The inca: an overview
The Inca Empire had its humble roots as a small Andean tribe. However, in the early 1500s the ambitious campaigns of conquest led by Pachacuti helped the Inca Empire unite nearly the entire region of South America under one empire. The Incas expanded from their beginning power-center city of Cuzco in modern Peru into what are now the modern countries of Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Argentina. The Incas would span three main geographic regions of South America: the Andes Mountains; the Amazon jungle; and the coastal desert. The Inca relied on their military conquests and strength to unite their empire; they maintained strict power over their conquered regions by placing soldiers at outposts to ensure that there were always soldiers available in any area to crush rebel forces. The Incas also created a vast road network across the empire to connect its people despite the various geographical barriers, promoting a sense of cohesion among otherwise divided people.
Even the political structure of the Inca government helped promote unity in the empire. The Inca Empire was ruled over by a single, supreme emperor, called the "Sapa Inca"; having one ruler over all the provinces of the empire united the people under the same government. The Sapa Inca's power was unquestionable, as the Sapa Inca ruled by divine right, considered the sons of Inti, or the Sun god. While the Sapa Inca had ultimate power, he could not run the government alone. For instance, the Sapa Inca sent nobles to the conquered provinces to rule the lands alongside the local chieftains of the province. By sending the nobles to the province, the Sapa Inca ensured that no revolts could be stirred in the conquered provinces, as his own loyal subjects would be constantly supervising the provinces. However, the Sapa Inca also ensured that the conquered provinces felt like a part of the empire instead of the outsiders by allowing their own leaders to maintain some power. To further promote unity among the empire, the first Sapa Inca, Pachacuti, imposed the Inca language, Quenchua, and religion on all the conquered provinces, thus consolidating all parts of the empire under the same religion and language. Relating to religion, each month was decreed to have its own religious festival, serving as a community gathering to unite each province within itself. Equally important to the unity of the empire was the central nature of Cuzco, the empire's capital. Cuzco was a central place in government, a city to which all roads led. It was the main place of power of the over 2,500 mile empire.
The Inca economy was, like almost all aspects of Inca life, controlled by the government. There was little use for a trade economy because the government provided goods and food for the people to make the people completely dependent on the government. There was no merchant class in the empire, as all goods were distributed by the government. These goods were meticulously tracked with the government's recording system, the quipus, or the colored and knotted cords strung to represent numbers and dates. However, in return for the government having the people so dependent on the government, the government ensured that no citizen ever slipped into poverty just as no citizen could acquire greater wealth than the standard. The government even controlled the food produced and distributed throughout the empire. The farmers who did terrace farming on the mountains of the Inca Empire were the suppliers of the community, giving their harvests to the community and royal family. The government took hold of and stored any undistributed portions of these harvests in storehouses as a resource of emergency supplies if a province ever went hungry. In return for the protection of their government, the Inca people owed their government a labor levy, called the mita. The mita said that each citizen of the empire owed the government two months of labor per year, allowing the Inca government to complete massive public works. The mita also allowed the government to resettle many of the conquered people into new, productive agricultural areas or military hotspots--by breaking up these local communities, the Incas could reduce the possibility of revolts.
Inca society was thoroughly controlled by the government. There were no distinct class differences between rich and poor, as the government doled out equal aid to all citizens. The ultimate control of the government meant that no citizen could slip through the cracks and face destitution, but it also meant that no ambition and hard work could allow for social mobility. Each family was grouped into an ayllu, a group whose members shared activities like farming, building canals, and other rituals. The social relationships in the empire were characterized by sharing and mutual responsibility; all households worked together to support each other, to remain equally content. There was a major emphasis on hard work in Inca society. Even the Sapa Inca occasionally went out into the fields to do manual labor to serve as an example for his people. There were also laws in place forcing subjects to maintain a steady job for income and keep his or her finances in order. In fact, most aspects of commoners' lives were controlled by government policy. These commoners, mainly lower class farmers, artisans, and servants, were designated to a certain occupation by the government, and they could only ever perform said job. They could also never be idle, and had to work constantly. They could never own their own business, as this would give a commoner a opportunity to have more wealth than the rest of his class. The government even controlled the times commoners' had to sleep and bathe! Further social regulations were put in place to level the class of commoners. For instance, commoners could only wear plain clothing, and they were forbidden to own more than the necessities. Such harsh social regulations and confinements were not as equally applied to the upper class of Inca society, despite the goal of the Inca government to communize its people. The upper class citizens lived in the capital of Cuzco, where larger, finer stone lodgings were available. While the no upper class citizen could wear different clothing than those of the commoners, special privileges were granted to the Inca rulers and headmen to wear different clothing than the poor to maintain their dignity. The upper class citizens were also offered an education not given to the commoners, preparing the children of nobles to take on official positions. Despite the slight differences between the supposedly equal classes of the Inca society, the universal aspects of religion and the official language, Quechua, helped keep a sense of unity. The Inca religion was, like the Aztec and Maya religions, linked to nature. The chief god was Inti, the Sun god to whom the Sapa Incas claimed lineage. Inti, and the other gods of the Inca's polytheistic religion, were served by "chosen women," or upper class women trained to prepare ritual food and drink and to make clothes for the Sapa Inca and the Coya, his queen, in the main temples in Cuzco and around the empire.
Even the political structure of the Inca government helped promote unity in the empire. The Inca Empire was ruled over by a single, supreme emperor, called the "Sapa Inca"; having one ruler over all the provinces of the empire united the people under the same government. The Sapa Inca's power was unquestionable, as the Sapa Inca ruled by divine right, considered the sons of Inti, or the Sun god. While the Sapa Inca had ultimate power, he could not run the government alone. For instance, the Sapa Inca sent nobles to the conquered provinces to rule the lands alongside the local chieftains of the province. By sending the nobles to the province, the Sapa Inca ensured that no revolts could be stirred in the conquered provinces, as his own loyal subjects would be constantly supervising the provinces. However, the Sapa Inca also ensured that the conquered provinces felt like a part of the empire instead of the outsiders by allowing their own leaders to maintain some power. To further promote unity among the empire, the first Sapa Inca, Pachacuti, imposed the Inca language, Quenchua, and religion on all the conquered provinces, thus consolidating all parts of the empire under the same religion and language. Relating to religion, each month was decreed to have its own religious festival, serving as a community gathering to unite each province within itself. Equally important to the unity of the empire was the central nature of Cuzco, the empire's capital. Cuzco was a central place in government, a city to which all roads led. It was the main place of power of the over 2,500 mile empire.
The Inca economy was, like almost all aspects of Inca life, controlled by the government. There was little use for a trade economy because the government provided goods and food for the people to make the people completely dependent on the government. There was no merchant class in the empire, as all goods were distributed by the government. These goods were meticulously tracked with the government's recording system, the quipus, or the colored and knotted cords strung to represent numbers and dates. However, in return for the government having the people so dependent on the government, the government ensured that no citizen ever slipped into poverty just as no citizen could acquire greater wealth than the standard. The government even controlled the food produced and distributed throughout the empire. The farmers who did terrace farming on the mountains of the Inca Empire were the suppliers of the community, giving their harvests to the community and royal family. The government took hold of and stored any undistributed portions of these harvests in storehouses as a resource of emergency supplies if a province ever went hungry. In return for the protection of their government, the Inca people owed their government a labor levy, called the mita. The mita said that each citizen of the empire owed the government two months of labor per year, allowing the Inca government to complete massive public works. The mita also allowed the government to resettle many of the conquered people into new, productive agricultural areas or military hotspots--by breaking up these local communities, the Incas could reduce the possibility of revolts.
Inca society was thoroughly controlled by the government. There were no distinct class differences between rich and poor, as the government doled out equal aid to all citizens. The ultimate control of the government meant that no citizen could slip through the cracks and face destitution, but it also meant that no ambition and hard work could allow for social mobility. Each family was grouped into an ayllu, a group whose members shared activities like farming, building canals, and other rituals. The social relationships in the empire were characterized by sharing and mutual responsibility; all households worked together to support each other, to remain equally content. There was a major emphasis on hard work in Inca society. Even the Sapa Inca occasionally went out into the fields to do manual labor to serve as an example for his people. There were also laws in place forcing subjects to maintain a steady job for income and keep his or her finances in order. In fact, most aspects of commoners' lives were controlled by government policy. These commoners, mainly lower class farmers, artisans, and servants, were designated to a certain occupation by the government, and they could only ever perform said job. They could also never be idle, and had to work constantly. They could never own their own business, as this would give a commoner a opportunity to have more wealth than the rest of his class. The government even controlled the times commoners' had to sleep and bathe! Further social regulations were put in place to level the class of commoners. For instance, commoners could only wear plain clothing, and they were forbidden to own more than the necessities. Such harsh social regulations and confinements were not as equally applied to the upper class of Inca society, despite the goal of the Inca government to communize its people. The upper class citizens lived in the capital of Cuzco, where larger, finer stone lodgings were available. While the no upper class citizen could wear different clothing than those of the commoners, special privileges were granted to the Inca rulers and headmen to wear different clothing than the poor to maintain their dignity. The upper class citizens were also offered an education not given to the commoners, preparing the children of nobles to take on official positions. Despite the slight differences between the supposedly equal classes of the Inca society, the universal aspects of religion and the official language, Quechua, helped keep a sense of unity. The Inca religion was, like the Aztec and Maya religions, linked to nature. The chief god was Inti, the Sun god to whom the Sapa Incas claimed lineage. Inti, and the other gods of the Inca's polytheistic religion, were served by "chosen women," or upper class women trained to prepare ritual food and drink and to make clothes for the Sapa Inca and the Coya, his queen, in the main temples in Cuzco and around the empire.