The Wyandotte herald. (Wyandotte, Mich.) 1879-1943, 1942-12-18
Inca Empire
BY Duncan Altman

(This is the fourth Of a series Of
articles on Latin America released
through the public library.)
United now against the territorial
ambitions of a wOuld-be world con-
quering Axis, the peoples OF the II
American republics have their own
past connections with certain home
grown brands of Imperialism. When
the Spanish cOnquerOrs arrived In
South America, they found the great
Inca Empire. 1t was u peaceful civil.
zatiOn then. but it had been built on
warfare and the subjugatiOn Of saw
age tribes.
A curious combination Of fact and
legend tells the story of the Inca em
pire. For hundreds Of years 1t flour
ished on the west coast Of South Am
erica. Under successive rulers, known
as Incas, ii spread out over Peru, the
highlands of Bolivia and into Ecus
dor. o.
DespOtism was mixed with benevo-
lence under the Inca cOnQuerors. The
emperOrs and picked warriors were
mercilesS in their battles to subdue
other peoples. But once the new races
were brought under their rule, the
1ncas gave them fair and liberal laws.
There were national laws, based on
the all-pOwerful position of the state,
10 which all the people were subject.
But each conquered tribe was given
legal codes adapted to its Owp tradi-
tions. Individual groups were permit
ted TO preserve their particular Gus
toms Of conduct and dress.
The founding Of the Inca empire Is
.pelated in legend. The first ruler was
Nance Capac. He was more religious
leader than a warrior. He Travelled
about talking to the savage tribes he
met. pointing out that each would be
stronger if all were unified. In 1851
he founded CuzcO, in Peru, as the cap
ital of an empire consisting OF tribes
he had met on his journeys.
The emperOrs that came after Man
co Capac were much more warlike.
They built the walls and fortresses
whose ruins stih stand. One by one
mountains and plains bordering the
expanding empire. Wherever the Inca
armies went. roads followed. The rul-
ers believed that tying new territOry
to the heart Of the empire helped to
eliminate the possibility Of rebellion.
There were carefully constructed
stone paved highways that ran from
CuzcO to Ecuador and Chile, to the
valleys and the coast There were al
so suspension bridges spanning the
deep mountain canyons. A highly de-
velOped postal system knit community
To community After the armies came
skilled farmers and shepherds, and
with them engineers. They built con-
Quits TO bring water to arid lands, ir-
rigatiOn bitches. and terraces.
AS the kingdom expanded, its civil
zatiOn developed. Interest in the arts
and sciences grew stronger. There
were poets and scientists. master ar
chitects. pioneers I'm medicine. Edu.
cational systems were far advanced
In the 18th century. a university was
established in Cuzco which drew stu
dents from an area that now COM
prises five republics
The conquered peoples were per
mitted to continue speaking their ma
tive tongues. but all had to learn the
common language. The Incas had no
writine system. but through a method
OF transmitting ideas by special COM
binations of knots on fiber ropes. they
managed to keep the government ac-
counts and TO communicate with each
other.
This civilization was doomed when
the kingdom was divided betwsea
Huascar. the thirteenth Inca and
rightful heir and his half-brother,
Ataphualpa. They fought each other.
and Atahualpa triumphed. But barely
had he begun to rule when the Span
iards. under the swineherd con1ueror,
Francisco Pizarro. arrived. Atahual-
pa was beheaded in 1891.
More Information about the Incas
is contained in the following books.
which may be obtained at the pnbiic
Drary: "A Journey I'm Time, by
BAH Niles; Peruvian Pageant" by,
W. Fl. Prescott. "History of the Con-
Guest Of Peru" and ssThe Story OF
the American Indian" by Pant Rsdin.