Discuss The Causes Of Atahualpa Inca Civil War

100 Words1 Pages
Starting with the arrival of Christopher Columbus in 1492, the spread of European diseases such as smallpox, measles, bubonic plague, and influenza began to occur. While European explorers were immune to such afflictions due to generations of exposure, the natives had never encountered them and therefore died in droves. These diseases also sparked the Inca Civil War, since Sapa Inca Huayna Capac died of smallpox before he could name his heir. The struggle for power between Atahualpa and Huáscar resulted in a divided and therefore weakened empire, since many of the Incas remained loyal to Huáscar even after his defeat.