Atahualpa and The End of The Empire

Antonio Martín

Brainstorming

• Do you know what a civil war is?• Can you imagine the effects

that a civil war may have caused within the Inca Empire?

The Huayna Capac Succession• Huayna Capac died in 1528 Tomebamba. It

seems that he got smallpox, a disease that Spanish conquerors brought to some pacific beaches.

• Just a few months later he died, his son, Cuyuchig Ninan, whom had been chosen as his heir, also died because the same disease.

The Huayna Capac SuccessionThus, there was a conflict of power between his sons Huascar and Atahualpa. Huascar got most of the southern provinces support and was proclaimed Emperor in Cuzco.

The Huayna Capac SuccessionHuayna Capac made his son Atahualpa responsible for the northern government, where he became strong, especially in Quito and Caranqui land (where he was born and most of the Inca armies were concentrated).

The Huayna Capac SuccessionViolent disputes for the imperial succession were common in the empire, especially when an Inca died, but the disappearance of Huayna Capac brought bring along with it a great conflict.

Brothers War• At first, the war benefited Huascar. On lands of the

Cañaris (Huascar supporters), Atahualpa was taken prisoner. But he managed to escape and went to Quito to organize his troops.

• Atahualpa, with the support of his generals Quizquiz and Calicuchima, moved southward, won a battle in Molleambato (now Salcedo) and succeeded, then he took the "second capital" of the empire, Tomebamba.

• He punished the Cañaris, who never forgave him for that cruel act. He walked over and took the city Cuzco.

• Later, the fugitive Huascar was taken prisoner and killed.

• But Atahualpa did not get to rule over the unified empire, because, by then, Spaniards had already penetrated into the Tahuantinsuyo and captured him in an ambush.

• After paying a ransom, Spaniards prepared a farce trial and killed him.

An Empire in Crisis

• During the growing years in the Inca Empire, wars were very common. But the one that took place for the succession of Huayna Capac had features and special effects.

• Not only was a dispute between two brothers but a symptom which showed that The Tahuantinsuyo had reached a very severe internal crisis that was much more than just a family dispute.

Centralized state

Country or state controlled by a government that exercises power from a political center (vertically).

Group Activity• Make groups of 4-5 students.

• What would be the causes that lead a civil war in the Inca Empire or Tahuantinsuyo?

• Organize these causes in order of importance from your point of view. Which one influenced the most? And which one influenced the least?

• Conclude: What type of personal or collective motivations might be behind any kind of war?

Source

• Estudios Sociales, Corporación Editora Nacional. Ministerio de Educación de Ecuador. Imprenta Mariscal.