How Did Inca Atahualpa Confront Pizarro's Men Without Weapons

Eliza Franklin Ninth Grade History Murdock April 26, 2024.

Why did Inca Atahualpa confront Pizarro's men without weapons?

Within 200 years of this moment, 95% of all native people in the Americas will be dead. While this is in part due to the massively destructive pandemics brought by the Spanish, it was also a side effect of the multiple conquests of empires in South America. We see the Aztec Empire fall, followed by the Inca Empire shortly after. The Inca Empire fell after Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro captured and killed leader Inca Atahualpa in 1533. These conquests laid the groundwork for colonial regimes that would transform the Americas. But how is it possible to bring an extensive, developed empire to its knees with so little

How did an empire like this begin as a small tribe relocating to Peru? After migrating north into Peru in 1200 CE, what started as a small Inca tribe grew into what became the most powerful pre-Hispanic empire in only three centuries (Lockhart). At its peak, the Inca Empire spread across ancient Ecuador, northern Chile, Bolivia, Peru, southern Colombia, and northern Argentina. Overall, the empire covered 5,500 km (3,400 miles) from north to south, and governed some 10 million subjects, with over 30 languages spoken amongst them (Cartwright). Flourishing between 1400 and 1533 CE, the Inca Empire was the largest empire ever seen in the Americas and the largest in the world at that time (Cartwright). The Inca accumulated extensive amounts of gold, silver, and other wealth through imperialism, military conquest, and strong government. Lockhart is a member of the National Association of Architects. The people called the Inca Empire Tawantinsuyo, meaning 'Land of the Four Quarters' or 'The

It wasn’t long until things started to go downhill. We see problems begin to take shape with the arrival of the Spanish. Conquistadors had been in South America for only a small amount of time when they reached the Ecuadorean coast in 1531. They moved slowly south for 15 years until finally reaching the Inca Empire (Cohen/George, 117). Because the Inca Empire was a fairly new addition to South America, and had only been around for 50–60 years, it was not yet well known or respected. Most likely, there wasn't much of an identity to "Inca", either conquered people or subjects of the Inca Empire themselves (Cohen/George, 117). The Inca Empire was vulnerable to invasions from outsiders because it was still relatively new. People surrounding the empire hadn't accepted it as a real, strong force and it was still seen as a thing that was possible to resist. This meant that it would have been easy to ally with the people in the area against the Inca Empire (Cohen/George, 117). Francisco Pizzaro, the Spanish commander, understood the condition of affairs surrounding the Inca Empire and likely used it to his advantage. He offered aid to local lords who did not accept