American Civilizations

- The Inca established their own kingdom in the Valley of Cuzco by the 1200s. Their beliefs and customs helped begin and unify their empire. They believed in the sun god, Inti, who would bring prosperity and greatness to the Inca state. Only men from one of eleven noble lineages believed to be descendants of the sun god could become Incan leaders. This principle could have led to the decline of the Incans because Incan leaders were only chosen from eleven men, and people did not have much of a say in choosing their leader.

- Pachacuti took the throne in 1438, and under his leadership, the Inca conquered all of Peru and moved into neighboring lands. By 1500, the Inca ruled a vast empire, which they called “Land of the Four Quarters,” and included 80 provinces. Pachacuti and his successors accomplished this through diplomacy and military forces. The Inca had a powerful military. In addition, they were smart diplomats. For example, another success factor of the Incans was that they would allow the enemy to keep their own customs and rulers in exchange for loyalty to the Incan state. Many states surrenderedbefore even fighting. Overall, the Incans tolerated their conquered people’s customs, which helped them thrive in the ancient world because it would prevent rebellions and keep people satisfied and happy.

- The Incan rulers divided their territory and its people into manageable units, governed by a central bureaucracy, which was a distinguishing factor of the time and led to their success. They also created a booming economic system, to support the empire, and created a large road system, leading to vast parts of the empire. The road system symbolized the power of the Incan state. The road system went across deserts and mountains. Chasquis traveled along the roads as poastal service, which was helpful to the Incan government and helped spread news to the vast parts of the empire. The road system also allowed easy movement of troops o bring control to areas of the empire where trouble might be brewing.

- The Incans maintained a single language, Quechua, and founded schools to teach Incan customs. Other actions that the Incans took to unify their people included certain social groups identified by patterns on their clothing. Unifying a vast empire helped the Incans control the land well without (many) uproars.

- The Inca also built many cities in conquered areas. The architecture was the same throughout the empire, and all roads led to Cuzco, the capital, which was a beautiful city full of temples, palaces, and plazas. The Incans were great engineers and stonemasons. They even carved and transported huge blocks of stone by fitting them together perfectly without any mortar. However, the Incan government allowed little private trade.

- The Incan social system was based on the ayullu, an extended family group that undertook tasks too big for a single family. The tasks included building irrigation canals or cutting agricultural terraces into hillsides, and they also stored food to distribute among its members. A chief led each group.

- The Incan state demanded labor tribute called mita, which required all able-bodied citizens to work for the state for a certain number of days every year. This factor (with others) could have led to the decline of the Incans because people might not have wanted to work on state farmlands, produce craft goods, or help with public works projects, and they could have consequently rebelled. The Incan system is often compared to a type of socialism today.