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There lies Peru with its riches; Here, Panama and its poverty. Choose, each man, what best becomes a brave Castilian. — Francisco Pizarro In the 16th century, the Spaniards arrived in the Andean region of South America and over the course of only a few decades, succeeded in toppling the Tawantinsuyo, which had spanned most of the Andean region and surrounding lowlands from the south of modern-day Colombia to the north of Chile and Argentina. This article examines how the Conquistadors accomplished this task and describes the events of the twilight years of the Inca empire. Francisco Pizarro and his brothers were attracted by the news of a rich and fabulous kingdom. In 1531, they arrived to this country, which they called Peru. According to Porras Barrenechea, Peru is not a Quechuan nor Caribbean word, but Indo-Hispanic or Hybrid. At that moment, the Inca Empire was sunk in a five years war between two princes: Huáscar and Atahualpa. Taking advantage of this contingency, Pizarro carried out a “coup d’état”. On November 16, 1532, while the natives were in a celebration in Cajamarca, the Spanish Pizarro took the Inca Atahualpa prisoner by surprise, causing a great consternation between the natives and conditioning the future course of the fight. During a certain period of time, Pizarro maintained the authority of the Inca, recognizing Tupac Hualpa as the Inca at that moment. But the conqueror’s abuses made this fiction disappeared. The Spanish domination was consolidating itself as the successive indigenous rebellions were continuously bloodily repressed. The struggle to have the power, faced Pizarro and Diego de Almagro. An interminable civil war was originated. Despite of this, the Spaniards did not neglect the colonizing process. Its more significant act was the foundation of Lima in January, 1535 , from which the political and administrative institutions were organized. The necessity of consolidating a Spanish Real Authority on these territories, lead to the creation of a Real Audiencia (Royal Audience). In 1542, the Spanish created the Viceroyalty of New Castilla, that shortly after would be called Viceroyalty of Peru. Nevertheless, the Viceroyalty of Peru was not organized until the arrival of the Viceroy Francisco de Toledo in 1572. Toledo ended the indigenous state of Vilcabamba, executing the Inca Tupac Amaru. He also promoted the economic development from the commercial monopoly and the mineral extraction, mainly, from argentiferous mines of Potosí. He took advantage of the Inca institution called “mita” to put the native communities under a cruel economic enslavement. The Viceroyalty of Peru became the richest and powerful Spanish Viceroyalty of America in the XVIII century. The creation of the Viceroyalties of New Granada and Rio de la Plata (at the expense of its territory), the commerce exemptions that moved the commercial center from Lima to Caracas and Buenos Aires, and the fall of the mining and textile production determined the progressive decay of the Viceroyalty of Peru. These events created a favorable climate so that the emancipating ideas had an effect on the Creoles.
Background For a discussion of Inca civilization, see Inca Empire. By the 16th century, the Inca empire had seen many years of strong leadership. Huayna Capac, the Inca in power when Europeans began to arrive in South America, was respected and admired throughout the empire. Both Huayna Capac and his designated heir died, most likely of smallpox. The ensuing war of succession between the Panakas (royal lines) weakened the Inca leadership and contributed to its speedy downfall. At the centre of the conflict were the two main contenders, Huascar and Atahualpa, who were both sons of Huayna Capac. Huascar may have been proclaimed the new emperor, though no records remain to confirm that he was indeed the intended heir. Regarded as ugly, bad-mannered and half-mad, Huascar was known for his cruelty and came close to murdering his sister and mother. Nonetheless, he was well-liked in the southern regions of the empire. Atahualpa, on the other hand, was chosen to govern the northern territory known as the Kingdom of Quito, which was located in modern-day Ecuador and southern Colombia. After a few years of relative peace, war broke out between the two brothers. It is estimated that 100,000 people were killed in this bloodthirsty dispute known as the War of the Two Brothers. After many struggles, Atahualpa finally defeated Huascar. Atahualpa himself teetered towards insanity and treated the losers terribly. Many had stones dropped on their backs to cripple them, fetuses were ripped from wombs and bodies were stuck on spikes for display, and nearly 1,500 members of the royal family were cut up in front of Huascar, including his own children. After sending Huascar to prison, Atahualpa took the throne. He paid a terrible price for his cruelty, as it had contributed to the weakening of the empire. It was at this critical moment in the empire's history that the Spanish conquistadors under Francisco Pizarro arrived and after three long expeditions had already established the first Spanish settlement in northern Peru, calling it San Miguel de Piura on July of 1532. Pizarro sent his fellow conquistador, Hernando de Soto, to explore the land and soon returned with an envoy from the emperor Atahualpa, bringing presents and an invitation for a meeting with the Spanish. The Spanish conquest
Rebellion and reconquest The situation went quickly downhill. As things began to fall apart, many parts of the Inca Empire revolted, some of them joining with the Spanish against their own rulers. After Atahualpa's execution, Pizarro installed Atahualpa's brother, Tupac Huallpa, as a puppet Inca ruler, but he soon died unexpectedly, leaving Manco Inca Yupanqui in power. He began his rule as an ally of the Spanish and was respected in the southern regions of the empire, but there was still much unrest in the north near Quito where Atahualpa’s generals were amassing troops. Atahulapa's death meant that there was no hostage left to deter the these northern armies from attacking the invaders. Led by Atahualpa’s generals Rumiñahui, Zope-Zupahua and Quisquis, the native armies inflicted considerable damage on the Spanish. In then end, however, the Spanish succeeded in re-capturing Quito, effectively ending any organized rebellion in the north of the empire. Manco Inca initially had good relations with Francisco Pizarro and several other Spanish conquistadors. However, in 1535 he was left in Cusco under the control of Pizarro’s cousins Juan and Gonzalo, who so mistreated Manco Inca that he ultimately rebelled. Under the pretense of performing religious ceremonies in the nearby Yucay valley, Manco was able to escape Cusco. Diego de Almagro, originally one of Francisco Pizarro's party, returned from his exploration of Chile, disappointed in not finding any wealth similar to that of Peru. King Charles_I_of_Spain of Spain (Holy Roman Emperor Charles V) had awarded the city of Cuzco to Pizarro, but Almagro attempted to claim the city nonetheless. Manco Inca hoped to use the disagreement between Almagro and Pizarro to his advantage and organized the recapture of Cusco in 1536. However, Inca revolts such as these were of a small-scale and short-lived, and the Incas leadership did not have the full support of all its subject peoples. Spanish reinforcements arrived and took the city once again. After the Spanish regained control of Cuzco, Manco Inca and his armies retreated to the fortress at Ollantaytambo. When it became clear that they were outnumbered and defeat was imminent, they retreated further to the mountainous region of Vilcabamba, where the Manco Inca continued to hold some power for several more decades. His son, Túpac Amaru, was the last Inca. After deadly confrontantions, he was murdered by the Spanish in 1572. The Spaniards destroyed almost every Inca building in Cuzco, built a Spanish city over the old foundations, and proceeded to colonize and exploit the former empire. In total, the conquest took about forty years to complete. Many Inca attempts to regain the empire had occurred, but none had been successful.Thus the spanish conquest was achieved through relentless force, zealous fanatism and deceit aided by factors like small pox and a great communication and cultural devide. The Spaniards displaced most of the Incan past and imposed the Spanish culture on the native population. In fiction The conquest of the Incas is dramatized in Peter Shaffer's play The Royal Hunt of the Sun. In the play, Pizarro, Atahualpa, Valverde and other historical figures appear as characters. The conquest is also used as a starting point for the Matthew Reilly novel Temple, where the siege of Cusco is used. Many historical figures are mentioned, especially with Pizarro who is mentioned as the pursuer of the protagonist. Quotes See also | ||||||||||
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