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The Incas

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Empire

A group of areas or people under one ruler.

Civilisation

The society, culture and way of life of a particular area.

Conquistador

One of the soldiers or leaders of the Spanish or Portuguese Empires sent to the Americas during the 16th century.

Andean Mountain Range

A large group of mountains in Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina that make up the longest continental mountain range in the world.

Inca

Indigenous peoples who lived in South America, near modern-day Peru, located next to the Andes mountains.

Inca Empire

A vast empire that flourished in the Andean region of South America from the early 15th century A.D. up until its conquest by the Spanish. At its peak, its population was perhaps 10 million people.

Kingdom of Cuzco

A kingdom on the Andean mountain ranges that began as a small city-state founded by the Incas around the start of 13th century. It was succeeded by the Inca Empire.

Quipu

A method used by the Inca and other ancient Andean cultures to keep records and communicate information using string and knots.

The Andes - The longest continental mountain range in the world - running along the western edge of South America. Only the Himalayas are higher. Here, the air is thin and if you are not used to the height, it is hard to breathe and you can get very sick. The Andes is an inhospitable place. Stairways, bridges, perfectly built walls?

Terraces...a road? Who built these? Around 8000 years ago, a civilization arises here. Many different people with different languages, find unique solutions to building a society. The Andean civilization.

Ancient Andean people cultivate over 70 types of crops, as many as Asia and Europe combined... ... potatoes, tomatoes, coca, chili peppers, cotton, tobacco, peanuts... But how, the Andes are so high and dry? The Andeans construct terraced gardens and water canals - aqueducts, to carry water to places where there is none. They utilize varied ecozones from deserts to jungle to mountaintop - Creating so many different ways of farming.

They construct gigantic buildings, temples of stone. Very impressive, considering the Andean Civilization has no wheel, no draft animals, no iron, no written language. 800 years ago, in the Peruvian Andes at an altitude of 3400 meters - a small city-state, the kingdom of Cuzco, is founded by a tribe of llama herders - the Inca. They stay in Cuzco for 200 years, learning warfare and how to rule a kingdom. In 1438 a new king seizes power - - Pachacuti he’s a really good warlord administrator, who transforms the Kingdom of Cuzco into the Inca Empire.

The Inca spread out aggressively, in four directions from Cuzco. They build new roads - connect and improve old roads - appoint administrators and form armies near and far. The Inca call their empire Tawantinsuyu... "The Four Regions.” During the 56 year reign of Pachacuti and his son Túpac, the Inca Road and empire expands from Ecuador to Chile, a straight-line distance of 3,200 kilometers. Two parallel roads, one running through the mountains, the other along the coast. The Inca unite most Andean cultures into one single state.

The Inca themselves, only number 40,000 - now control an empire of 10 million - a patchwork of different languages, cultures and peoples. The Inca emperors collect taxes from their citizens. There's no written language, no actual money, in a land full of gold and silver. People pay instead in labour, potatoes and llamas. Without written language the Inca use a complex system of knotted strings “quipu”.

These quipu keep track of taxes, population and much else. In 1528 the Spanish explorer Francisco Pizarro reaches Peru. He and his crew were astonished to encounter.. ...an unimaginably grand civilization, that in many ways surpasses cities of Europe at this time. Pizarro sails back to Spain... returns to Peru in 1532 with 27 horses, 160 Spanish soldiers … conquistadors... ...

ready to conquer an empire of millions. But Pizarro finds the Inca Empire shattered by civil war, its people weakened by his European diseases. The Inca welcome the Spaniards to court. The conquistadors enter bearing guns, armor, horses - which the Inca have never seen before The Spaniards demand that the Inca emperor Atahualpa pay a tribute to their emperor Charles V. Atahualpa refuses.

He is captured, and later executed. This begins the Spanish conquest of Peru. Thousands of Inca, will die. Pizarro ships gold and silver to Spain - 25 tons from Cuzco alone. The Inca Empire became the last chapter in thousands of years of Andean civilization.

At great speed, Cuzco becomes a Spanish city. In 1572 the whole region has been completely taken over. It’s now part of the Spanish Empire.