Inca Empire Decline

Most empires have lasted more than a 100 years like the Roman empire which lasted for 1500 years however that was not the case for the Inca empire. The Incas started in a small area in Peru and prospered to become one of the most influential agrarian civilizations thriving for only 100 years (Inca Empire - Google Sites). However, the Inca empire was pushed to its fall by external forces such as disease and Spanish conquistadors. Disease weakened the empire and the Spanish conquistadors took advantage of the already crumbling Inca empire and fully destroyed it.
The Inca empire's decline started when diseases such as smallpox, measles, chickenpox, and influenza spread throughout the empire killing between 50% and 90% of the population (The

The Spanish forcefully took control of the empire and brutally murdered the emperor (Inca Empire - Google Sites). The Spanish arrived in 1532 on the conquest of Peru led by Francisco Pizarro in the city of Cajamarca and they were probably interested in the Inca empire due to it astonishing high economy (Inca Empire - Google Sites). The Spanish only came with 110 men and 67 horsemen and met with the Sapa Inca Atahualpa who thought that the meeting was peaceful and that the Spanish were showing their respect to him (The Fall of the Inca Empire). However, his belief was proven incorrect very quickly when he got captured for not swearing loyalty to the King of Spain and Pope and throwing the bible on the floor. The Spanish then went on to kill and capture Incan soldiers and Atahualpa probably realised then that the Spanish were after gold and silver and were not there for peace. Atahualpa actually offered them rooms full of gold and silver as a ransom for them to let him go but sadly he was never granted his freedom and was eventually killed on August 29, 1533 (The Fall of the Inca Empire). After taking control of the city Cajamarca the Spanish went on to capture the capital, Cusco and there they picked Atahualpa's brother as the new Sapa Inca giving them a puppet that they could control to their will. The Spanish conquest was the breaking point for the empire because it completely destroyed the empire pushing it to its fall. However, there was still one factor that ruined the Inca empire but didn’t push it because it was a civil war between two brothers within the