The Inca was a vast Latin American medieval-times civilization covering 2500 miles which extends from Northern Ecuador to central Chile. This extensive civilization lasted for nearly a century and left behind its ingenuity in innovative agricultural production and architectural wonders that had lasting impacts until now. The purpose of this article is to explore how or why a once-powerful civilization like the Inca ruined.
Origins and Expansion of the Inca Empire
Historical and geographical context: location in the Andes Mountains.
The Incas were South American Indian civilization. It was located in today’s Peru with its capital Cusco surrounded by several other present-day states including Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina.
Foundation myth: Manco Cápac and the role of Cusco as the capital
Manco Capac is a legendary figure of the Incas. According to the Inca legend, he was a demi-god sent by the Inca Sun God Inti to teach the Andean peoples agriculture and how to live in harmony with mother nature. He established the Inca capital Cuzco, and became the first Inca Emperor Sapa Inca. He had a sister and wife Mama Occalo, who also played a significant role in spreading the Inca civilization.
This South American Indian Civilization’s nucleus was its capital Cuzco. The capital was located at a strategically important place at the center of the Empire which allowed the Inca leadership to oversee the entire Empire. The Incas believed their capital was at the navel of the world from where spiritual power was propagating. The Cuzco served as the political center of the Empire. It means only the Emperor, and aristocrats were allowed to live here. The real importance of this medieval time city lies in its architectural achievements which laid the foundation for future modern times city with palatial houses, paved roads, and rivers. The Inca masons were skilled users of stones as they knew how to assemble them to create smooth, rectangular blocks.
Strategies for expansion: diplomacy, military conquest, and integration of conquered peoples
In the early 15th century, the Incas were a small tribe living in the Cusco Valley in the Andean region of South America. However, driven by their desire for more resources, territorial security, and to spread their ideological beliefs, they adopted a successful conquest strategy that included both military force and strategic alliances that resulted in the expansion of the Inca Empire across the Andes mountains.
Diplomacy
The Incas were master of diplomacy. They utilized several diplomatic skills to expand their Empire into entire Western South America.
Negotiations
The Incas prioritized negotiations to settle issues like trade and tribute agreements, thereby maintaining a peaceful relationship with their neighbors.
Gift Exchanges
To win the hearts and minds of foreigners, the Incas presented them with lavish gifts and persuaded them to integrate peacefully with the Empire.
Inter-marriages
The Incas established nuptial bindings between their leaders and the leaders of other kingdoms by making arranged marriages with each other.
Relocations
The Incas transferred problems, causing people to move to areas where they would find like-minded inhabitants or to a new location completely.
Psychological Tactics
The Incas inflict emotional damage on rival tribes to yield.
Military Conquest
Military conquest was the Inca’s main strategy to expand their Empire. Utilizing the force of a powerful army, from 1438 to 1533, the Empire stretched 2500 miles covering modern-day Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador, Chile, Argentina, and Colombia which made it one of the largest Kingdoms of medieval times.
Integration of Conquered People
Integration of the conquered people with the Inca Empire was the last step to complete the annexation of an occupied territory. The Incas established an official language, built extensive road networks, set up a central government, and promoted a unified religion to assimilate a conquered territory peacefully.
Key Achievements
The Inca civilization is renowned for its achievements in innovative agriculture, infrastructure development, and architectural establishment.
Agriculture
The Incas invented several agricultural methods that yielded enough food to feed 12 million people. It was a remarkable success for the empire since famine was inevitable if they failed to produce enough food for the entire population.
Terracing
The Incas turned hillsides into arable lands by carving flat steps. These flat steps prevent soil erosion and protect people from dying from landslides. An intricate irrigation system was built to control the water flow through the terraces that supply water even to the lower terraces.
Crop Rotation
The Incas’ cultivation process relied on crop rotation techniques to preserve soil fertility and protect crops from pests.
Freeze-Drying
The Incas applied a process called ” Chunno” to dry potatoes for long-term consumption. The process involved freezing, and subsequent melting of potatoes by using elements like the freezing temperature of night, and heat from daytime Sunlight. This freezing and melting process was carried out several times to make the potatoes moisture-free. The resultant product of the Chunno process was dried potatoes that could be consumed for a long time.
Crop Variation
The Incas produced a mixed variety of foods including potatoes, sweet potatoes, Cocoa, maize, beans, and pepper.
Livestock
The Incas grew Llamas and Alpacas for meat, wood, transportation, and leather.
Storage
The Incas built tens of thousands of buildings or goolqa in the Inca terms to store their food. These storages were built near large states, population centers, and roadside stations.
Architectural Achievements
The Incas were the masters of architecture with their superb knowledge. Thanks to their innovative architectural expertise, they developed many architectural wonders without using modern construction equipment and wheels. Their earth-quake-resistant infrastructure lasted for 500 years. Many modern buildings still use the Inca construction technique. Prominent Inca architectural achievements are
Machu Picchu
Machu Picchu is like the pyramid of the Incas. It is a city at the top of a mountain peak with many carefully preserved residential buildings. The city’s center of attraction is the Temple of the Sun, which is a solar observatory, and a religious site for prayer. Machu Picchu is a UNESCO world heritage site.
Ashlar masonry
It is an advanced construction technique invented and applied by the Incas’ which involved making stable structures by cutting stones and fitting them tightly without the use of mortar.
Qhapac Nan
It was an extensive road network covering 25000 miles serving like an essential artery of the Empire utilized for trade, communication, and military movement.
Socio-political Structure
Governance: Rule of the Sapa Inca as a divine Ruler
The Sapa Inca is a hereditary title that implies the absolute ruler of the Inca Empire. It is more like a Monarch, where the title is passed from father to son. However, according to the Inca custom, this supreme designation did not always pass from the father to the eldest son. Father selects the next ruler among his sons whom he considers to be the perfect replacement of himself. The Sapa Inca was as revered as God. He was thought of as the son of God Inti. As an absolute power of the Empire, the Sapa Inca oversaw every aspect of the kingdom including religion, politics, administration, and Engineering works.
Administrative Efficiency
Although the Incas lived in a primitive society in swathes of the Andean highlands, they had an effective, and highly organized government. The Inca government built on an administrative hierarchy that relied on several important state organizations. Like today’s modern country, the Inca government in conjunction with state organizations, the Empire runs effectively. A few of the Inca government’s administrative ministries were
The Quipu System
No administration is possible without the use of an official language by which inhabitants and different government organizations would communicate with each other. Since the Inca had no official language, the Quipu or Kipu which was the knotted strings of various fibers, and colors served as the written language of the Empire. These knotted strings store and communicate information. The Quipu system may sound simple making of strings and knots, however, the concept was extremely intricate and accurate used as a medium of exchanging valuable information everything from histories to accounting. The Quipos were made from cotton or camelid fibers which makes it easy to send information over long distances and store information for a long time.
The Labor taxation(Mita)
The Incas’ Mita system was equivalent to today’s tax system. The inhabitants of the Empire used to pay Mita by doing physical labor whether it be constructing a road, building an architectural marvel, or making terraces for agricultural production. General people, however, were not forced to work under the Mita system. They did Mita labor for mutual benefits which means both people and state benefitted from the work. Despite Mita being praised as a means for building an equitable society, the system was not completely free of criticism. Some Mita laborers were burdensome for workers, while the elite class also exploited the poor citizens which means the system was plagued with discrimination against labor.
Regional Governance
The Inca had a centralized government with its capital Cuzco which was used as the resident of ruling class. It was a vast Empire which extends from Quito in the North to Santiago in the South. The Empire was a home of 10 million people who spoke in 30 different languages. Although 40,000 Elite Incas were assigned to rule the Empire, however, they were not enough to govern the entire Kingdom. Consequently, the centralized government utilized a vast network of local administrators to rule every corner of the Empire.
Cultural and religious cohesion
The Inca had a multi-ethnic society with more than 100 different ethnic groups. Religion played a significant role in maintaining cohesion in such a diverse community. Despite the existence of so many ethnic groups, their faith became common as they prayed to different gods for different purposes. This polytheistic civilization, for example, had several gods including the Sun god Inti, the moon goddess, the thunder god, and the earth mother.
The Fall of the Inca Empire
Internal Factors Succession disputes, civil war
Following the death of Sapa Inca, Huayna Capac in 1527, most probably from Smallfox, a power vacuum created in the Inca Empire which triggered a civil war between two half-brothers Huascar and Atahualpa to settle the issue regarding who would Succeed the King. This internecine war along with several deadly highly contagious diseases brought by the Spanish invaders decimated a significant portion of the native Inca population. The Spanish aggressive invader Pizzaro fully exploited the weakened state of the Inca Empire by capturing and executing Atahualpa in 1532 which essentially sacked the kingdom. By the fag end of the Empire, the Inca Emperor Manco Capac denied the Spanish invasion for a short period of time. However, the final curtain of the Empire fell with the capturing and execution of the Inca Empire Tupac Amaru by the invading Spanish forces in 1572.
External Factors
The Arrival of the Spanish Led by Fransisco Pizzaro
Founded in 1438, in less than a century, the Inca Empire became America’s largest civilization, occupying a vast region of 25000 miles and a population of 12 million people. However, by the end of the second decade of the 1500s, the Empire started to decline for several reasons including failure to integrate the conquered people with the Kingdom, civil war between two half-brothers over who would succeed the Inca throne, and fatal highly contagious diseases brought by the Europeans that took millions of people lives. In such a crumbling state of the Empire, Pizzaro arrived in Peru with less than 200 men whose only objective was acquiring Inca treasure. Although Pizzaro himself was not a great warrior, however, blessed with superior weapons and tactics, in conjunction with the help of distraught locals who were keen to overthrow the Inca Emperor, he captured the capital Cusco and executed the Inca king Atahualpa which essentially ended the great south American civilization.
Legacy of the Inca Empire
Cultural and architectural remnants: ongoing influence in modern Peru
More than 500 years ago, the Inca Empire went into oblivion with the toppling of this civilization by the Spanish conquerors. However, modern-day Peru retains many Inca traditions, architectural techniques, and cultural practices. Rural people firmly clung to the Inca traditions which is evident since most of these archaic practices are alive there. Gaudy clothing may not be the taste of modern-day people, however, Indigenous Peruvians’ favorite attire is colorful clothing which is a hallmark of the Inca traditions. The Inca civilization must be admired for its innovative architectural knowledge and establishments. The Incas proved their exceptional architectural mastery by making structures with aesthetic design and earth-quake-resistant. Modern-day Peruvians continue this Inca architectural legacy by using similar construction materials and techniques in present-day structures.
The history of the Inca civilization is worth reading because it teaches us several important lessons. The Inca Empire is an ideal model of a successful Empire. Today’s rulers can learn many administrative processes from the Inca rulers. Their agricultural methods, and architectural knowledge captivates modern-day people. It is certain that the indelible mark in the world’s history created by the Inca will not erase soon.
