The Conquest of the Americas: A Captivating Guide to the Discovery of the New World, European Colonization, and Indigenous Resistance (European Exploration and Settlement) by History Captivating

Author:History, Captivating
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2023-12-25T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 6 – The End of the Inca Empire

“Reflect on how long my grandparents and great grandparents and I myself have looked after you, protected you, cared for you and governed—making provision that you had plenty—so do not forget us, not in your lifetimes, not in the time of your descendants. Outwardly you can give the impression of complying with their demands. Give them small tribute, whatever you can spare from your lands—for these people are so savage and so different from us that if you don’t, they will take it from you by force. I know that some day, by force or deceit, they will make you worship what they worship. When that time comes, when you can no longer resist, do it in front of them, but on the other hand do not forget our ceremonies. And if they tell you to break your shrines and force you to do so, reveal only what you have to and keep the rest hidden, close to your hearts.”

-Manco Inca

After the death of their former puppet, Atahualpa, the Spaniards knew that it would not be long before a large Inca force would be rallied by whoever turned out to be his successor. In order to maintain some sense of an advantage, Pizzaro decided to go on the offensive and take the fight to his opponents before they could effectively organize against him.

Pizarro’s camp had been bolstered by hundreds of new arrivals of Spanish explorers. Even though the Spanish were still outnumbered, it was hoped that Spanish technology would help even the odds. As such, the conquistadors fastened on their swords, grabbed their guns, hopped on their horses, and charged straight for the Inca metropolis of Cuzco.

They arrived at the Inca capital on November 14th, 1533. At this point, an Inca general called Quizquiz was issuing orders and acting as the authority over the Inca armed forces. As mentioned, this small contingent of Spanish troops was dwarfed by the massive size of the Inca army, but Pizzaro was depending on Spanish swords, guns, horses, and armor to save the day.

It was the latter that made the Spaniards so difficult for the Incas to inflict harm upon. The Incas fought with bronze-tipped maces. But whenever they clubbed the Spaniards over the heads with these traditional weapons, the Spaniards’ armored helmets reduced the severity of the blow. To be sure, many of the Spaniards likely got a bad headache that day, but the blows were not fatal or as injurious as they would have been against an unarmored foe.

The fact that the Spaniards were on horseback also made it very difficult for the Incas to target them. Hitting someone over the head with a club is hard enough at ground level, let alone when someone is towering over you on a horse. Inca arrows and stones mostly bounced off Spanish armor and had very little effect. The Spanish, however, were quite effective, as their steel swords sliced through the Incas.

The two sides briefly halted

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