuzco
 Official language:
Quecha
 Polytheistic religion-
Pantheon headed by
Inti-the sun god
 combined features of
animism, fetishism,
worship of nature gods
 offered food, clothing,
and drink
 rituals included forms
of divination, sacrifice
of humans and animals
 Events leading to
Rise and Fall
 1438: Manco Capac established capital at
Cuzco (Peru)
 1400-1500: Pachacuti gained control of
Andean population about 12 million people
 1525: Emperor Huayna Capac died of plague;
civil war broke out between two sons
because no successor named
 1532: Spanish arrived in Peru
 1535: Empire lost
 Francisco Pizarro
 1527: Pizarro wanted
to discover wealth;
embarked on his third
voyage to the New
World
 Sept. to Nov. 1532:

The Cajamarca
massacre- Pizarro led
160 Spaniards to
Cuzco, slaughtering
over 2,000 Inca and
injuring 5,000
 November 16,
1532: Atahualpa
captured by
Spaniards, offered
gold for his freedom.
 Pizarro accepted
more than 11 tons of
gold
($6 million+)
baubles, dishes,
icons, ornaments,
jewelry, & vases, but
never released
Atahualpa.
 July 26, 1533:
Atahualpa was killed
 Important People/Positions
 Emperors known by various titles, “Sapa Inca”, “Capac
Apu”, “Intip Cori”, or “Inca”
 Manco Capac (1000 CE)
 Sinchi Roca (1230)
 Lloque Yupanqui (1260)
 Mayta Capac (1300)
 Capac Yupanqui (1320)
 Inca Roca (1350)
 Yahuar Huacac (1380)
 Viracocha Inca (1410)
 Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui (1438-71)
 Topa Inca Yupanqui (1471-93)
 Huayna Capac (1493-1525)
 Huascar (1527-32) 
 Atahualpa (1532-33)
Manco Capac (1022-
1107)
 founder of Inca
dynasty
 declared himself Sapa
Inca, divine son of the
Sun
 skilled warrior and
leader
 chief religious leader
 exercised absolute
power
 Pachacuti (1438-1471)
 Usurped throne form
brother Inca Urcon
 Considered the founder of
the Inca Empire
 Skilled warrior and chief
religious leader
 Claimed he was divine,
son of the sun
 Exercised absolute power
 Important Positions
 Local governors responsible for
exacting labor tax which could be
paid by service in army, on public
works, or in agricultural work
 Coya carried out important religious
duties and governed when Sapa Inca
absent
 Nobles ruled provinces w/ chieftains
Inca conquered
 Political Philosophy
 policy of forced resettlement ensured political stability
 officials collected taxes, enforced laws, kept records on
a quipu (collection of knotted colored strings) which
noted dates, events, population, crops
 use of road system strictly limited to government,
military business
 all land belonged to Inca, crops allotted to specific
groups, government took possession of each harvest
 private property forbidden, crime nonexistent, citizens
never starved
 no written records; oral tradition preserved through
generations
 Economic Developments

 constructed aquaducts, cities, temples, fortresses,

short rock tunnels, suspension bridges, 2250mi
road system
 metal works of alloy, copper, tin, bronze, silver
gold
 developed important medical practices- surgery on
human skull, anesthesia
 resources-corn, potatoes, coffee, grain
 Military Expansion
 attacked, looted villages of neighboring peoples,
assessing tribute
 program of permanent conquest, establishing
garrisons among settlements of peoples whom they
conquered
 conquered and assimilated people of Brazil, Chile,
Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru
 gained territory south to the Titicaca Basin, north to
present-day Quito making subject peoples of
powerful Chancas, Quecha, kingdom of Chimu
 empire reached southernmost extent in central
Chile, last vestiges of resistance on southern
Perurian coast eliminated
 pushed northern boundary of empire to Ancasmayo
River
 Cultural Conflict &
Cooperation
 religious institutions destroyed by Spanish
conquerors’ campaign against idolatry
 Spaniards superior military technology
 horses, muskets, cannons, metal helmets,
armor, steel swords and lances
 Incan Bronze Age weapons
 llamas, clubs, sticks, wooden spears and arrows
 division & discontent among Inca, Spanish
played on old feuds
 disease brought by Europeans
 survivors felt gods were less powerful than
those of conquerors
 Incans believed that disasters marked
world’s end
 Today
 descendants of Inca are present day Quechua-
speaking peasants of Andes, constitute about 45%
population of Peru
 combine farming, herding w/ simple traditional
technology
 rural settlements three kinds: families living in midst
of fields, true village communities w/ fields outside
of inhabited centers, combination of two
 towns centers of mestizo (mixed-blood) population
 Indian community close-knit, families usually
intermarrying; much of agricultural work done
cooperatively
 religion is Roman Catholicism infused w/ pagan
hierarchy of spirits and deities
 Bibliography
 Bernhard, Brendan. Pizarro, Orellana, and the Exploration of the
Amazon. New York: Chealsea House Publishers, 1991.

 Editors of Time-Life Books. Incas: Lords of Gold and Glory. Alexandria:

Time-Life Books, 1992.

 Ellis, Elizabeth Gaynor & Esler, Anthony. World History: Connections to

Today. New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 2001.

 Ogburn, Dennis E. The Empire of the Incas. 7 Oct. 1997. 24 Feb. 2006
<http://www.millville.org/workshops_f/acker_inca/ inca.htm>

 "Inca." Encyclopedia Britannica. 2006. Encyclopedia Britannica Premium

Service. 26 Feb. 2006 <http://www.britannica.com/eb/ article?
tocId=9042237>.

 “Inca.” Grolier Universal Encyclopedia. Volume 5. New York: Grolier Inc.,

1965.