Inca

The Inca civilization, which lasted from roughly 1250 to 1548 AD, was the largest empire of Pre-Columbian 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 capital of the empire was in Sacsayhuamán, near Cuzco in modern Peru. The most recognizable Inca city, however, is Machu Picchu, located high in the Peruvian Andes.

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.) Kichwa was the official language of the Inca Empire. The largest Inca minority was the Aymara, who 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 the United States' War on Drugs, which harms traditional cocaleros (coca growers, who sell mainly non-narcotic coca leaves for energy and medicine), and failed free trade policies imposed by the World Bank and IMF. These latter produce problems such as runaway inflation on gas prices and water privatization, which in turn raise prices to prohibitively high levels. Inevitably, riots and occupations follow. Earlier uprisings were targeted against Spanish rule and impressment for mining.