St. Hugh’s High School
CAPE History Unit 1: The Caribbean in the Atlantic World
Topic: Spanish settlements in the Caribbean up to 1600. : The fall of the Inca.
Notes:
In 1527 Francisco Pizarro entered Peru. He had relatively few men and many of his weapons were defective.
Pizarro and his men advanced on the capital city, Cajamarca but to their surprise, the Inca did not attack them. When Pizarro asked the Inca leader, Atahualpa, to meet him unarmed, surprisingly again, he did.
Before long Pizarro and his men had captured the Inca leader and torn his gold headband from his head. The Spanish then used cannons to open fire on the Incas gathered in the city square. Many were slaughtered.
The Inca leader attempted to bargain for his life. He offered Pizarro a room filled with gold. Pizarro accepted the bribe but soon ordered Atahualpa killed. This he claimed he did because the Inca leader had ordered his own brother murdered while he was a prisoner (so that he would not inherit the leadership).
The Spanish then set about selecting an Inca leader that they approved of and supporting the killing of all other leadership contenders. This resulted in a constant state of war in the Inca Empire. New leaders were assassinated before they could assume control.
The Spanish gradually established control over a period of a few years. The leadership struggles had taken its toll. The political leadership of the Inca disintegrated rapidly.
The Spanish manipulated the leaders and the situation to their benefit.
Diseases also decimated the Inca Empire, in particular smallpox. 94% of the population of 14 million Inca, perished
The Incas were eventually driven into a remote mountainous area called Vitcas, where they established an independent Inca state that lasted until 1572.
HOMEWORK
Read additional sources on the fall of the Inca and answer the following questions:
1. Why was Pizarro interested in conquering the Inca Empire?
2. Describe TWO additional effects of Spanish settlement on the Inca.
3. How did the Inca resist Spanish settlement?
4. Compare the fall of the Inca with that of the Aztec.