Last Updated on September 16, 2022
Who Conquered the Inca Empire? The answer might surprise you. You may think that Atahualpa, Montezuma, and Manco Inca were the great Inca rulers. But there are many other fascinating Incas who ruled over Peru. Learn about their history and their role in the world today. Listed below are some of their most important battles. But who was their greatest conqueror?
Francisco Pizarro
The story of how Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incan Empire begins in 1532, when the Spanish explorer landed on the coast of South America and established the first European settlement in Peru, San Miguel de Picura. At the time, the Inca Empire was on the verge of collapse after a five-year war between two brothers, Atahualpa and Huascar. During this time, Pizarro was inspired by tales of the New World and found a passion for exploration and discovery.
In 1528, Pizarro and his men made slow progress in the area, reaching the Tumbez people near the borders of the Inca Empire. Pizarro decided to return and mount a third expedition, but the Panamanian governor had lost faith in him and the Spanish king did not give his troops the trust they needed to advance to the Inca Empire. Pizarro traveled to Spain in order to gain the support of the king. After successfully conquering Tumbes, he set up a new settlement, San Miguel, and made his first contact with the rulers of this empire.
The Inca Empire was in the grip of civil war when Pizarro landed on their territory. In 1528 CE, the Inca’s last emperor, Wayna Qhapaq, had died of illness and was being reinstalled by his half-brother, Huascar. Atahualpa had a few loyal men who helped the king settle the kingdom. As a result, Pizarro and his men were able to capture Huascar’s crown and take over the rest of the empire.
In 1524, the Incas were under a major political dispute and Pizarro was determined to resolve the issue. Pizarro’s first major victory, the siege of Cusco, centered in Peru, was a stunning triumph. The Inca empire’s collapse was made possible by the Spanish abuses of power and the ruthless repression of indigenous rebellions.
Atahualpa
The process by which Atahualpa conquered and consolidated the Inca Empire began much earlier than is commonly believed. In fact, the process was much longer than the Incas’ historical documents indicate. The Incas developed their state-level society in the Cuzco area over a period of two centuries. The empire as an expansionist polity probably started in the 15th century.
Pizarro and Atahualpa had met for drinks and arranged a plot to capture each other. They used the labyrinth-like architecture of the Inca town to set up an ambush. Atahualpa was caught, and was sentenced to death by fire. He offered to pay a ransom in return for his release, but Pizarro refused to pay the price.
Before the Inca peace, the people of the highlands lived at high elevations and were often remote from the fertile agricultural lands of the valley. After the Inca peace, they were resettled to dispersed settlements on the plains, where they could follow farming strategies. They were more successful than their predecessors in this regard. It is not clear how long Atahualpa lived in the Inca Empire, but it was certainly long enough to make the people of the valley envious.
As soon as Atahualpa captured Waskar, he imprisoned him, killed his kin group, and destroyed the Inca quipu records. Huascar’s forces had about the same number of soldiers as Atahualpa’s, but were younger and less experienced. The battle was prolonged for six years, and ultimately Atahualpa’s forces pushed past the gates of Cuzco. The king then stepped aside to allow the Spaniards to settle in Peru.
Montezuma
The Spanish conquistador Montezuma, who is also known as Huayna Capac, is one of the most infamous people of all time. He conquered the Inca Empire in 1532 and was able to establish a vast empire by the time he was finished with it. However, there are several things that Montezuma did not do that would make him a worthy conqueror.
First, he accompanied the half-brother Paullu on an expedition that did not bring him the riches he had hoped for. While the Spanish had been occupying Cuzco, he had heard of the rebellion and promised to punish the wrongdoers. The Spanish armed the Manco’s army to seize Cuzco and install himself as the Inca.
After the Spanish arrived, Montezuma’s empire was extended to Honduras and Nicaragua. However, the growing demands for tribute caused Montezuma’s empire to shrink. To overcome this, he arranged numerous expeditions and extensive conquests. He was also deferring to the god Huitzilopochtli, the sun and war. This god instilled the habit of fatalism in Montezuma through astrologers.
After capturing the city of Tahuantinsuyu, Montezuma sent Huayna Capac’s corpse to Cuzco, where Huascar had remained after the plague killed the emperor. This caused trouble with succession, so the court tried to hide the fact. Huascar’s mother eventually returned to Cuzco, informing the emperor’s court of her son’s succession.
Cortes and Montezuma were considered gods by the Aztecs. While Montezuma denied having any involvement in the killings, the Spaniards continued to protect him and continued his rule. While he ruled the empire, he was also forced to perform human sacrifices. The Spanish also took gold from the Incas’ ruins. A decade after Cortes’s conquest, Montezuma had been unable to return to Tenochtitlan.
Manco Inca
In 1542, the Spanish invaders forced the last Inca emperor, Manco Capac, to flee to the Inca capital of Cuzco. Although he was a noble man, he did not want to be a puppet. However, the Spanish invaders were coarse and greedy and took advantage of the Incas’ religious and ceremonial duties to steal more gold and silver. The Spaniards also killed the Viceroy, Blasco Nunez de Vela, and a number of other leaders.
Initially, the Spanish had good relations with Manco Inca. They had even trained his troops and officers in Spanish methods of warfare. After Manco’s death, however, they abandoned their training. The Spanish took advantage of the Incas’ lack of vision and allowed future rogue leaders to take advantage of the situation. As a result, the Inca Empire collapsed. Manco Inca was killed by a Spanish viceroy in 1544.
The Spanish were in the middle of a civil war, and Manco’s forces were outnumbered and unprepared. Manco Inca had two good commanders in his army. He sent Quizo Yupanqui to the conquistador settlement in Lima while the rest of his army remained in Cuzco. The two men were the most flexible in the northern campaign, but Manco was not aware of the conditions required for such a victory.
Manco Inca plotted a sabotage scheme against the conquistadors. In exchange for gold statues, he promised to return the Huaina Capac statue. But Pizarro thought the Incas were plotting to expel the Spanish, so Manco was imprisoned. Manco then assembled a massive army outside of Cuzco. He besieged the city on Easter, 1536, but Spanish troops took Sacsayhuaman fortress.
Captain Illa Tupac
Capt. Illa Tupac was the captain of the Inca ship, Manco. He led the resistance against the Spanish in Huanuco, and later led an expedition to drive the Spanish from their coast. He also participated in an attack against the Quives, and eventually was killed in the conflict. Despite his death, Illa Tupac’s name is still used in the modern world to remind people of Inca history.
In 1521, the Incas repelled an attack from the Huancavelicas, a group of South Sea Indians. They were able to capture many gold pieces and a great number of people. Their leader, Yupanqui, was left with an army of slaves. In 1532, he commanded the army on land. The Incas later conquered Peru, and Captain Illa Tupac had his own army of 4,000 warriors.
In 1525, Captain Illa Yupanqui killed his elder brother Inca Urco. He then went to the town of Cuyos, which was the chief place of the province Cuyo-suyu. These towns are still deserted today. Huayna Capac’s son, Tupac Inca, carried on the conquest of the Inca Empire and expanded it throughout the world. Captain Illa Tupac’s conquests continued under the Topa Inca.
The Manco Inca had two commanders, and they were both capable of leading the army. Manco Inca sent Quizo Yupanqui to attack the conquistador settlement at Lima, and the rest of his army to Cuzco. However, he failed to recognize the conditions that made northern campaigns successful. This led to the loss of one of the most important leaders in the Inca Empire.
About The Author
Pat Rowse is a thinker. He loves delving into Twitter to find the latest scholarly debates and then analyzing them from every possible perspective. He's an introvert who really enjoys spending time alone reading about history and influential people. Pat also has a deep love of the internet and all things digital; she considers himself an amateur internet maven. When he's not buried in a book or online, he can be found hardcore analyzing anything and everything that comes his way.