Inca Empire Research Paper

Vanessa Zelaya

Hume Core

January 30, 2017 [Title]

During the mid-1500s the Incas were going through the Civil War that was fought after the death of Huayna Capac. The war was fought by his two sons, Huascar and Atahualpa, who were fighting to see who was going to be king of the Inca Empire since Huayna did not leave a clear heir. During this time, the Inca empire was divided since the two brothers had both taken over different parts of the empire. Huascar was the king of the Southern part of the Inca Empire while Atahualpa was the king of the Northern section of the empire. The Civil War ended when Atahualpa defeated Huascar and became the official king of the entire Inca Empire. While all of this was going on, the Spaniards were on their

In order for them to keep track of what each person bought, the Incas used a system called the Quipu. The Quipu system played a significant role as to why the Incas were considered powerful. It was not only used to keep record of things that the people purchased, but it was also their way of recording any type of information. It was a cord that consisted of various knots made of many colors, sizes and shapes.

Hernando also describes their form of worship and who they would worship. Some of them would worship “the sun, others for that of old Cuzco, the father of Atahualpa.” He goes on by also stating that “their sacrifices [would] consist of sheep and chica, which they pour out on the ground.” Hernando does an exemplary job in describing what he saw throughout his time in the Inca Empire before he was ordered to return to Spain and give the king a detailed explanation of everything that

The Governor approved but noticed that after a while, Atahualpa never showed up. He then found some Indians and tortured them in order to receive information about Atahualpa’s whereabouts. In doing this, the Spaniards are supporting conquest because they are doing what it takes to get information out of them and use to their advantage. The Indians told him “that Atahualpa was waiting for the Governor in the mountains to give him battle” and this was the beginning of the Governor’s preparation for the confrontation between Atahualpa and himself. The Governor prepared all his men with the weapons that they had brought, even if they had both agreed to come unarmed. On the other hand, Atahualpa was also preparing his men; however, his men did not have the same weapons that the Christians did. Although most of the weapons that the Spaniards brought with them were useless, they did have crucial weapons that were essential to the capture of Atahualpa. Them showing up with weapons supports conquest because they were ready to fight the Incas if it was necessary so that they can begin to conquer their land. The Incas only showed up with some darts and sling stones while the Spaniards had guns. The fact that they also show up prepared portray a resistance to conquest. The Incas do not want to be conquered by the