The Conquered Incas

The Spanish Conquest was lead by Francisco Pizarro to defeat the Incas by 1535. The Incas were of a small community that survived in the mountains of southern Peru. The powerful ruler Pachakuti took control of the entire Inca community. Pachakuti created a highly centralized government. Pachakuti extended the boundaries of the Inca Empire to Ecuador, central Chile, and the edge of the Amazon basin. He divided up the land into 4 parts, and each part was ruled by a governor. The governors that were chosen to govern each quarter were usually related to the royal family. Then, at the top of everything, the emperor was believed to descend from the sun god. The Inca nation/empire was still growing when the Spanish came who were lead by Francisco Pizarro. Even though Pizarro was quite similar to Cortes, he has steel weapons, gunpowder, and horses. Since the Incas were affected by the smallpox already and they do not have any immunities to any kind of European disease, it was an advantage for Pizarro. The king died of smallpox and his sons were fighting over who can have the throne which led into a civil war. Pizarro fought against Atahualpa, who had defeated his brother’s army. Atahualpa struggled in fighting against Pizarro because he had only stones, arrows, and spear which could not conquer Pizarro’s guns and cannons. Pizarro and his soldiers along with other allies took over the Incan capital. Pizarro established a new capital at Lima to start a new colony for Spain.