 Today's video is an overview of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire which took place in the 16th century. Now before we start let us quickly review what we're going to cover during this video lecture. We'll begin with a brief introduction to the Inca civilization. Then we'll cover the Spanish arrival and the conquest of the Andean region. Followed by a look at the role of the conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Then we'll cover the events that led up to the end of the Inca Empire and the creation of New Castile. We'll also review some of the original sources currently available to us. And finally we're going to touch on some of the conclusions for this lecture. Again today's video is an overview of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire which took place between 1528 and August of 1572. So why don't we start by explaining who the Incas were. Now if you remember in subunit 1.3.1 we learn about the Amerindian civilizations which included the Incas. So just as a quick reminder the Inca civilization emerged from the Peruvian Highlands in the 13th century and thrived until the Spanish conquest in 1533. The Inca civilization was centered in modern Peru. However by peaceful assimilation and conquest at its height the Inca Empire also included large parts of Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile and Colombia. It was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The capital of the empire was the great city of Cusco in southeastern Peru. The city was guarded by large fortress the colossal Machu Picchu. The Incas achieved many impressive cultural and scientific accomplishments. Still the pinnacle of Inca civilization were their contributions to engineering and architecture. Even though Spain has been exploring and conquering new territories and new worlds since the end of the 15th century it wasn't until 1522 that Spanish explorers reached the western South America and home of the Incas. This short-lived expedition was commanded by Pascual de Andagoya who had heard of a great civilization in land called Biru or Piru. While exploring the San Juan River. Even though a severe illness forced Andagoya to return to Panama his report of large amounts of gold and silver prompted a new expedition. This time to be commanded by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Francisco Pizarro was an experienced conquistador who participated in campaigns in New Andalusia, modern day Colombia and Venezuela and in Panama. In 1524 while still in Panama Pizarro heard of the ill-fated Andagoya expedition. Soon thereafter he convinced another conquistador Diego Almagro and a missionary Hernando de Luque to launch an expedition to western South America. Pizarro would command the expedition. Almagro would provide the soldiers while Luque would cover all provisions needed. The three Spaniards were to divide in equal parts all of the riches. 1524 marked a crucial moment in the history of Peru. The launch of the first of three expeditions aimed at conquering the Inca Empire. On September 13 Pizarro left Panama with about 100 men but just a few weeks later after only having reached the coast of Colombia he was forced to return to Panama due to foul weather. Pizarro and his comrades had to wait in Panama for two years before launching his second expedition. Then in August of 1526 Pizarro left with just under 200 men. After reaching once again the river San Juan in Colombia their forces had to split due to lack of provisions. Almagro sailed back north to Panama for reinforcements while pilot Bartolome Ruiz sailed south in search of evidence of the existence of the Inca Empire and Pizarro stayed with most of the men to explore the local area. In the south Bartolome Ruiz found several natives on the banks of the river Tumbes in northern Peru. The Indians were carrying gold and silver with them as well as many precious stones. Ruiz captured the natives and returned to San Juan to meet with Pizarro. As soon as Almagro returned with reinforcements the Spaniards sailed back to Tumbes where Ruiz had captured the natives. However in 1528 after two years of exploring the territory and by this stage outnumbered and running low on victuals Pizarro decided to return to Panama to prepare for a third and final expedition. Finally in 1529 after having to travel to Spain to convince the king personally of the benefits of conquering the Inca Empire Pizarro and his associates were granted permission to launch a third expedition to Peru. Preparations for such a large endeavor took over a year and the expedition finally took sail in 1532. Pizarro's first stop was Tumbes which was the destination of the second expedition. However Tumbes had been raged by civil war within the Inca Empire. It was near Tumbes that Pizarro decided to create the first Spanish settlement in Peru Seymiguel de Piura. While building the colony Pizarro dispatched one of his soldiers Hernando de Soto to bear an introductory letter of friendship to the Inca ruler Atahualpa. In the meantime King Atahualpa had been informed of the arrival of the conquistadors to the northern borders of his empire. Even though at first glance Incas had believed the Spaniards were gods soon they resolved that they were humans since they slept, ate and bled like humans did. Now not fearing them Atahualpa accepted Pizarro's offer to meet in the town of Caramaca in northern Peru. On November 16 1532 Atahualpa met with Pizarro although he had his entire army of 80,000 strong waiting for him outside the town Atahualpa attended the meeting with just 7,000 unarmed soldiers. Still the Spaniards with 200 strong were greatly outnumbered. During their meeting Atahualpa refused the conquistadors' demands and Atahualpa's refusal led to the battle of Caramaca in which Pizarro massacred Atahualpa's guard and took the king hostage. There are several reasons why just 200 Spaniards were able to defeat the thousands of Incas but the two most important are the fact that they had artillery and that once Pizarro had captured Atahualpa his army surrendered. Once victorious Atahualpa and Pizarro reached an agreement for his release which included the payment of a large sum of gold and silver to the Spaniard. But even though Atahualpa's helpers paid the full ransom he was executed by Pizarro's order on August 29, 1533. By November 1533 the Spanish forces had finally invaded Cusco. Now fearing an uprising Pizarro crowned Atahualpa's brother Tupac Ovalpa as a puppet ruler. However Tupac Ovalpa died of smallpox just a few months later. The Spaniards then crowned another of Atahualpa's brothers Manco Inca Yupanqui. Manco Inca was initially an ally of the Spanish. However after being openly mistreated he rebelled. Thus in 1537 taking advantage of a dispute between Almagro and Pizarro over the spoils of the conquest of Peru Manco Inca attempted to capture the city of Cusco and after a year of continuous confrontations the Incas were defeated. After the Spanish regained control of Cusco Manco Inca continued but to no avail to launch several attacks against the conquerors from the mountains where he and his few allies hid for several decades. The struggles continued until 1572 when his son Tupac Amaru, the last member of the Inca dynasty was assassinated by the Spanish. After 40 years then the Inca Empire had finally fallen. Similarly as they had done in Mexico the Spanish forces destroyed all vestiges of the once powerful Inca Empire. In the capital city Cusco Catholic churches were built on top of the Inca temples. Moreover the Spanish moved the capital to newly acquired lands to Lima which Pizarro himself founded in 1535. The Inca Empire became part of the Spanish overseas territories first known as the Viceroyalty of New Castile and in 1572 as the Viceroyalty of Peru. There are several contemporary sources describing the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. Firstly we have Hernando Pizarro's letters. Hernando was Francisco Pizarro's brother and you can read one of his letters translated into English in subunit 2.2. These letters contain a number of interesting observations regarding the geography of the region as well as the religious customs and daily lives of its inhabitants. Still their value comes from the author's description of the Spanish military campaigns and his close relation with their commander. Probably the best and most accurate account of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire is Pedro de Ciestas Cronicas del Peru. You can read an excerpt in subunit 2.2. This account includes not only fascinating descriptions of the military operations of the Spanish conquistadors but also detailed materials on the natives and their clothing, housing, food and other habits. Ciesa's work is considered to be the best account of the Andean cultures by an eyewitness. Finally there's an Inca account of the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire. As mentioned before, the Spaniards burn most of the Inca records in the process of destroying any remains of their civilization. However, Tito Coussi, a son of the Manco Inca and brother of Tupac Amaru dictated an Inca history of Pizarro's conquest to a Spanish missionary. The account contains invaluable observations regarding the Inca's cultural practices and their attempts to a resistance to the European conquest. In conclusion, with a few thousand soldiers, Francisco Pizarro managed to conquer the Inca Empire which had an approximate population of 12 million. Now by the end of the century, all diseases and Spanish rule had decimated the native Indian population. And by the early 17th century there were less than 3 million Aztecs. Even though the Spaniards destroyed most of the Inca culture, a few of their traditions and their language, Runacimi, also known as Quechua, survives to this day.