In the thread about historical oddities, CanyonAg77 referenced "1491" by Charles Mann and I've been reading it since.
I think the story about the Inca civilization is one of the most fascinating things I have ever read. Spoiler alert, I'm about to summarize it, so if you don't know this story you might want to check out the book first. But I'm hoping people who do know it and more of its details will chime in.
In 1438 the Incas were one of many tribal villages scattered among the Andes mountains at 10,000-14,000 ft. elevation which in itself is interesting because no other civilizations have thrived at such high elevations as they did, although the book gives insight into an advantage of living in the Andes.
That year the Incas fought a battle against a neighboring tribe the Chankas and a leader of the Incas evolved, Pachukati. He started to grow the empire by assimilating nearby villages, generally by enticement rather than coercion. He would offer other tribal leaders gifts and offer the local residents land near Inca. He got these new villages to adapt the Incan language. His rule lasted 25 years.
His son, Thupa, continued this practice and expanded the new empire further. He also began the practice of Incan emperors of marrying their sisters to maintain genetic purity. If this trend had continued long term, surely nothing good would have come from it.
By the third generation expansion shifted more towards the aggressive rather than the enticement mode. Large palaces and temples were built as well as roads, some of which are still useable today (by llamas, not cars). The empire had great wealth in silver and gold. Hunger was eradicated. By 1491 they are considered to have been the greatest empire on earth.
Thupa's son Wayna Qhapaq continued the aggressive empire building. His successor, after some controversy, was Atawapalla. During his reign in 1532, foreigners were seen near the coastline. They had hairy faces and were riding large animals. Emissaries were sent to them to arrange a meeting. The foreigners were Fransisco Piazarro, a Spanish conquistador, and 167 men under his command. A meeting was arranged at Cajamarca. There the Spanish waited in ambush for Atawapalla and 5,000+ of his soldiers.
When the Spanish attacked, the Incans, who had never seen horses or guns, panicked and the route ended with Atawapalla being captured. He told the Spanish that he could raise a 17x22 ft. room filled with gold objects and two other similar rooms with silver for his freedom. He kept his end of the bargain but Pizarro had him killed anyway. The Inca empire had grown quickly to become the greatest on earth but lasted only about 100 years and was defeated by 168 Spaniards. Incas tried to fight off the Spaniards for another 40 years but it was hopeless. They were vanquished.
To help understand the quick demise, two things are important to know. About 25 years before the Spanish arrived the Incas were devasted by a virus. Diseases brought by Europeans often spread faster than the newcomers themselves and areas that settlers found (as with the Pilgrims) had already been depopulated by the time they arrived. Speculation is that the virus that affected the Incas could have come from either Mexico or perhaps the Carribean. And then during the outbreak, there was a bloody civil war between the followers of Atawapalla and another of Wayna Chupa's heirs.
The author explains why the problem of estimating the populations of the Americas before Europeans arrived is so difficult. As mentioned, disease spread faster than the explorers for that when the settlers arrived in an area it had usually already been depopulated. Current populations could be estimated and then fatality rates applied to estimate previous populations but those fatality rates were generally just guesses.
I think the story about the Inca civilization is one of the most fascinating things I have ever read. Spoiler alert, I'm about to summarize it, so if you don't know this story you might want to check out the book first. But I'm hoping people who do know it and more of its details will chime in.
In 1438 the Incas were one of many tribal villages scattered among the Andes mountains at 10,000-14,000 ft. elevation which in itself is interesting because no other civilizations have thrived at such high elevations as they did, although the book gives insight into an advantage of living in the Andes.
That year the Incas fought a battle against a neighboring tribe the Chankas and a leader of the Incas evolved, Pachukati. He started to grow the empire by assimilating nearby villages, generally by enticement rather than coercion. He would offer other tribal leaders gifts and offer the local residents land near Inca. He got these new villages to adapt the Incan language. His rule lasted 25 years.
His son, Thupa, continued this practice and expanded the new empire further. He also began the practice of Incan emperors of marrying their sisters to maintain genetic purity. If this trend had continued long term, surely nothing good would have come from it.
By the third generation expansion shifted more towards the aggressive rather than the enticement mode. Large palaces and temples were built as well as roads, some of which are still useable today (by llamas, not cars). The empire had great wealth in silver and gold. Hunger was eradicated. By 1491 they are considered to have been the greatest empire on earth.
Thupa's son Wayna Qhapaq continued the aggressive empire building. His successor, after some controversy, was Atawapalla. During his reign in 1532, foreigners were seen near the coastline. They had hairy faces and were riding large animals. Emissaries were sent to them to arrange a meeting. The foreigners were Fransisco Piazarro, a Spanish conquistador, and 167 men under his command. A meeting was arranged at Cajamarca. There the Spanish waited in ambush for Atawapalla and 5,000+ of his soldiers.
When the Spanish attacked, the Incans, who had never seen horses or guns, panicked and the route ended with Atawapalla being captured. He told the Spanish that he could raise a 17x22 ft. room filled with gold objects and two other similar rooms with silver for his freedom. He kept his end of the bargain but Pizarro had him killed anyway. The Inca empire had grown quickly to become the greatest on earth but lasted only about 100 years and was defeated by 168 Spaniards. Incas tried to fight off the Spaniards for another 40 years but it was hopeless. They were vanquished.
To help understand the quick demise, two things are important to know. About 25 years before the Spanish arrived the Incas were devasted by a virus. Diseases brought by Europeans often spread faster than the newcomers themselves and areas that settlers found (as with the Pilgrims) had already been depopulated by the time they arrived. Speculation is that the virus that affected the Incas could have come from either Mexico or perhaps the Carribean. And then during the outbreak, there was a bloody civil war between the followers of Atawapalla and another of Wayna Chupa's heirs.
The author explains why the problem of estimating the populations of the Americas before Europeans arrived is so difficult. As mentioned, disease spread faster than the explorers for that when the settlers arrived in an area it had usually already been depopulated. Current populations could be estimated and then fatality rates applied to estimate previous populations but those fatality rates were generally just guesses.