The Inca were one of the largest empires of the Andean region. They started as a small tribe and quickly grew into the large empire they are known as today. Many factors contributed to the swift success of the Inca; however, the Inca government was the most crucial element in their uprising. The Inca were able to become a successful empire, in terms of stability and growth, due to their government, which provided them the ability to conquer surrounding territories, exercise control over the Inca people and their controlled territories, as well as being able to tax the people in creative and unique ways.
The Inca were able to become a large empire due to their effective conquering of surrounding territories. The first Inca emperor, Pachacuti (or Pachacutec) led the beginning expanses of the Inca Empire primarily through the conquest of surrounding regions. Pachacuti
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He also made use of gifts and promises in order to convince surrounding tribes to peacefully join the empire, so as not to expend troops (Benson). Pachacuti was succeeded by his son, Topa Inca, in terms of leading conquests. Topa Inca, however, focused more on expanding northwards, into the Chimú territory, one of their main Andean rivals (Mcewan). Topa Inca was able to completely take over the Chimú’s territory, eliminating one of their main rivals, and allowing the Inca empire to grow more freely, proving the effectiveness of conquest. Additionally, adding to the series of successions, Huayna Capac, Topa Inca’s son, strived to push the borders of the empire north and east, however, he annexed much less land compared to Topa Inca (Mcewan). Opposing armies were faced with a choice at the end of battle: to join the Inca empire or to refuse. If a tribe were to refuse the Inca, they would be faced with slaughter or