translate English to German: Inca kings of Cusco made Quechua their official language and, with Inca conquest in the 14th century , the Empire's language became pre-Columbian Peru's lingua franca. By the time of the Spanish conquest , in the 16th century , the language had already spread throughout the Andean region.
Den größten Anteil an den Sprechern hat dabei Peru, gefolgt von Bolivien und Ecuador, während in den anderen Ländern nur kleine Minderheiten die Sprache beherrschen.