In the town of Cusco, in the early 15th century, the area was ruled by Tiwanaku. A younger son of the ruler, in 1438, defeated the Chanca people, a neighboring tribe and gave himself the tile of Pachacuti, meaning, transformer of the earth. He then started a huge process of military expansion. This was later continued by his son Topa Inca.
After about 55 years, the people became known as the Incas and they were in control, to a certain extent of an astonishing empire that stretched all the way from Quito in Ecuador over to the Maule River in Chile, an impressive 2,500 miles. A few brutal victories by military occurred to scare other small rulers to cooperate, resulting in Inca success.
The roads of the Inca, account for over 14,00 miles. They rules over varied terrain of desert, jungle and rugged lands. Suspension bridges were created to travel across mall ravines.
The Inca wrote nothing. Communication was done in the form of messenger, traveling through their roads to deliver such whispers. The quipu was used to record simple information, a system that was dated back as early as the 7th century, now being put into effect in the 16th century.
A quipu is a long rope that a number of other threads were attached to. The color and length of each thread and also the knot position held different meanings. This could be used as a form of legal tender or a calender. It had the ability to record an action but no details. For example, it could record how long a certain king had reigned, but not his name, therefore the messenger still had to remember important information to pass on.
The Inca's society could be compared to a blueprint and the people were all tolerable and content of this. The land was divided to peasant people to use for their own needs. The state in return would use labor as a charge for tax. The males worked under the Inca administration to serve in the army or build roads and bridges.
Entire communities of people at a time were moved sometimes hundreds of miles to a new region to form a new secure settlement. These were called mitmakuna.
The mitmakuna were made of groups of men and women, hand chosen called yanakuna and mamakuna. The females, mamakuna lived in a segregated area and the most beautiful were chosen to be part of the emperor's harem while others were given away in arranged marriages. The primary function of these females were to spin and weave the textiles that the Inca were famous for. They were also responsible for brewing chicha, in Inca beer.
The males, yanakuna were to serve members of high society and Inca rulers. Their main task was to care for the animals.
Wherever the Inca wished to put an emphasis on their presence, they would leave their trademarks with amazing stone slabs, made from eccentric shapes and fitted together with an unbelievable precision. Inca masonry was so durable it can still be seen under churches or some flanking streets to symbolize a reminder of the 15th century phenomenal builders. The lost city of Machu Picchu is a great example of this work, perched high at an inaccessible peak of the jungle.
The Inca identified themselves with the sun and the most sacred idol was a gold disc in the Inca pantheon that represented the sun. additionally, the most important festival to them was the eight day feast that celebrated the maize crop harvest. Each day would bring a different ritual, burnt offerings and beer.
In 1527, the first encounter of contact between the Europeans and Inca inflamed Spanish greed as they caught a glimpse of Inca treasure. The Spaniards marched into the Inca empire in 1532 to find that the state was in turmoil from a war between two brothers. A single Spaniard disrespected a priest and a pre-arranged ambush began. The killing lasted for hours.
Between 1521 to 1535 the Spaniards inflicted destruction on the great Inca Empire. They destroyed the precious artifacts and began to seek out their silver and gold. Today there is relatively little to show for their crafts and riches except for their buildings and walls still standing.