The Fall of the Incan Empire
It is very difficult to understand, how a powerful
empire like The Incan was conquered by a few
Spanish headed by the useless Pizarro. Because of
this uncertainty, many hipothesis, some of them
very stupid, were made.
Some people said the guns were fundamental to kill
the Incan soldiers. The Incan Empire had an Army
of a half million men. Could 50 shooters defeat
them?
I really donīt think so. Others said that the indians
were afraid of the horses. This hipothesis is as
wrong as another one that says that the Empire was
defeated because God wanted it so the Spanish
could bring the Catholic religion to our land.
Now we know what really happened. Pizarro
couldnīt have arrived at a better moment. The
empire was in the middle of a civil war between
Atahualpa and Huascar.
The Incan Civil war was caused by the rivalty
between Cuzco and Tumipampa, the new capital
City. Huaynacapac, the former Inca, founded
Tumipampa in Ecuador as a new capital of the
empire, because Cuzco was far away from the
northern territory. When he died, his son Huascar,
who was born in Cuzco, wanted the crown, but
also Atahualpa, who was born in Timipampa,
wanted it.
A violent war between them occurred, and as a
result of this the empire lost its power. Because of
this, all the tribes that were conquered by the Incas,
sublebated themselves against the empire. When
Pizarro arrived, the Chaucas, one of these tribes,
saw him as a way to unify all the tribes against the
Incas. They joined him and so did many other
native tribes that had been conquered by the Incas.
This made Pizarro's army strong enough to defeat a
weakened Incan empire.
In conclusion, the Spanish didnīt defeat the Incas,
the Incas defeated themselves from the inside.
By Emilio Rueda, age 16
Santa Maria Marianistas School, Lima, Peru
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