Inca Empire

The Inca were a pre-Columbian country and empire in the Andes of South America. The word 'Inca' can also mean the emperor or king of the Inca people. The Inca Empire was called  in Quechua, which means "four regions".  

It was the largest empire in the Americas, and was large even by world standards. It existed shortly before Christopher Columbus arrived in the Americas. It lasted for 100 years, until it was conquered by Spanish soldiers in 1532 AD.  

 Overview 
The Inca were ruled by an Emperor known as the Sapa Inca. Their main language was Quechua, but since there were many different groups in the Empire, there were probably many different languages as well.  

The Empire was supported by an economy based on the collective ownership of the land. 

 Location 
The Inca ruled along the western coast of South America for a little over 100 years, until the Spanish invasion in the 16th century. 

The empire was centered around the city of Cuzco, or Qosqo, in what is now southern Peru. This was the administrative, political and military center of the empire. In later years, it became centered around Quito. 

 History 

 Growth 
The Inca Empire began around Lake Titicaca in about 1197. From 1438 to 1533, the Incas used conquest and non-violent assimilation to gain a large portion of western South America. Their empire centered on the Andean mountain ranges. It included large parts of what is now Ecuador, Peru, Bolivia, Argentina and Chile.

 Road network 
Throughout their empire, they built a network of roads and rope bridges to make travel between their communities easy.

 Beginning of Spanish rule 
In 1533, Atahualpa, the last sovereign emperor, was executed by the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. That marked the beginning of Spanish rule in South America. 

 Also see 

 Inca road system
 Inca rope bridge
 Inca Civil War

 References 

 Bibliography 
Popenoe, Hugh et al 1989. Lost crops of the Incas. Washington DC: National Academy Press.
De la Vega, Garcilaso 1961. The Incas: the royal commentaries of the Inca. New York: The Orion Press.
McNeill, William H. 2006. How the potato changed the world's history.  Social Research 66 1.

 Other websites 
 Conquest of Peru, Prescott, 1847  Full text, free to read and search, a definitive history of the Incas.  One of the most readable and engaging history books of all time.  Humankind lost a civilization of impressive societal value.
 Inca Land by Hiram Bingham (published 1912–1922)
 Inca Artifacts, Peru, and Machu Picchu  360 degree movies of inca artifacts and Peruvian landscapes.
 Inca civilization and other ancient civilizations by Genry Joil.
 Inca stone cutting techniques: theory on how the Inca walls fit so perfectly.
 Ancient Civilizations - Inca  Great research site for kids.
 Incan Ice Mummies NOVA site based on their series about the 1996 expedition that discovered Incan ice mummies.
 Incan Religion 


Category:Former empires
Category:1430s establishments
Category:1530s disestablishments
Category:Former monarchies of South America
Category:16th-century disestablishments in South America