History of the Inca Empire DOCUMENTARY

[Music] on the edge of western south america wedged between Earth's driest desert largest rainforest and second-highest mountain range lay a sprawling Empire the Inca through ingenious engineering and strict central planning forged one of the world's most unusual empires it was the largest empire in the pre-columbian americas without a written language the wheel or money and one of the only empires to stretch upwards rather than across in this video we will look at how the Inca rose to power from unknown origins and dominated their region when Columbus arrived in the Americas in 1492 he was unaware that about 2,000 kilometers away lay a bustling Empire of 2 million square kilometers tahu ant in Cu the land of the four quarters as the Inca called their realm included parts of modern Colombia Ecuador Peru Bolivia Chile and Argentina it had a population of more than 10 million across innumerable ethnic groups and languages the Inca developed in near isolation so their culture was missing many things that were vital in the old world the wheel was absent along with any draft animal capable of pulling weight steel and iron were unknown while gold silver and bronze were masterfully worked most intriguing was that they lacked a written language so their knowledge was passed on orally or through a unique system of knots called keepin these knots were used to collect data keep records measure taxes and record the census however as the Spanish established control over the Inca the ability to read khipu faded away and the records are now indecipherable to us therefore most of the history we have about the Inka has come down to us through Spanish historians or oral traditions with that in mind let's take a look at the origins of the Inka Empire ancient Peru was one of the ancient cradles of civilization and between 8,000 and 3,000 BC the people there domesticated llamas and alpacas along with an immense variety of crops such as potatoes corn beans peanuts squashes and Kanoa from these early agricultural societies a series of complex cultures emerged such as tiwanaku worry and chimú by 900 AD states like tiwanaku were erecting huge stone structures building highways and canals and maintaining a capital of 50,000 people at a time when London had around 30,000 all at 3,000 meters above sea level the Inka were the final great society to emerge here and inherited much from those that came before as the chimú Empire was at its peak to its south the tiny kingdom of Cusco slumbered this small kingdom would rapidly transform into tower went in tsuyu or what we call the Inca Empire where exactly did the Inca come from well let's take a look at the Incas own mythological origin story it begins with the Great Creator God Viracocha who came upon three caves from the central cave Viracocha brought forth four brothers and four sisters these were to be the founders of the Inca civilization out of the side caves stepped others who were to be the four bays of the other less important Inca clans one of the brothers ayam anko armed with a golden staff capable of testing soil led his people on an exodus like journey at the end of which he was the only remaining brother upon entering the Valley of Cusco the golden staph sank into the ground and so his people settled there the city of Cusco was founded and aya Manco adopted the name manco capac this is one of the many origin myths of the Inca the myth would be regularly changed and updated for political reasons for example if the Inca wanted to integrate a foreign state or power into their empire then that entity would conveniently find itself wedged into the current mythology but manco capac was probably a real person that led a group of nomads into the valley and founded Cusco in the early 13th century the history of the first eight Inca Kings is lost in the mists of time it's ninth King was the first to step into certain history an Inca Alexander the Great called kuzia Pankey rose to power in the early 1400s at the time of his birth the kingdom of Cusco was barely more than a chiefdom he was not the first in line to the throne but after Cusco was besieged by 40,000 enemy chanko soldiers and his King father and Prince brother fled the city it was Casilla Pankey who organized a defense and not only saved the city but also one himself the crown before his reign his kingdom held the small territory around Cusco but within a single lifetime he and his son had stretched the new Empire from present-day Bolivia to Ecuador he adopted the name patch akuti which means Earthshaker or he who turns the world upside down through the use of spies Pachacuti would assess the military strength and wealth of the other states in the region after collecting this information he would send messages to the leaders of these states attempting to persuade them to join his empire he promised they would keep their position and would grow even more powerful luxury goods and riches would be poured upon them only however if they submit it peacefully if they accept it the heirs of that ruler would be sent to the royal court in Cusco whereupon they would be educated in an Inca fashion and raised to be perfect Incas once transformed they were then sent back to rule their realms in a thoroughly Inca style if they did not accept they were usually crushed by the huge multi-ethnic army Pachacuti built Pachacuti reorganized the kingdom of cusco into tahuantinsuyo using a federalist system he split the empire into four parts or su use each managed by provincial governors that reported directly to the central government in cusco Cusco was transformed into a suitable imperial city and center to Patek UT's new empire the city was paved with perfectly cut stone and from its center spread vast highways linking all the Sioux use along with these highway projects patch akuti also initiated the construction of huge royal estates the most famous of which is Machu Picchu located 2430 metres above sea level the rapid growth of the Empire was incredible and even more impressive was the idea that the Inca actually tried to integrate the conquered peoples into their empire rather than just setting up mostly independent tributary States like the Aztecs had done by the time Patrick ut's grandson who a knack a peck sat on the throne there was hardly anything else left to possibly conquer militarily the Inca were extremely organized and used a flexible decimal system to organize units they could raise armies of hundreds of thousands of soldiers and move them across rough terrain with ease almost all able-bodied men between 25 and 50 had military training each province would send men to join a military campaign whenever needed the state made sure that no province was sending more men than they could and on particularly long campaigns men were regularly allowed to return home to make sure their lives did not fall out of order like the Aztecs the Incas relied on cotton armor they wore thick alpaca wool tunics and helmets to protect themselves these tunics were so effective at stopping arrows that Spanish soldiers adopted them while fighting the Inca and there are reports of them leaving battles looking like porcupines with dozens of arrows wedged in their armor a large shield made of hard wood imported from their jungle provinces was kept on their back another much smaller shield made of lighter wood was kept on the arm a small cape attached to it could be used to protect their legs from missiles as the Empire was so diverse they relied on an equally diverse range of weapons and soldiers men recruited from the jungle provinces were excellent bowmen while those from the other provinces preferred dart throwers and slings for melee combat the Inca had a varied arsenal Spears axes clubs star headed maces and halbert's were the most common weapons and could be made from stone bronze or bone the Inca were talented with bowlers which were multiple stones tied together that wrapped around an enemies legs these would be used effectively against the Spanish cavalry the Inca used their military to expand their reach across the spine of South America crushing resistance wherever it showed its head in less than 100 years they created the greatest empire in the Americas but how did they keep it all functioning and how did they keep ten million mouths fed in a land of extremes over the old world would stretch from st. Petersburg to Cairo they transformed a hostile landscape into an agricultural marvel and developed a culture with such respect for the dead that corpses were engaging in politics decades after life had left them in this video we will look at how the Inca adapted to their environment and became what British historian Phillipe Fernandez our mesto called the most impressive Empire builders or fair day most of the Inca Heartland is 3,000 metres above sea level and has low rainfall low temperatures and thin soils it can drop below freezing every single month at this altitude there is nowhere else on earth said anthropologist John Merrow where millions insist against all apparent logic on living at 10,000 or even 14,000 feet above sea level nowhere else have people lived for so many thousands of years in such visibly vulnerable circumstances the one advantage to this environment though was the enormous ecological variety due to the massive fluctuations in altitude you can encounter more than 20 different life soon's within a few hundred kilometers the Inka used this to their advantage a diverse range of crops was planted in different ecological zones and at different altitudes to insure against famines caused by climatic changes or diseases as not all zones would be affected similarly any surplus food was stored in warehouses controlled by the state for insurance against famine and drought and a kind of freeze dried potato was developed called Junior to preserve potatoes in these warehouses for longer periods as llamas cannot pull a plow very well all plowing and farming was done by hand ancient Andean cultures soon realized that a large group could plow a field much faster than a single farmer this soon developed into a complex system of reciprocity and cooperation which became a pivotal trait to nearly all andean cultures in times of famine supplies would be redistributed to those in need widows the sick and people too old for work were taken care of and had their lands worked for them with such an extreme environment the Inka had to develop these kinds of safeguards to ensure society ran smoothly total cooperation from all members of society was necessary a trait which led to one of these strangest parts of Inka society the complete lack of markets it is hard for us to imagine but the Inca civilization functioned nearly entirely without money the production storage and distribution of goods were wholly controlled by the central Inca government each citizen received and contributed food tools and clothing to and from state-owned warehouses and needed to purchase nothing taxes were not collected in money since there was none and neither were they collected in other valuables instead taxes were collected in the form of human labor in a system called MIT are through the use of MIT are the central government could move workers across the Empire and focus them on what the highest priority tasks were mining sewing and construction are just a few of the tasks that were carried out by MIT our workers this is how the inca were able to complete massive projects in their short 100 year reign a primary trait of and alien civilizations is their relationship with llamas and alpacas the only large domesticable animal in the region llamas and alpacas were essential to Inca society they could not only help by carrying goods but also by providing meat and most importantly cloth this cloth was everything to the Inca it's kept the state functioning it clothed the people it functioned as a marker of rank and well made cloth was regularly gifted to people that pleased the emperor cloth was so tightly regulated that the government even issued people their outfits each province of the Inca Empire was given some of these state-owned herds and had to produce a certain amount of cloth each year that would be stored in the state-owned warehouses the Inca warehouses called cucas were built along the Inca highway system one every 22 kilometers or so an immense variety of goods were stored there and they could be distributed whenever needed the storehouses where a response to the challenges of the Andean environment the lack of navigable rivers wheeled vehicles or large draft animals meant that goods couldn't be transported long distances easily so these warehouses were constructed within walkable distances they also allowed armies to march across the realm without weapons and equipment slowing them down as they could equip themselves at the warehouse closest to their destination one of the most essential elements in the success of the Inca Empire was the remarkable system of highways extending for at least 40,000 kilometers these highways had to pass over mountains and frightening suspension bridges were common relay stations called Tam bows dotted the highway stationed by runners or cask ease these were the fastest men from the nearby town who would run from one town bow to another with gifts khipu or messages this system allowed the Incas to send information across 392 kilometers in a day the Roman Empire even with mounted messengers could rarely get a message over 320 kilometers away in a day along with these huge highway projects the Inka cut through mountain sides building cisterns terraces and irrigation canals to increase agricultural productivity at the Empire's peak in the 16th century over a million hectares of terraces were in use a terrace was constructed by building a retaining wall and then laying gravel then sand and then soil on top of each other forming a steppe this captured water that would otherwise rush down the hillside and prevented flooding by filtering the water slowly it also provided a way to stop crops from freezing as the stones would absorb heat from the Sun and retain it through the cold and day and nights in an environment where only 2% of the land is suitable for agriculture the Inca transformed their heartland into an agricultural powerhouse finally there's the Magnificent inca stonework the inca used perfectly fitted stones that could stick together without the use of mortar they fit stones together like enormous jigsaw pieces they were so well fitted a pin could not pass through most of the joints major inca constructions have also been found to be earthquake-proof these rocks were quarried shaped and moved using mostly stone tools and roped that is the physical incur realm but what was their spiritual realm made up of the Inka believed wholeheartedly in the idea that the spirit realm and ours were linked and that the dead could influence events in our world one of the most unusual manifestations of this belief was inca mummification fees Malky as the inca called them were not the typical way to spend your afterlife only members of influential families were regularly mummified and the corpse was treated as if it were living they were fed dressed and cared for as if nothing was different in return the dead would protect their families maintain fertile land and ensure a steady supply of water they were consulted in all critical life matters and asked about how to proceed during troubling times the mummies of Inca rulers received an unimaginable level of care and respect they lived an afterlife enviable to the Living Dead Inca rulers were meticulously preserved so much so that the Spanish discovered people worshipping them long after the Empire had fallen even in death Inka Nobles still maintained control of all their wealth land and estates what is odd to us made perfect sense to the Inka as mummies were seen as living creatures this strange belief contributed to both the rise and fall of the Inca as the wealth of a dead emperor was not passed on to his successor it was instead managed by their panic ax which was a kind of royal family group tasked with preserving mummies so new Emperor's could not use the wealth of their predecessor and new conquests and constructions had to commence immediately to secure wealth and power as all the good land around Cusco fell under the control of dead rulers and their strange mummy corporations Emperor's had to spend significant amounts of time and effort on campaigns far away from the empire center this expanded the Empire quickly but allowed little time for consolidation competing pan occurs bite for power so intensely and ruthlessly that Machiavelli himself would blush and Medici would take notes when the Spanish arrived they would use these competing families against one another to weaken the Empire despite all their monumental buildings and works and despite the kind of guaranteed welfare that the Inca stage provided they were still plagued with revolts their empire didn't have a lot of time to consolidate their rule when the Spanish arrived the Empire was barely 100 years old loyalties from conquered ethnic groups were fickle and Emperor's had to deal with many bloody revolutions during their reigns no Inca Emperor dealt with more of these than who a NACA Peck who spent most of his reign pacifying newly conquered territory however he isn't remembered today as being the revolt smashing Emperor no he's remembered as the first Inca Emperor to die of smallpox and his death kicked off a massive Inca civil war just the Spanish first arrived 500 years ago atop the snow-capped Andes in a still barely mapped continent thousands of metres above sea level - new Empire smashed into each other in a historical collision that reverberates into the modern-day conquistador and Sapa Inca men from different worlds will clash the arquebus and Oaxaca will meet and tower went in suyu the land of four parts together will be undone in 1528 Hernan Cortes had just returned from Mexico bringing tales of conquest along with unimaginable treasures the Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain Charles 4/5 received him and his riches into leather as Cortes impressed the royal court another veteran of the new world arrived at the city it was Francisco Pizarro the second cousin of Cortes Bizzaro had arranged to meet the king and planned to impress him with gifts gold silver feathers natives and bizarre creatures unknown outside of the Andes Pizarro told his king of the magical land of Peru home to a native empire that Pizarro assured him could be conquered in his name on the 26th of July 15:29 Pizarro was issued a royal license to conquer this new land and named the governor of Peru armed with a royal permission Pizarro set off recruiting potential conquistadors he returned to his hometown of Trujillo gathered his four brothers yoanne Francisco Gonzalo and Hernando and then set sail for the Americas in January 1530 the Sapa Inca who a NACA Peck had recently subdued much of what is now Ecuador when reports began trickling in strange men had traded with the city of Timbers alongside these reports came others that were much more horrific chess Keys runners arrived daily informing the Sapa Inca that a disease had appeared in the north and was killing thousands nothing like it had ever been seen before plagues were unknown to the Inca so this strange sickness known to us as smallpox ravaged the population the Eurasian disease was not brought by Pizarro however as it arrived slightly before he did creeping in from North and Central America in the following years up to 90% of the Empire would succumb to the disease sometime around 1527 the Sapa Inca who Aynak a peg and his heir died from smallpox alongside millions of their subjects two years before Pizarro had petitioned the king of Spain Eurasian germs had initiated the conquest for him with the succession now unclear and the realm divided the sons of hue no Quebec both tried to claim the throne and tossed the Empire into chaos at a well / who possessed much less territory than who asked are controlled his dead father's veteran legions and slowly pushed down from Quito towards Cusco during the final bloody climax of the war in 1532 where scars remaining armies were smashed outside of Cusco and he was captured by a tech well first generals atahuallpa was camped over 900 kilometres away in the town of cajamarca with a small portion of his army awaiting news of the battle even with the Incas exceptional highways and their tireless chess keys it would take five days for word of the victory to reach atahuallpa there in Cajamarca as a welfare planned his eventual coronation as the supreme ruler of the inca world he was eager to get word from his generals and set off on his victory march towards his new capital but there was just one small detail that he needed to deal with at the moment reports were coming in from his chiefs that a small band of 168 foreigners some of whom were riding giant llamas was causing havoc on the and it appeared they were now marching straight for cajamarca at a world per was curious and rather than half these men killed he decided to see them and their strange llamas himself what could 168 do against his fifty thousand soldiers he had agreed to meet the Spaniards in the central plaza of cajamarca this was a ceremonial meeting between his vast empire and some lowly visitors so on Saturday November 16th 15:32 at a well / entered the square at cajamarca followed by six thousand of his belly armed men a battle was not expected that a welter was quite confident as just the day before he had heard of his victory at Cusco and the capture of his rival brother who has gone so this was a day of celebration once he had had his meeting with this odd band of foreigners he could march south and have his glorious coronation Pizarro and his men had planned to emulate Cortes they would capture at a well pad thus cutting off the head of the Inca Empire and paralyzing it atahuallpa as Sapa Inca was supreme ruler of the empire and it could not function without him Pizarro had hidden his men in the buildings surrounding the square and stationed to the artillery and octopuses on the far side of the square ready to fire like too many fans in a tiny football stadium the Inca troops crowded into the square which had only two narrow exits not a single Spaniard could be seen as the Sun began to set nothing could be heard in the square except for a slight breeze the fear inside the stone buildings was incalculable Pedro Pizarro said I heard that many Spaniards urinated on themselves without noticing it from sheer terror eventually two men appeared from the buildings and approached atahuallpa Vincent ad Valverde a Dominican friar and an inexperienced native translator the friar read the following - at a well / I request and require you to recognize the church as your mistress and as governess of the world and universe and if you do not do this with the help of God we shall come mightily against you and we shall make war on you everywhere and in every way that we can and we shall subject you to the yoke and obedience of the church and his majesty and we shall seize your women as children and we shall make them slaves to sell and dispose of as his Majesty commands and we shall do all the evil and damage to you that we are able and I must insist that the deaths and destruction that result from this will be all your fault this was the Yurok wearing enter a document read aloud to the native peoples of the new world informing them of Spain's divine right to conquer these lands in the name of God Valverde then approached out of well / and offered him a Bible as a well / had heard reports of the immense fascination with these objects but he had no way to contextualize what this was or how to interact with it he had had enough with these foreigners now and their disrespect for the Inca diplomatic customs at F well / scolded Valverde and the Spanish for stealing from warehouses and killing Inca chiefs and proceeded to toss the book aside Valverde horrified at this perceived act of extreme blasphemy sprinted towards the stone buildings shouting come out come out Christians come at these enemy dogs who reject the things of God the square again fell silent with loud roars the cannons and our cabooses soon eventually into the mass of warriors spewing out smoke and metal shrapnel inca soldiers shocked by the sounds soon saw beasts riding towards them the spanish war cry Santiago was screamed as men rushed out of the buildings a massacre ensued as the panic-stricken Inca force tried to retreat out of the tiny square dazed masses of soldiers ran for the narrow exits it was impossible to escape thousands died trampled under their comrades or horses chopping through the men holding the broiled litter Pizarro and his men grabbed at a well / and dragged him back into one of these stone buildings just that morning he was basking in a victory that took four years to complete at our world / was now at sunset prisoner to an unknown group of people the Inca Empire which only just finished a destructive Civil War was now involved in the highest stakes hostage situation of all time the survivors of the massacre ran from the square and the rest of the Inca army now leaderless dispersed into the countryside at a well / noted the excitement the Spaniards had at finding gold trinkets amongst the wreckage he concluded that these were pirates from some faraway land if he could give them enough gold then they would return to their ships and be gone he told Pizarro that in exchange for his life and freedom he would fill the room they were in with gold and twice-over with silver atahuallpa delivered on his promise for months the greatest treasures and artifacts of the Inca Empire poured into cajamarca the room was filled and everything was melted down into ingots which is why gold or silver Inca artifacts are so rare today in the end the gold totals 1.3 million pesos deorro or around 400 million 2018 u.s. dollars to be divided between the 168 and the king of Spain as the ransom poured in so did more Spanish troops Diego de almagro Pizarro's business partner arrived with an extra 153 men the fact that more Spaniards had arrived made it clear that this was an invasion force these men were here to stay after the Inca fulfills their promise it became obvious to Pizarro and his men that at a well / had outlived his usefulness and was now only a liability if he will rescued they would not be able to defeat the resistance he would organize on July 26th 15:33 at a well / was brought into the main square of cajamarca and was tied to a wooden stake the native population gathered around in awe at what was happening at a well / was not only the supreme ruler of the empire but also their God watching this happen must have shaken the entire worldview of the local people Valverde the same friar that offered him a Bible a month before came to him and offered a baptism if at a well / rejected this offer he would be burned alive no fate could be worse for him if his body were not perfectly preserved like the previous Emperor's then he would not pass on correctly to the afterlife he accepted and was quickly baptized still he was then strangled to death as a Christian the conquistadors soon left cajamarca and began the long trek to cusco as the square and that lonely stake in its center faded into the distance Pizarro and his men must have felt confident that this wealthy Empire was already in their hands but the conquest of the Inca was far from over the body of the god-king at a well parlez partially burned in a hastily dug ditch near cajamarca his empire was now in the hands of Francisco Pizarro and his brothers on their long march towards Cusco they encountered the teenage brother of Wesker Manko Inca and placed him on the throne wildung power through this puppet king the conquistadors were welcomed into cusco as liberators rather than conquerors the new Inca Spanish military alliance crushed all forces within the empire that had remained loyal to at a well person with the massive Empire now firmly in his grip and a military alliance secured with the Manco Inca Pizarro and his brothers set about transforming talent in tsuyu into new Castile lands and Lordships over the natives were handed out to Pizarro's men those few hundred conquistadors many of them poor and illiterate soon found themselves rich beyond their wildest expectations after Manko Incas coronation in cusco both leaders of the spanish expedition would leave the city Francisco Pizarro would go to the coast to found the city now known as Lima and Diego de almagro frustrated that Pizarro had been named the sole governor of Peru and furious that Pizarro had refused to share at a well-posed ransom with him and his men departed with 570 Spanish cavalry and foot soldiers and with 12,000 native troops his goal was to conquer the southern part of the Inca Empire in what is now Chile the Inca capital Cusco was now left in the hands of Manko Inca and Pizarro's two younger brothers Johan and Gonzalo Manco Inca tried to get to work rebuilding his fractured and smallpox ridden realm but with Juan and Gonzalo now in charge of the city the illusion of an equal alliance between the Emperor and the Pizarro's quickly shattered Hawaiian and Gonzalo harassed Manco Inca for gold silver native women they soon began to disrespect him in public and then Gonzalo Pizarro kidnapped and raped Manko Incas wife Kura Arklow soon he was imprisoned and beaten mango Inca now became aware of the horrific bargain he had made for the title of Sapa Inca tensions had reached a boiling point in early November of 1535 two years after the death of atahuallpa the puppet king Manko took his first steps towards rebellion a secret meeting of the Inca nobility was called and Manko made a speech to his chiefs I asked you where did we meet them what is it that we owe them or which one of them did we injure so that with these horses and weapons of iron they have made such cruel war on us it seems to me that it would be neither just nor honest that we put up with this rather we should strive with the utmost determination to either die to the last man or to kill our cruel enemies mango fled the city into the harsh Andes and soon the Inca war machine began to slowly creak into motion chassé Keys runners breathlessly criss crossed the empire bringing word of Mancos rebellion to the native Chiefs soon the conquistadors now the feudal lords were individually lured away from their palaces and Manors and clubs to death within months these small-scale attacks had killed more Spaniards than had died in the entire conquest thus far as reports of these deaths trickled into Cusco and Lima far off in the mountains native soldiers started gathering clubs axes and Spears and halbert's from their warehouses and marching across the Andes to answer the call of their Emperor the twenty year old great great grandson of Patrick ooty who had served as a meek puppet for two years was now at war with the invaders from across the sea like a giant blanket covering the hillsides the immense legions of Manko converged on Cusco anando yuan and Gonzalo Pizarro were now trapped inside along with 196 Spaniards a handful of African slaves and mariska women and hundreds of native allies early in the morning on Saturday the 6th of May 1536 conch shell trumpets rang out from the mountains surrounding cusco a curtain of javelins rocks and arrows darkened the sky while 100,000 soldiers wielding massive Spears and clubs began to slowly make their way down the hillside encircling the glittering city the constant barrage forced the defenders to immediately run for cover Inca troops poured into the city and forced the Spaniards to retreat into two buildings located in the main plaza Banco knew from experience that Inca weapons were ineffective against Spanish armed and cavalry it was near impossible for an Inca to kill a Spaniard in hand-to-hand combat no matter the strength behind a blow or the bravery of the warrior stone and bronze could never pierce steel the Spanish could only be killed if not from their horses or with a direct impact to the face Mancos strategy was to tighten a noose around the city trapped the Spaniards and then overwhelmed them with his superior numbers in a panic the Spaniards darted between the two buildings now transformed into bunkers Ananda Pizarro was screaming orders and doing his best to reinforce his position but before they could even formulate a real plan the roof of the buildings caught fire Inca slingers and archers were firing red-hot rocks and flaming arrows into the city the trapped Spaniards soon found themselves suffocating from the smoke hot ashes filled the air broken beams fell from the ceiling tossing up fresh burning embers as the heat became more intense it seemed all hope was lost until suddenly the fire went out some spaniards claimed to have seen the Virgin Mary herself descend from heaven and put out the flames the Inka chronicles reports that it was the African slaves that the Spanish had stationed on the roof who put it out under a barrage of arrows and rocks the Incas continued to heave against the Spanish defenses unable to cut through their armor or defend against a cavalry charge they swarmed the city and laid a noose around the precarious Spanish position at the end of the day they had to cease the attack barricade the streets they had taken and rest from his command center nearby in Kalka Manco Inka no doubt was certain that within days he would see his men stormed the Spanish hold out and bring him victory the siege dragged on however as months passed new strategies had to be developed the Inka tore apart roads and streets in order to neutralize cavalry charges they feigned retreats down narrow alleys in order to lure horsemen into traps bolus a weapon normally reserved for hunting was introduced in order to tie up charging horses legs the battle for Cusco was brutal and long Spaniards on horses charged at Inca soldiers down narrow streets and the entire city was essentially reduced to ashes in the city one eyewitness wrote the Indians waged such a fierce attack that the Spaniards thought themselves a thousand times lost while he besieged Cusco Manko had sent his finest general key so to tie down Francisco Pizarro who was currently in Lima his oak was an excellent tactician he had realized that attacking cavalry on a level ground was a death sentence Inca troops could do nothing against a charge instead he would use the terrain against them only meeting the Spanish on steep hills and mountains there he would lure them into a tight pass block the entrances with his troops and rain boulders down on the horses Keizo managed to wipe out a total of four separate Spanish relief forces using these tactics and sent Spanish weapons and armor back to his Emperor at Cusco Francisco Pizarro started to panic he had just sent more than a hundred horsemen to their deaths at the hands of Kissin and now had 100 Spaniards to defend Lima just months before he had total control over the Inca now Cusco was besieged his brother you are dead there an army was outside Libre hunting down Spaniards and more than a third of his forces were dead hearing of kisos unprecedented victories Manko ordered him to proceed to Lima and destroy the city not to lay siege to it like he was doing back at Cusco but to destroy it Lima was a Spanish city founded near the coast to facilitate trade and unlike Inca cities it was built on a flat plain Mancos excitement at keys victories had blinded him to the fact that Keizo was using tactics that could not work at Lima ordering him to attack Lima was a grave error Keizo assaulted the city and failed to take it he attacked again and again and continued to be beaten back but his Emperor had ordered him to take it and Keizo knew Manko needed him back at Cusco that he needed this city and Francisco Pizarro gone and nothing else would be sufficient on the sixth day of the siege of Lima Inca troops again poured down from the hills and marched along the flat plain towards the city with general kiso leading the charge Lance in hand with his hand selected Vanguard as he entered the city a sudden barrage of our cabooses roared and the frontline Santiago was screamed as a cavalry charge rammed through the vanguard as the dust settled and smoke cleared the Inka army soon saw their general lying on the ground with a Spanish lance in his heart the greatest general the Inka had was dead and his army soon disappeared into the mountains Pizarro was now free to go Greek the siege of Cusco breathless chess Keys runners arrived from across the Empire they brought unwelcome news to Manko Kiso was dead Pizarro was approaching Diego de almagro had returned from Chile defeated but with a sizable army and Spanish reinforcements were arriving from the north his fortunes only so recently extremely promising had now taken a grim turn he had lost and he knew it the ten month long siege of Cusco was a failure Manko assembled his chiefs and captains and with a solemn voice he informed his people that he would cede his treasures his home his empire and would retreat into the remote rainforest region of the empire called vilcabamba from there he would try and fight another day as Manko retreated deep into the rainforest he brought with him the mummies of all the Sapa Incas that had ruled before him including his father who a NACA Peck and his great-great-grandfather Patrick UT from vilkin barber Manko waged an aggressive guerrilla style campaign against the Spanish his soldiers ambushed supply convoys raided new towns stole caches of weapons and horses and then vanished back into the rainforest his men learned how to ride horses fire guns and fashion Spanish weapons but the population of Spaniards in Peru essentially doubled with each passing year it became clear to Manko as he aged that survival was possible but talented su you a land of four parts together would never be remade his state would continue to survive in the rainforest as our Magro died fighting a civil war against the Bizarros as francisco pizarro was assassinated while ananda Pizarro rotted in a Spanish prison and as Gonzalo Pizarro was executed on the orders of the king the Inca state clung to life for decades until eventually in 1572 36 years after Mancos rebellion his son and the last Inca Emperor tupac amaru was captured and executed and the Empire of Pachacuti was erased these videos are made possible by our brilliant patrons over at patreon and our YouTube sponsors visit our patreon to learn more about the perks this is the kings and Generals channel and we will catch you on the next one

Channel: Kings and Generals

Views: 1,082,163

Rating: 4.8540597 out of 5

Keywords: national geographic, full documentary, history documentary, machu picchu, ancient history, incan empire, history channel documentary, city of gold, inca civilization, inca culture, south america, kings and generals, history lesson, animated documentary, decisive battles, world history, documentary film, military history, historia civilis, ancient civilization, pizarro, conquistador, full length documentaries, history channel, extra credits history

Id: iYYfg2tph3w

Length: 47min 22sec (2842 seconds)

Published: Sun Feb 03 2019

Reddit Comments

[u/Nersheti]

I’m currently reading “1491: new revelations of the americas before Columbus” by Charles c Mann. He devotes a chapter to the Inka, discussing what we know of their history and customs, as well as examining the historical debates associated with them, including population.

It’s a fascinating book that’s well researched and includes a variety of perspectives and disciplines.