The Incas were South American Indians who ruled an empire that extended from central Chile to the present Colombia-Ecuador border. The centre of their empire was Peru and they established their capital at Cuzco in the 12th century. The legend goes that the first Inca ruler, Manco Capan was believed to have been descended from the sun god. The Incas began their conquest in the early 15th century and within 100 years they had gained control of an Andean population of about 12,000,000 people.
The Inca society was a highly stratified and structured one. The emperor ruled with the aid of an aristocratic bureaucracy that was harsh and brutal in the exercise of its authority. Their technology and architecture were highly developed. Most of the Inca people were farmers and grew maize, beans, tomatoes, chillies, peppers, cotton etc. Nobody paid taxes, but every man was periodically called to serve in the army or to aid in the construction of buildings, roads, temples or mining. The Incas built suspension bridges, hillside terraces, long irrigation canals and immense fortresses, palaces, temples etc. and a few can still be seen throughout the Andes. In addition to all these, medicine and surgery were also highly developed. They made their clothes from the llama wool and cotton. Practically every man was a farmer, producing his own food.
The Incas were conquered by a Spanish adventurer, Francisco Pizarro in 1532. Pizarro entered the Inca Empire with 180 soldiers. At that time there was a power-struggle going on between Huascar and his half-brother Atahualpa as to who would be the Inca ruler. Atahualpa was winning the contest. Pizarro captured him by treachery. In the meantime Huascar had been captured and killed. Pizarro then killed Atahualpa though the Incas fulfilled the demand of the Spaniards who promised the release of Atahualpa in return for gold. Now the Inca Empire had no leader, and it could not resist the brutal Spanish adventurers. The Spanish conquerors transformed the Inca Empire into a colonial appendage of Spain. Many Indians migrated eastward to escape the brutalities of the colonial system. The Inca religious institutions were crushed by massive campaigns against idolatry. According to many historians, the civilization the Spanish conquerors destroyed was in many ways better than their own.