Changes

[[Image:Inca empire.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The greatest extent of the Incan Empire.]]

[[Image:Inca empire.jpg|right|thumb|200px|The greatest extent of the Incan Empire.]]

The '''Inca''' civilization, which lasted from roughly 1250 to 1548 AD, was the largest empire of [[Columbian Exchange|Pre-Columbian]] [[Americas|America]] until it was destroyed by Spanish imperialists. The Inca are best known for their highly advanced road system, surprisingly accurate medical knowledge, and [[calendar]].  The famous [[Machu Picchu]] is an Incan ruin.

The '''Inca''' civilization, which lasted from roughly 1250 to 1548 AD, was the largest [[Precolumbian_Civilizations|empire]] of [[Columbian Exchange|Pre-Columbian]] [[Americas|America]] until it was destroyed by Spanish imperialists. The Inca are best known for their highly advanced road system, surprisingly accurate medical knowledge, and [[calendar]].  The famous [[Machu Picchu]] is an Incan ruin.

==History of the Inca==

==History of the Inca==

==Collapse of the Inca==

==Collapse of the Inca==

In 1526, 182 Spanish [[Conquistadors]] commanded by [[Francisco Pizzaro]] reached Incan territory and began to recruit from the tribes conquered by the Inca.  [[Smallpox]], accidentally introduced by the Spaniards, decimated the Incan population and killed the Emperor Huyana Capac.  In 1532, his successor, Atahualpa, was kidnapped and later executed by the Spaniards, ending the administration of the Incan Empire.  By 1572, the revolting Incans had subsided and the territory came under Spanish rule.

In 1526, 182 Spanish [[Conquistadors]] commanded by [[Francisco Pizzaro]] reached Incan territory and began to recruit from the tribes conquered by the Inca.  [[Smallpox]], accidentally introduced by the Spaniards, decimated the Incan population and killed the Emperor [[Huyana Capac]].  In 1532, his successor, Atahualpa, was kidnapped and later executed by the Spaniards, ending the administration of the Incan Empire.  By 1572, the revolting Incans had subsided and the territory came under Spanish rule.

The descendants of the Inca are the Kichwa (Quechua) and Aymara ethnicities.  There are approximately 10 million Kichwa living in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, making them by far the largest surviving indigenous American ethnicity.  (The Maya are next with just over 6 million.)  The largest Inca minority was the Aymara, who today number around 1.6 million in the same region.  These two groups and several smaller ones are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in the Andes and are involved in frequent agitations and uprisings in the region, particularly Bolivia.  These problems stem from issues such as runaway [[inflation]] on gas prices and water privatization, which in turn raise prices to prohibitively high levels.   

The descendants of the Inca are the Kichwa (Quechua) and Aymara ethnicities.  There are approximately 10 million Kichwa living in Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, making them by far the largest surviving indigenous American ethnicity.  (The Maya are next with just over 6 million.)  The largest Inca minority was the Aymara, who today number around 1.6 million in the same region.  These two groups and several smaller ones are at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder in the Andes and are involved in frequent agitations and uprisings in the region, particularly Bolivia.  These problems stem from issues such as runaway [[inflation]] on gas prices and water privatization, which in turn raise prices to prohibitively high levels.   

[[category:American History]]

[[category:American History]]

[[category:Peru]]

[[category:Peru]]