The
Incas were the rulers of the largest native empire of the
Americas. Near the end of the 14th century the empire began
to expand from its initial base in the Cuzco region of the
southern Andes mountains of South America. It ended abruptly
with the Spanish invasion led by Francisco Pizarro (pictured
left) in 1532. At the time of its demise the empire
controlled an estimated 12 million people in much of what is
now Peru and Ecuador as well as in large parts of Chile,
Bolivia, and Argentina - a considerable feat for they lacked
such commonplace aids to communication as the horse (only
introduced to the Americas by the Spanish during the
conquests) and the wheel.
It is theorized that, though still expanding when the Spanish arrived, the Inca empire was approaching a series of geopolitical limits that would preclude further expansion. Inca rule was predicated on a relatively stable sedentary life that provided both a system for political control and the basis around which the production of the goods needed to sustain the state could be organized. Inca incursion into the eastern jungles and other lightly populated areas was never successful; the effort required to exert control was too great, and the resources were not sufficiently concentrated to be easily mobilized.
The
death of ruler Huayna Capac in 1527 plunged the Inca state
into civil war. No fixed system for determining the
succession of rulers appears to have been set up. Atahualpa,
who had been with his father in the north, claimed that
Huayna Capac had decided to divide the kingdom, setting up a
new northern capital at Quito that Atahualpa would rule. His
brother Huascar claimed from Cuzco to be the legitimate ruler
of the entire realm. Atahualpa finally won the bloody war and
was on his way to Cuzco in 1532 to claim the whole kingdom
when the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived. The
Incas allowed Pizarro and a contingent of about 150 soldiers
to enter the regional capital at Cajamarca, where Atahualpa
and his army were camped. The Spaniards were able to take the
Inca ruler captive.
In a vain attempt to save Atahualpa, his subjects assembled one of the largest ransoms in history, an estimated $30 million worth of gold and silver. He was executed by garroting, however, eight months after his capture.
