The great Inca empire, in which at the time of the colonizers there were about 12 million citizens (never call an Inca an Indian he hates it, because they don't think they are Indians they were a civilization ), while in Europe there were only 7 million, but with ignorance they managed to destroy the most organized and civilized empire in the new world.
Of course, history books that represent the thoughts of priests, Europeans and colonizers, say the opposite, as they would hate to be compared, and even inferior to an unknown culture, which was richer and more organized than the European, there is no an account of an Inca who described his pain at being forced to leave his home, his empire, and even, there is seeing his Emperor whom he treated like a god being killed in front of him, and being forced to work for a king or a God he hadn't even seen or heard of.
And phrases like that of a Franciscan priest we are forced to read in history books:“So I can say that God never created a race more full of vices and bestiality, without any mixture of kindness and culture.(...) The Indians are more idiots than donkeys, and they don't want to put any effort into anything."
This was the man who, with less than 170 soldiers under his command, defeated an entire Inca army. arrived in the new world in 1502, he participated in the expedition of Vasco Nunes de Balboa that discovered the Pacific Ocean from Panama and discovered Peru in 1527 based on information from Panamanian Indians who described to him the existence of a golden kingdom to the south.
In May 1532 he founded the colonial nucleus of San Miguel, and from there he began to act. Local Indians said that the new ruler Atahuallpa was in the mountain town of Cajamarca, about 560 km to the southeast.
With only 177 men, he began to march. Along the way he noticed some excitement among the men. Suspending the march, he announced that all those who intended to return should do so immediately "He would continue his conquest", he added "with those that remained, whether they were many or few. Nine soldiers withdrew, and the small army continued, reduced to 106 pawns. and 62 knights, but with the highest morale.
A few days later, Pizarro received an emissary from Atahuallpa himself, with gifts and a surprisingly friendly message:Atahuallpa greeted the visitors and looked forward to welcoming them to his lodgings in the mountains.
On November 15, 1532, Pizarro's army, sagging under the weight of their armor in the thin air of the Andes, spotted the plain of Cajamarca, which looked like a chessboard, and saw that two fortresses protected the city, one in the central square and the other, in a spiral shape, on the edge of the city. Atahuallpa had evacuated the city and camped 5km to the south where thousands of tents dotted the valley. At that moment, the Spaniards realized their incredible numerical inferiority. It was too late to go back.
That same day, Pizarro sent 20 knights to salute the Inca in his name. De Soto and his men galloped through the camp of the astonished natives, as they had never seen a horse.
When De Soto, through an interpreter, invited him to visit Pizarro, the impenetrable Inca did not respond or raise his eyes to the captain. According to one account, De Soto, furious, spurred his horse forward until the animal's breath stirred the red tassel of Atahualpa's headdress. The latter did not move (later, however, he would order the beheading of the bodyguards who had retreated in terror from the monster next to them).
The impasse was resolved thanks to the arrival of a more experienced diplomat, Hernando Pizarro.
Furthermore, like the Aztecs in Mexico, the Incas also had a white god, Viracocha, who had disappeared into the sea. Were these strange invaders emissaries from Viracocha who was now returning to Peru?
When at noon on the 16th of November the Incas began to leave the camp of Atahualpa, the number of warriors assembled on the plain appeared to a horrified observer to be at least 50,000! At the entrance to the city Atahualpa stopped again and considered whether or not he should enter. After a new invitation from Pizarro, the 6000 men of the first Inca wave penetrated the city.
When nearly sunset, the Inca arrived "First came a squadron of warriors wearing uniforms of various colors, like a chessboard," wrote Xeres, Pizarro's secretary. Three squads in different uniforms followed, singing and dancing. Next came the elite of the Inca army, they had metallic armor, with gold and silver crowns. Atahualpa was among these men in a litter lined with macaw feathers and decorated with gold and silver and carried on their shoulders by a large number of Incas.
Inca Civilization
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