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Aztec and inca demise
The causes of the fall of the Inca and the Aztec empires
Rise and fall of ancient inca
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The Collapse of the Inca Civilization The collapse of a complex society is the resultant force of rapid simplification (Tainter, 1990). Whether intrinsically or extrinsically inflicted, exploitation of the very factors with which societal complexity is achieved may initiate the collapse of a civilization (Tainter, 1990). A total of six factors signal the attainment of societal complexity (i.e., urbanization, complex economy, scientific enhancement, public architecture, state religion, and social organization). The collapse of the Inca Empire stood as an example of both intrinsically and extrinsically derived simplification of its complex society. Intrinsically, many of the factors that built societal complexity were poorly establish, predisposing …show more content…
This research paper will begin by briefly introducing the Inca civilization. It will then chronologically identify the factors compromising the Inca’s complex society, discuss the findings, and conclude by offering the author’s interpretation of the research.
The Inca Empire Existing for roughly 100 years (between 1438 and 1533), the Inca Empire was comprised of four regions collectively known as Tawantinsuyu. The four regions of Tawantinsuyu comprised a 3,000 kilometre (from Ecuador to Chile) heterogeneous landscape connected by nearly 40,000 kilometres of roads. Inca society was deeply integrated with religion. Upon death, the Inca ruler was mummified; however, the mummified ruler continued to exert his power on society. Through living mediums, the deceased ruler was able to communicate his wishes. This ceremonial connection between the living and dead was practiced in the empire’s capital, Cuzco. Cuzco was the religious, economic, and political staple of the empire.
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These events include the weakening of the Inca Empire (prior to the Spanish conquest), the capture of Atawallpa, the Spanish conquest of Cuzco, the defeat of Manco Inca’s rebellion, and the execution of Tupac Amaru. Within each major event lies many Weakening of the Inca Empire. Prior to the Spanish conquest of Cusco in 1533, the Inca Empire had been greatly weakened. The interaction between the two civilizations elicited a smallpox epidemic in Tawantinsuyu — further weakening the Empire (Bungum, 2003). The Inca Empire experienced an intrinsic threat to societal complexity: succession crisis. Rivalry among brothers for power was a frequent event as a result of their hereditary monarchy. Immediately prior to the Spanish conquest of Cusco, a violent war between Atawallpa and Waskhar (half-brothers) engulfed the entire empire. The conflict settled once Waskhar and his family were murdered; however, the wars longevity weakened the
Little is known about Pedro de Cieza de Leon’s youth. Historians have discovered that Pedro de Cieza de Leon was a Spaniard, a conquistador, and a writer of Peru’s history. Pedro de Cieza de Leon was not well educated and had only the most basic education from his local school parish (Atlantis). Although he did not have a superior education, his four part book is reliable because he wrote about what he observed as a conquistador. This document is full of interesting information for the reader to discover the Inca’s way of living.
Through the study of the Peruvian society using articles like “The “Problem of the Indian...” and the Problem of the Land” by Jose Carlos Mariátegui and the Peruvian film La Boca del Lobo directed by Francisco Lombardi, it is learned that the identity of Peru is expressed through the Spanish descendants that live in cities or urban areas of Peru. In his essay, Mariátegui expresses that the creation of modern Peru was due to the tenure system in Peru and its Indigenous population. With the analyzation of La Boca del Lobo we will describe the native identity in Peru due to the Spanish treatment of Indians, power in the tenure system of Peru, the Indian Problem expressed by Mariátegui, and the implementation of Benedict Andersons “Imagined Communities”.
Jared Diamond author of “The Ends of the World as We Know Them” highlights the reasons for the disappearance of early civilizations. Civilizations like the Mayans, Incas and Aztecs once inhabited the earth for hundreds of years, However; when these advanced civilizations reached the pinnacle of their capability, they faced tragedies such as war, unusual weather, environmental deprivation, terminated trade markets and unscrupulous leaders who contributed to the destruction of their civilization. One significant idea portrayed from Diamond’s article is that there are many factors that threaten American civilization.
Inca women autonomy was destroyed by empirical conquest. There was an inherent loss of feminine spirituality with every re-mapping of the empire’s boundaries. They lost their powerful female deities and were repaid with gendered predetermination. Men allowed conquest to detach them from the Inca belief system of balance and equality that pre-dated any need for expansion. Conquest hierarchy was enforced and unquestioned. An all though the Inca political people gained power, they lost social harmony.
Patterson, Thomas C. "Tribes, Chiefdoms, and Kingdoms in the Inca Empire.” Power Relations and State Formation (1987): 1-15,117-127.
The Inca Empire Janos Gyarmati’s Paria la Viexa and an expanding empire: Provincial centers in the political economy of the Inca Empire proved that the Inca’s built an empire unlike any other. From 1440 to 1532 A.D., the Inca Empire dominated the Americas. Known as “the fastest growing and largest territorial empire”(Gyarmati 37) of its time, the Inca Empire left a mark with their complex, perpetual and innovative economic, road, and settlement system. The Inca’s were advanced for their time, however, they lacked a system that would guarantee the survival of their kin. In order to strive, for the long-term, the Inca’s created provincial centers that would ensure their growth and economy for the generations to come.
Stuart, Schwartz B. "World of the Incas, Main Page." World of the Incas, Main Page. History World International, 2002. Web. 17 Nov. 2013. .
First, in 1521, Hernán Cortés and a small Spanish army captured the Aztec emperor along with the empire’s capital city of Tenochtitlan. Later, in 1533, another conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, executed the Incan emperor and plundered the Incan capital of Cuzco. The Spaniards’ gunpowder weapons and steel armor easily outmatched the more primitive weaponry of the indigenous Americans, who had a very limited knowledge of metallurgy. Furthermore, after taking decisive control of much of the Americas, the Spanish Crown brought over Iberian legal codes and established a bureaucratic empire, appointing officials and instituting courts. Finally, under the encomienda system, the Crown granted conquistadors large tracts of land and a number of Native American laborers, who were forced to work in plantations or mines. Under Spanish governance, indigenous groups lost a large degree of
The Inca government was one of the most efficient and complex of ancient history, Spanish conquistadors could do nothing but stand in awe while contemplating the complexity in their society. Mostly because Spaniards found many tangible resemblances between Spain's monarchy and the structural hierarchy in which the “antiquated” Incan Empire revolted around. The Incas consolidated a strong Empire based on coercion and rewards over conquered tribes that served a centralized power in Tahuantinsuyo. They were maintained in check through appointed representatives and tax collectors who were empowered to carry out punishment for crimes,
The Aztec Empire stood for many years but never expanded much, only conquering small neighboring civilizations. The Aztec Empire was founded in the 6th century and didn’t fall until 1525. The Inca Civilization was a bit different. The Inca Civilization conquered as many lands that it could but quickly fell after just 100 years. In this essay I will be comparing the government, economics, and culture in the Aztec Civilizationand the Inca Empire.
Many arguments have occurred over the centuries since the Spanish marched into the Andean highlands and took over the Incan empire, over whether the Incan's were part of an ideal human society, or just a group of tyrannical rulers. While the Incan society had created a stable political, economic, and social system in the Andean world it was far from being an ideal society. On the same note, the Incan's were not tyrannical rulers, did not exploit their subjects or take away their land for no reason. The reading entitled "Was Inca Rule Tyrannical?" discusses this argument about the Incan empire, tries to classify the form of government the Incan's lived under, and searches for the truth about what the Incan empire was really like. The truth about the Incan empire lies somewhere between the romanticized views, and the views meant to justify the Spanish conquest, while it is impossible to classify in modern terms the form of government the Incan's had.
In this essay I will tell how the Aztec and Inca empires ended, and also I will compare the fall of both empires, using for a point of departure the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in the land of Mexico. Wherever the Spanish went always the same thing happened, from my point of view. Innocent people were killed for no good reason, cities were massacred, civilizations were destroyed or forced to convert to Christianity. And so, I think now is the time to reevaluate the actions of the European explorers who subjugated the native American peoples and their civilizations. Undoubtedly the most glorified and heroically portrayed of these figures of the European conquest of the New World were the conquistadors, the Spanish conquerors of Mexico and Peru in the 16-th century. These men, under leaders such as Hernan Cortes and Francisco Pizzaro nearly eliminated the Aztec and Inca peoples. Surely many of these soldiers were extremely cruel and intolerant of the native populations. But it is important to consider, with the push of both sides toward territorial expansion, how these groups (European and American) could remain isolated from each other. Furthermore, with meeting of these two imperialist cultures, it must be considered whether it would be possible for the two to peacefully coexist.
The example of societal collapse in which I will be making reference to throughout this essay is the Maya civilization. The Maya civilization is, “probably the best known of all early American civilizations.” (Fagan, 1995) It was at its strongest point between AD 300 AND 900. Around AD 900 was the time of its collapse. This civilization was developed in a densely, tropical forest on either highlands or lowlands. Today to visit a Mayan site, people would go to the modern Mexican state, capital city of Merida. This site was once home to the “New World's most advanced Native American civilization before European arrival.” (Diamond, 2009) Over the years there has been many predictions on what had caused the Maya civilization to collapse. At the moment the most recent cause that geographers and scientists have come up with is that climate change may have had a major impact on this collapse. It is said that the rainfall received during the creation of the civilization was a key factor in the continuity of life for the Mayans. This and the addition of societal factors such as religious beliefs, ethnicity and education all had an affect on their way of life, an effect on their societal well-being. Art and architecture that was formed by the Mayans is the foundation for the archaeologists work today. They look at these features and the ruins of the buildings created to depict the kind of lifestyle they lived. Looking at the art and architecture of a specific civilization or community of the past is just one way that can help to inform future adaptations. Another way in which the Europeans received knowledge on the collapse was that they sent out geographers and researchers not long after the collapse to gather as much data and information ...
The Maya culture has a long history that started in about 1000 BC. The history of the Maya is divided up into four different time periods: The Middle Preclassic Period, Late Preclassic Period, Classic Period, and Postclassic Period. The Middle Preclassic Period was when the small areas started to become city-like in the way that they started to build larger temples. The Late Preclassic Period was when the cities began to expand with paved roads and massive pyramids. The Classic Period was the time the Maya civilization hit it’s peak. Populations were growing rapidly and the structure of politics was formed. The Postclassic Period was when warfare was on the rise and cities were being abandoned(Coe 2005). This paper will focus on the Classic Period due to the fact that that is the greatest time period in Maya history.
The factors that lead to the “collapse” of civilizations are almost directly related to those that created it. Archaeologists characterize collapse by a number of elements, some of which we have evidence for, others we do not. Most archaeologists are unsure of exactly what caused the decline of most civilizations in the ancient world, yet there are many clues to some of the events that could have contributed. The collapse of the ancient Roman Empire, the Mesoamerican Mayan, and the Egyptian cultures will be discussed in the following paragraphs, with a focus on the uniqueness of each.