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Deep in the heart of the Peruvian
Andes, there is a shrine.
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It is known as Yurak Rumi -
the White Stone.
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Five centuries ago, priests
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and royalty from one of the greatest
empires in the world would
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gather here to pray to the sun,
to the earth, and to the stars.
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But the empire they ruled had
shrunk. Once it spanned a continent.
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Now it covered barely this
isolated piece of forest.
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This is the story of what
happened to the Inca -
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the greatest pre-Columbian
empire in the Americas.
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A land of desert temples,
of palaces in the clouds
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00:00:58,600 --> 00:01:02,040
and cities hidden
deep in the forest.
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The Inca created a system
of governance that was ideally
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suited to these landscapes.
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A religion that chimed with
pre-existing Andean belief systems,
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but that was designed to
emphasise their own special
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position in the cosmic order.
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Not only had they developed
ingenious agricultural technologies,
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but an effective way of distributing
them, binding people to the state.
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And their built environment,
their architecture criss-crossed
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the entire territories, projecting
their power to the people.
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But the Inca would meet another
empire from across the ocean,
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one which played by a completely
different set of rules.
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And this clash of two very different
empires is still the defining
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moment in South America's history.
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I am fascinated by how the Inca
succumbed to the Spanish.
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How such a powerful state was
conquered by just a few
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hundred conquistadors.
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How an empire of mountains,
desert, sky and forest
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was reduced to this lonely
and forgotten shrine.
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The Inca were one of many
societies who
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lived in the Andes during the early
part of the second millennium.
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From their capital city, Cuzco,
they then built an empire which
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stretched 4,000 kilometres along
the western coast of South America.
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It included parts of the modern-day
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nations of Peru, Bolivia, Ecuador,
Argentina and Chile.
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This was an empire of solutions -
the Inca revolutionised agriculture.
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They had transformed food
distribution.
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00:03:05,200 --> 00:03:10,160
They bound their huge realm together
with thousands of kilometres
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of roads, many of which
are still in use today.
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And at their zenith, their power
even reached places like this -
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Mount Ampato, high in the Andes,
where rock and cloud meet sky.
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So this is the base
of Mount Ampato on the left.
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That's Sabancaya - another volcano -
on the right.
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At over 6,000 metres, Ampato is one
of the highest mountains in Peru.
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Like many high peaks in the Andes,
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it was summited by the Inca
hundreds of years ago.
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00:04:03,720 --> 00:04:07,240
Which tells me that mountains
like this played a significant
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role in the culture
of the Inca Empire.
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00:04:11,480 --> 00:04:14,240
When we talk
about high-altitude archaeology,
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we're talking about 5,200 metres.
The only people who did
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that before European sport climbing
in the 1800s were the Incas.
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So, like, 400 years before Europeans
were even reaching 22,000 feet,
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the Incas were not only reaching,
consistently reaching,
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they were building structures
of stone at 22,000 feet.
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For 99.9% of our lives,
we live in the same
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parts of the landscape -
home, work, in the pub.
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And so our behaviour in those
locations is pretty
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normal for society.
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But what about that other
fraction of the landscape,
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extreme locations,
deep inside caves,
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under water and at the top
of extremely high mountains?
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I think that the behaviour of past
societies at these extreme
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locations can give us a unique
insight into those cultures.
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In the minds of the Inca, inanimate
objects like rocks, rivers
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or streams were often
considered sacred.
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Mountains were no exception.
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They represented
the origin of people's ancestors,
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or their place they went to
when they died.
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Many of these mountains are active
volcanoes and they still inspire
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an almost religious reverence
from the people who live here today.
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When they look at the mountains,
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they kind of see a living presence,
and that was brought home many
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times to me. They'd say, "You
Westerners just don't understand.
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"For us, the mountains are alive."
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I'm currently at 5,500 metres, or
just over 18,000 feet, above sea
level.
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When you hike up to these extreme
altitudes, it becomes very
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hard to breathe and there's
a lack of oxygen to the brain.
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And that's really interesting,
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because it starts to play
tricks on your mind.
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Your thoughts internalise very,
very quickly.
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To describe it, it's almost
like you're on the edge of dreaming
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but you're still awake.
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So you can see why the Inca would
find it a very spiritual
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experience as they came up to
these extreme places,
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why they might feel they were
entering the realm of the gods.
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That's why we need to look at these
mountains not simply as rock
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and ice,
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but as places which were
vital to sustaining
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and explaining the Inca worldview.
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And what happened on these
mountains can explain
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much about the strength
and nature of Inca power.
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Around the year 1450,
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a spectacular Inca procession
made its way up this mountain.
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As part of the group was
a 13-year-old girl,
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dressed in elaborate Inca textiles.
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But the group had a grisly purpose,
because when they reached the
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summit, they smashed in the girl's
skull, sacrificing her to the gods.
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For over 500 years,
knowledge of this expedition,
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and the fate of the girl who was
sacrificed, lay hidden in the snow.
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It wasn't till 1995, when American
anthropologist Johan Reinhard
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and his climbing partner
Miguel Zarate reached the summit,
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that Ampato gave up its secret.
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We initially
found food and textiles,
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you know, torn, and wood pieces
and stuff like that.
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When we returned later,
we found statues and other things -
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boxes, little boxes, and so on,
but, of course, the focus then
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became on the mummy which was just
laying right out.
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Reinhard and Zarate named
the mummy Juanita.
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Her sacrifice was the culmination
of a whole series of carefully
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planned rituals which spread
throughout the empire.
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Human sacrifice
was the last event in a whole
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series of rituals that could
take as long as a year before they
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reached their culmination. People,
in fact, were brought to Cuzco
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and fed special foods and purified
before being carried
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or themselves walking
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as far as 2,000 kilometres to
get to their final sacrifice point.
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Juanita's last journey would have
taken her across the whole empire,
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from desert, to coast, to forest,
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before finally reaching
Mount Ampato.
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Her epic journey and carefully
planned death played a critical role
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in demonstrating and reinforcing
Inca power to the people they ruled.
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The Inca Empire is
partly held together through
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religion and ritual and activities,
such as the human sacrifices on
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mountain tops or on islands, which
create an integration of the empire
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through people coming from Cuzco and
walking to make these sacrifices.
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And this is why Juanita was led up
this mountain five centuries ago.
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Her journey to Ampato symbolised
the political reach of the Inca.
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Her sacrifice emphasised the Inca
control over the sacred
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landscape of the Andes.
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Above all, Juanita's death
suggests to me
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an empire with an incredibly
well-developed
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sense of its own mission,
its own rituals and its own power.
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And yet, this huge empire of ten
million souls
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fell rapidly to a small
force of conquistadors.
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To find out why, I think
we need to look at just how rapidly
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the Inca were expanding by the late
15th century.
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Because that rapid expansion
undermined the foundations
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upon which their empire was built.
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This is the site of Quispiguanca,
the great royal
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estate of Huayna Capac,
the Sapa Inca ruler.
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In 1493, when construction of this
site was in full swing,
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it must have been such
a impressive sight -
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the estate sprawling down this
beautiful Urubamba River.
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This was when the Inca
were at their zenith.
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Today, Quispiguanca is in danger
of being consumed by the modern
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town of Urubamba.
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But once, nearly 2,500 workers
and their
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families lived on this site, tending
to Huayna Capac's every whim.
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The emperor and his family
lived in this massive enclosure,
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as big as seven football pitches.
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There was a forest stocked with game
and deer, a lagoon,
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an artificial pond, and storehouses
for clothes, food and beer.
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But all this splendour
was hiding a serious problem.
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The Inca empire was fed by
a constant need for growth.
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As the Inca Empire
expanded and got larger,
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it was much harder to control
the diversity of populations that
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were under the Inca rubric.
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I think the Inca Empire
was continuously unstable,
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in as much as you were
always having to persuade all
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of these different ethnic groups to
remain within it, and as it became
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larger and larger, the potential
of fragmentation was always there.
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Pressure to expand is common to many
empires, not just the Inca.
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But expanding whilst maintaining
stability, even for a powerful
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and complex empire like the Incas',
is a delicate balancing act.
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I think all emperors take power with
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the idea of expanding their empire.
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It's rather a mandate
when you take the crown.
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So I think Huayna Capac was
expanding out, but he inherits
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the empire and it's already very
large, it's already very complex.
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Huayna Capac probably spent little
time enjoying Quispiguanca.
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His rule was dominated by attempts
to project Inca power ever
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further from Cuzco.
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His greatest campaign would see him
lead his armies north,
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into modern-day Ecuador.
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We shouldn't think of the Inca
in the way we think of empires
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like Rome or Britain, where power
flowed directly from military might.
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The Inca were different.
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Their empire had largely grown
through diplomacy
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and peaceful incorporation,
rather than bloody conquest.
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It was a clever strategy,
in which neighbouring societies
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were enticed to accede to Inca rule
in return for sharing in the fruits
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of their rich, efficiently organised
and well-fed empire.
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If you look at the history of the
Inca expansion, there's relatively
few major pitched battles or
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military campaigns.
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But there were limits
to this strategy,
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as Huayna Capac and his armies
were about to find out.
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Quitoloma is one of a series of Inca
forts which mark the northern
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boundaries of the Inca empire.
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These forts occupy the high
points along the ridgeline,
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nearly 4,000 metres above sea level
in northern Ecuador.
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My guide today is eminent
archaeologist Antonio Fresco,
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who has studied the remains of Inca
forts and defences in these hills.
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For 17 years,
Huayna Capac and his Inca forces
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fought against the Cayambe
and Caranqui peoples who lived here.
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The highland people of Ecuador had
no need of the Inca
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revolutions in agriculture
and administration. Evidence shows
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that they had long enjoyed plentiful
harvests and a varied diet.
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And signs of their resistance to the
Inca are still visible here today.
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As the war dragged on,
the Inca used their tremendous
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00:15:23,640 --> 00:15:29,600
organisational skills to attempt
social engineering on a vast scale.
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00:15:29,600 --> 00:15:33,600
They expelled people under
their control and replaced them
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with loyal settlers from other
parts of the empire.
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You get several advantages
in this type of colonisation.
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You are able to disperse
a power which is against you
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and place them in different areas,
and you're able to reward
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some of your own people with new
conquered lands.
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To this day, the effects of this
can be seen here. Many people in
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this part of Ecuador can trace their
ancestry to Argentina and Chile.
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They are descendants of the settlers
and soldiers the Inca brought here.
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As the years passed,
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the war stretched the resources
of the empire to breaking point.
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This is a pretty bleak, desolate,
windswept place.
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But I think it was here that the
peoples of northern Ecuador
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changed the game for the Inca.
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00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:29,160
Because what happened
here at Quitoloma and the whole
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series of Inca forts along this
ridgeline fundamentally altered the
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00:17:32,600 --> 00:17:36,760
nature of Inca power, with terrible
consequences for the Empire.
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00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:50,080
The war reached a climax
here at Lake Yahuaracocha -
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the ominously named "lake of blood".
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00:17:56,200 --> 00:18:00,160
Beneath the surface, and around the
edge of this lake, archaeologist
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Jose Echeverria has uncovered
evidence of an immense battle.
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00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:26,640
Jose has pieced together what
happened here when Inca forces
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confronted their northern enemies
by the shores of this lake.
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00:18:59,800 --> 00:19:02,720
Sometimes empires are like
supernovas -
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they expand out in tremendous speed,
and often there's
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an over-extension, and I think
that's what we have with the Incas.
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00:19:15,800 --> 00:19:18,400
They are really at the end
of their logistical
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00:19:18,400 --> 00:19:22,960
abilities by the time they get
up into northern Ecuador.
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And the Incas just have a hard time
in controlling those different
230
00:19:28,200 --> 00:19:30,120
ethnic groups.
231
00:19:30,120 --> 00:19:35,200
Strategically, this Pyrrhic victory
was a disaster for the Inca.
232
00:19:35,200 --> 00:19:38,480
Their empire in the north was not
based on the same peaceful
233
00:19:38,480 --> 00:19:42,240
cooperation as it was further south.
234
00:19:42,240 --> 00:19:45,200
It was based purely
on military strength.
235
00:19:45,200 --> 00:19:48,800
The Inca were now an occupying army.
236
00:19:49,880 --> 00:19:51,560
What had made the Incas
237
00:19:51,560 --> 00:19:55,200
so successful was offering
solutions to people, and providing
238
00:19:55,200 --> 00:19:59,360
a stable and attractive
way of life in a tough environment.
239
00:19:59,360 --> 00:20:02,480
The campaign completely undermined
what had made Inca power
240
00:20:02,480 --> 00:20:05,120
so seductive and successful.
241
00:20:05,120 --> 00:20:07,920
In a sense, the Inca
were following a dangerous path
242
00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,000
taken by other empires around
the world, with their soldiers holed
243
00:20:11,000 --> 00:20:14,800
up in forts, harassed by guerrillas,
and only able to maintain
244
00:20:14,800 --> 00:20:20,800
control through the application
of overwhelming force and bloodshed.
245
00:20:23,400 --> 00:20:26,200
This was a profound
moment in Inca history,
246
00:20:26,200 --> 00:20:29,280
and it was immediately
followed by an event that would
247
00:20:29,280 --> 00:20:33,160
destabilise the Empire
like never before.
248
00:20:33,160 --> 00:20:36,120
Around 1528, Huayna Capac died.
249
00:20:36,120 --> 00:20:38,480
And in the Inca system,
250
00:20:38,480 --> 00:20:42,520
royal succession was not simply
decided by who was next in line.
251
00:20:44,040 --> 00:20:46,840
The Incas basically had two
tracks to the throne.
252
00:20:46,840 --> 00:20:50,680
One of them was the ruler would name
a co-regent
253
00:20:50,680 --> 00:20:55,520
while he was still ruler. The other
one was that the most able
254
00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,920
son of the ruler would ascend to the
throne, which invited competition.
255
00:20:59,920 --> 00:21:01,600
That's disastrous.
256
00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:05,440
It could be ruinous for a society
looking for a peaceful transition.
257
00:21:05,440 --> 00:21:10,520
Previous Inca successions had been
disruptive and often bloody affairs.
258
00:21:10,520 --> 00:21:13,000
This one would be no different.
259
00:21:13,000 --> 00:21:15,480
This is a world in which the
descendants of the Sapa Inca
260
00:21:15,480 --> 00:21:18,960
are almost as likely to be
killed in a succession
261
00:21:18,960 --> 00:21:23,760
crisis as they are of becoming
the Sapa Inca themselves.
262
00:21:23,760 --> 00:21:27,200
The problem is, without an iron
rule of primogeniture,
263
00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,880
and the emperor having
lots of children by many wives,
264
00:21:29,880 --> 00:21:32,760
there's a large pool of people to
claim the throne.
265
00:21:32,760 --> 00:21:36,800
It's a system that lends itself to
plotting, intrigue, and bargaining,
266
00:21:36,800 --> 00:21:40,680
with inherent uncertainty in it,
right from the beginning.
267
00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:43,640
So the moment of succession is
a moment of upheaval,
268
00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,560
of vulnerability, like a shock
to the system for the entire empire.
269
00:21:48,840 --> 00:21:51,960
Of course, many European kingdoms
have endured this
270
00:21:51,960 --> 00:21:55,320
kind of constitutional crisis.
271
00:21:55,320 --> 00:21:56,560
But what made this one
272
00:21:56,560 --> 00:22:00,280
so dangerous was the fragile
balance of power in the empire.
273
00:22:00,280 --> 00:22:04,280
The most powerful armies
were in the north.
274
00:22:04,280 --> 00:22:07,440
They were not concentrated in Cuzco,
they were up there
275
00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:12,120
as a potential rebellious source of
power for a contender to the throne.
276
00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,360
When Huayna Capac died,
it thrust both
277
00:22:17,360 --> 00:22:19,440
the political elite in Cuzco
278
00:22:19,440 --> 00:22:22,720
and the military elite in Ecuador
into direct conflict.
279
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:26,200
They no longer had a uniting figure
everyone could get behind,
280
00:22:26,200 --> 00:22:29,000
and that put the empire into chaos.
281
00:22:29,000 --> 00:22:33,040
This was the unintended consequence
of Huayna Capac's northward
282
00:22:33,040 --> 00:22:34,600
expansion.
283
00:22:34,600 --> 00:22:38,360
His two-decade-long campaign had
fatally undermined the military
284
00:22:38,360 --> 00:22:41,360
and political balance of the empire.
285
00:22:41,360 --> 00:22:43,720
Combined with
the uncertainty of the succession,
286
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,240
the result was
a devastating civil war.
287
00:22:47,240 --> 00:22:52,160
The protagonists in this Civil War
were half-brothers Atahualpa
288
00:22:52,160 --> 00:22:55,880
and Huascar - both sons of Huayna
Capac, but by different mothers.
289
00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:59,880
It was a rivalry that
divided the empire.
290
00:22:59,880 --> 00:23:02,720
Huascar had the support
of the nobles in Cuzco
291
00:23:02,720 --> 00:23:04,280
and was enthroned there.
292
00:23:04,280 --> 00:23:06,920
But Atahualpa had
the support of the northern armies.
293
00:23:06,920 --> 00:23:09,480
It's unclear whether he was
expecting a separate empire
294
00:23:09,480 --> 00:23:13,120
in the north or simply to move
the capital from Cuzco to Quito.
295
00:23:13,120 --> 00:23:16,080
But it wasn't just a dispute
between half-brothers -
296
00:23:16,080 --> 00:23:21,520
it was a war between north and south
that completely split
the empire in two.
297
00:23:25,120 --> 00:23:27,120
The war became
a series of devastating
298
00:23:27,120 --> 00:23:29,920
battles along the length
of the Andes.
299
00:23:31,280 --> 00:23:33,080
After three years of fighting,
300
00:23:33,080 --> 00:23:36,920
Atahualpa's seasoned soldiers
gained a decisive upper hand.
301
00:23:38,400 --> 00:23:40,760
Atahualpa's principle general
302
00:23:40,760 --> 00:23:45,840
went into Cuzco and captured
all of the royalty of Cuzco who had
303
00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,880
sided with Huascar
and massacred them.
304
00:23:48,880 --> 00:23:52,720
Thousands and thousands of people
were killed on the spot.
305
00:23:54,720 --> 00:23:58,000
This resulted in the elimination
of perhaps half of Cuzco's
306
00:23:58,000 --> 00:24:00,840
royalty in the space of just
a few months.
307
00:24:03,280 --> 00:24:08,000
In terms of human life, the cost
of Atahualpa's victory was high.
308
00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:11,720
This bloodshed undoubtedly
weakened the empire.
309
00:24:11,720 --> 00:24:16,760
But, by 1532, Atahualpa was
the undisputed successor,
310
00:24:16,760 --> 00:24:19,320
and ruler of a vast realm.
311
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:24,800
Into this world stepped Francisco
Pizarro and his conquistadors.
312
00:24:24,800 --> 00:24:27,600
They were small in number -
less than 200 soldiers
313
00:24:27,600 --> 00:24:32,480
and a dozen horses -
but they were battle hardened after
314
00:24:32,480 --> 00:24:34,880
years of fighting
in Central America.
315
00:24:41,240 --> 00:24:45,040
From their point of view, they could
not have arrived at a better time.
316
00:24:50,240 --> 00:24:53,000
Atahualpa sent emissaries down just
317
00:24:53,000 --> 00:24:57,480
to have a look at these strangers.
They reported back that
318
00:24:57,480 --> 00:25:00,800
they're pretty hopeless,
so he allowed them to come up
319
00:25:00,800 --> 00:25:02,400
and meet him.
320
00:25:02,400 --> 00:25:04,520
So they marched
up into the mountains.
321
00:25:06,080 --> 00:25:09,200
When people discuss the European
conquest of the Inca,
322
00:25:09,200 --> 00:25:12,480
they often ask a simple question -
why didn't the Inca just
323
00:25:12,480 --> 00:25:15,960
snuff out the Europeans as soon as
they arrived on the coast?
324
00:25:15,960 --> 00:25:17,960
They certainly enjoyed
overwhelming force
325
00:25:17,960 --> 00:25:20,920
and could have kidnapped or
killed them at any time.
326
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,360
But I think this question slightly
misses the point.
327
00:25:23,360 --> 00:25:25,920
Because this isn't
a war between equals, it's a
328
00:25:25,920 --> 00:25:28,960
collision of two completely
different worldviews.
329
00:25:28,960 --> 00:25:31,640
From Atahualpa's perspective,
he had just taken
330
00:25:31,640 --> 00:25:35,440
control of an immense empire -
the entire known world was his.
331
00:25:35,440 --> 00:25:39,280
So from his perspective, why should
he be scared of some bedraggled,
332
00:25:39,280 --> 00:25:43,400
sunburned Spaniards,
struggling inland?
333
00:25:46,880 --> 00:25:50,080
Although few in number,
Pizarro led a band of experienced
334
00:25:50,080 --> 00:25:52,400
and skilled soldiers.
335
00:25:54,200 --> 00:25:57,560
They were the fearsome
spearhead of the Spanish Empire.
336
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:01,640
In their wake, they had brought
European diseases which were
337
00:26:01,640 --> 00:26:03,440
ravaging indigenous populations
338
00:26:03,440 --> 00:26:06,680
and spreading, uncontrolled,
across the Americas.
339
00:26:09,440 --> 00:26:12,000
But, ultimately, theirs
was a crusading mission.
340
00:26:12,000 --> 00:26:14,280
Cloaked in the symbols
of Christianity,
341
00:26:14,280 --> 00:26:17,240
its aims were simple - to
accumulate for each other,
342
00:26:17,240 --> 00:26:21,560
and for the Spanish crown,
as much wealth as humanly possible.
343
00:26:24,280 --> 00:26:25,920
The expedition of Spaniards
344
00:26:25,920 --> 00:26:29,200
led by Francisco Pizarro was made
up of soldier entrepreneurs.
345
00:26:29,200 --> 00:26:32,200
They had invested their money with
the expectation of pay-offs
346
00:26:32,200 --> 00:26:35,000
and the riches that they were
going to find in the new land.
347
00:26:36,320 --> 00:26:39,000
They purported to
be spreading Christianity,
348
00:26:39,000 --> 00:26:43,240
but they were just
there for the money.
349
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,720
Atahualpa agreed to meet Pizarro
in the town square of Cajamarca,
350
00:26:46,720 --> 00:26:51,840
in northern Peru,
at dusk on 16th November, 1532.
351
00:26:53,520 --> 00:26:57,120
This was the first meeting of two
very different empires.
352
00:26:58,680 --> 00:27:01,640
Atahualpa had decided to turn
his arrival into an elaborate
353
00:27:01,640 --> 00:27:03,360
ceremonial parade.
354
00:27:03,360 --> 00:27:05,480
He arrived being
carried on a litter,
355
00:27:05,480 --> 00:27:08,960
bedecked in his finest imperial
regalia of emeralds and gold.
356
00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:11,760
Perhaps to intimidate the Spanish,
357
00:27:11,760 --> 00:27:14,720
or at the very least to show them
who they were dealing with.
358
00:27:14,720 --> 00:27:17,920
But when he arrived,
there were no Spanish to be seen.
359
00:27:19,040 --> 00:27:23,040
Pizarro had hidden his men
in the barns that ringed the square.
360
00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,080
They had mounted their horses,
and were fully armed.
361
00:27:26,080 --> 00:27:29,720
For the Inca, however,
this meeting was purely ritual -
362
00:27:29,720 --> 00:27:33,520
their chance to impress the
Spaniards as well as to assess them.
363
00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:37,520
The last thing Atahualpa
and his men expected was a fight.
364
00:27:39,080 --> 00:27:42,560
They weren't armed -
it was a sort of ceremonial parade.
365
00:27:42,560 --> 00:27:48,960
And he was on a litter being carried
by 70 of his senior nobles.
366
00:27:48,960 --> 00:27:52,800
He was expecting to meet
this strange stranger,
367
00:27:52,800 --> 00:27:56,760
instead of which a priest came out -
Valverde.
368
00:27:58,680 --> 00:28:01,800
Valverde began lecturing
Atahualpa on Christianity,
369
00:28:01,800 --> 00:28:04,400
saying that the King of Spain
had sent him
370
00:28:04,400 --> 00:28:07,560
to reveal the word of God to
Atahualpa and his people.
371
00:28:07,560 --> 00:28:10,240
This speech is known as
"The Requirement"
372
00:28:10,240 --> 00:28:12,680
because the Spanish government
required it to be read
373
00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,640
out before any bloodshed was
resorted to by the troops.
374
00:28:18,520 --> 00:28:20,720
Valverde then gave
Atahualpa a Bible,
375
00:28:20,720 --> 00:28:23,800
but Atahualpa quickly threw
it down in disgust.
376
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,960
Atahualpa was a semi-divine figure.
377
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,600
His people believed he was
descended from the sun god, Inti.
378
00:28:31,600 --> 00:28:35,520
He was treated with such reverence
that few dared look him in the eye,
379
00:28:35,520 --> 00:28:40,240
and he expected similar respect from
this bedraggled band of strangers.
380
00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:44,400
Yet now he was being harangued
in a language he did not understand.
381
00:28:46,920 --> 00:28:52,440
Pizarro had anticipated Atahualpa's
angry reaction and prepared for it.
382
00:28:54,760 --> 00:28:58,480
To the astonishment of the Inca,
he ordered his men to attack.
383
00:28:58,480 --> 00:29:03,240
By then, the Inca's up on his litter
384
00:29:03,240 --> 00:29:06,320
and all these hundreds of thousands,
everybody was
385
00:29:06,320 --> 00:29:11,560
squashed into this square, and then
the Spaniards, by surprise, ran and
386
00:29:11,560 --> 00:29:15,520
galloped out of the houses they'd
been lodged in and started killing.
387
00:29:18,840 --> 00:29:22,440
And they just slaughtered with their
swords, just killing and killing.
388
00:29:23,800 --> 00:29:27,560
Thousands of Inca died
in the square that afternoon.
389
00:29:27,560 --> 00:29:30,560
But not a single Spaniard
was killed.
390
00:29:30,560 --> 00:29:34,440
Pizarro made straight for Atahualpa
and dragged him off his litter.
391
00:29:34,440 --> 00:29:37,240
Seeing their revered emperor
bundled into a barn,
392
00:29:37,240 --> 00:29:39,720
the remaining Inca tried to flee.
393
00:29:40,960 --> 00:29:43,840
What happened in Cajamarca could be
explained in one way quite
394
00:29:43,840 --> 00:29:47,360
simply - that Atahualpa had just
underestimated the Spanish.
395
00:29:47,360 --> 00:29:50,240
Certainly his scouts had reported
back that they were
396
00:29:50,240 --> 00:29:53,800
a disorganised rabble,
weak and inferior to the Inca.
397
00:29:53,800 --> 00:29:56,520
But there is another
explanation that is perhaps more
398
00:29:56,520 --> 00:29:58,200
pertinent to Inca power.
399
00:29:58,200 --> 00:30:01,440
When Atahualpa was kidnapped,
the Inca army fell into disarray.
400
00:30:01,440 --> 00:30:04,520
By the morning, thousands of Inca
soldiers had surrendered
401
00:30:04,520 --> 00:30:06,680
meekly without a shot being fired.
402
00:30:06,680 --> 00:30:09,400
Without their all-powerful
demi-god leader,
403
00:30:09,400 --> 00:30:11,560
the Inca military were paralysed.
404
00:30:13,560 --> 00:30:16,680
Pizarro wasted no time in getting
down to business with his new
405
00:30:16,680 --> 00:30:18,840
prisoner.
406
00:30:18,840 --> 00:30:20,880
And then they sent to the camp
407
00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:23,440
and came back with anything that
was gold or silver.
408
00:30:23,440 --> 00:30:26,280
So, Atahualpa very rapidly
realised that the one thing
409
00:30:26,280 --> 00:30:29,080
they were obsessed with
was gold and silver.
410
00:30:30,000 --> 00:30:32,720
Attitudes towards these precious
metals crystallise
411
00:30:32,720 --> 00:30:36,680
the different world views
of the Inca and Spanish empires.
412
00:30:36,680 --> 00:30:39,720
For the Spanish,
gold was the Holy Grail,
413
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:43,120
the principle reason
they had travelled so far from home.
414
00:30:43,120 --> 00:30:46,840
But for the Inca, it had no
monetary value whatsoever.
415
00:30:46,840 --> 00:30:51,400
To them, its value was purely
ceremonial and spiritual.
416
00:30:52,920 --> 00:30:56,080
Atahualpa then made a famous
offer to Pizarro -
417
00:30:56,080 --> 00:30:58,400
that he would fill a room with gold,
418
00:30:58,400 --> 00:31:01,520
and twice with silver
in return for his release.
419
00:31:01,520 --> 00:31:04,560
He ordered his officials to
melt down jewellery, idols -
420
00:31:04,560 --> 00:31:07,400
anything they could
lay their hands on.
421
00:31:07,400 --> 00:31:09,520
It's estimated that this ransom was
422
00:31:09,520 --> 00:31:13,280
worth about £200 million
in today's money.
423
00:31:13,280 --> 00:31:15,920
It was the largest
ransom in history.
424
00:31:15,920 --> 00:31:20,200
Every man under Pizarro's command
instantly became fabulously wealthy.
425
00:31:22,080 --> 00:31:26,320
But they now had a problem -
what to do with Atahualpa.
426
00:31:27,480 --> 00:31:29,800
It's hard to look
into the mind of Pizarro
427
00:31:29,800 --> 00:31:32,520
and his men, but I would anticipate
that they saw the power
428
00:31:32,520 --> 00:31:36,120
that one being, that living being
represented for the unity
429
00:31:36,120 --> 00:31:39,680
of the Inca Empire and that once
they had received that ransom,
430
00:31:39,680 --> 00:31:41,520
I bet that they did anticipate
431
00:31:41,520 --> 00:31:46,240
that killing him was the only way to
save their own skins.
432
00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:49,400
Atahualpa hoped that by acceding
to Pizarro's request,
433
00:31:49,400 --> 00:31:51,320
providing so much precious metal,
434
00:31:51,320 --> 00:31:54,800
he would be freed
and his empire left in peace.
435
00:31:54,800 --> 00:31:57,480
But it seems that some Spanish
were anxious that,
436
00:31:57,480 --> 00:32:00,800
if he was released, their small army
would soon be crushed by the Inca.
437
00:32:00,800 --> 00:32:05,480
And so on the evening
of 26th July, 1533,
438
00:32:05,480 --> 00:32:09,520
Atahualpa was led from his cell,
into the main square of Cajamarca,
439
00:32:09,520 --> 00:32:13,920
and, after a hasty trial, he was
condemned to be burned at the stake.
440
00:32:16,280 --> 00:32:18,320
In the Inca religion, bodies were
441
00:32:18,320 --> 00:32:24,120
mummified to go into the next world,
but the body had to be intact.
442
00:32:24,120 --> 00:32:28,920
And so they got him
to do a deathbed conversion to
443
00:32:28,920 --> 00:32:34,840
Christianity. And that was
in return for not damaging his body.
444
00:32:34,840 --> 00:32:37,520
And then they even reneged on that.
445
00:32:37,520 --> 00:32:40,400
Killed him,
they then set fire to his body.
446
00:32:52,040 --> 00:32:56,960
When they captured Atahualpa,
the Spanish decapitated his army.
447
00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,920
When they killed him,
they decapitated an empire.
448
00:33:00,920 --> 00:33:04,320
Well, the Sapa Inca is
449
00:33:04,320 --> 00:33:08,120
the representation of the unity
of the empire. If given time to
450
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:11,000
work out a succession system
among the elite groups in Cuzco
451
00:33:11,000 --> 00:33:16,000
and in Ecuador, the Inca very well
could have come up with
452
00:33:16,000 --> 00:33:19,560
a succession that would have yielded
a new Sapa Inca, a new leader
453
00:33:19,560 --> 00:33:23,120
who would have unified the empire,
but the Spanish short-changed that.
454
00:33:23,120 --> 00:33:26,040
They cut the legs off from under
that process.
455
00:33:26,040 --> 00:33:30,320
That was probably the most strategic
decision they unwittingly made.
456
00:33:31,760 --> 00:33:37,240
With the empire leaderless,
the Spanish seized the initiative.
457
00:33:37,240 --> 00:33:40,320
They made alliances with
the northern peoples the Incas
458
00:33:40,320 --> 00:33:41,840
had fought so long to conquer.
459
00:33:41,840 --> 00:33:44,600
And they set about destroying
the remaining Inca armies
460
00:33:44,600 --> 00:33:46,280
on their way to Cuzco.
461
00:33:46,280 --> 00:33:50,280
And they brought with them a secret
weapon, which the Inca were simply
462
00:33:50,280 --> 00:33:51,920
unable to deal with.
463
00:33:53,320 --> 00:33:56,120
But this wasn't
the latest European technology.
464
00:33:56,120 --> 00:33:58,040
It was the horse.
465
00:34:01,960 --> 00:34:05,080
Horses had dominated European
warfare for centuries,
466
00:34:05,080 --> 00:34:07,600
but they were completely
alien to the Inca.
467
00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,040
They'd never seen
anything like them before,
468
00:34:10,040 --> 00:34:12,320
and had no idea that they could be
used as an offensive weapon.
469
00:34:12,320 --> 00:34:14,520
In fact,
the first Inca who saw horses,
470
00:34:14,520 --> 00:34:18,400
as Pizarro moved inland,
thought they could be no threat,
471
00:34:18,400 --> 00:34:20,800
because they ate grass,
rather than humans.
472
00:34:23,040 --> 00:34:24,560
The only large domesticated
473
00:34:24,560 --> 00:34:27,120
mammals in the Andes are llamas
and alpacas.
474
00:34:27,120 --> 00:34:28,840
Nobody ever rode them -
475
00:34:28,840 --> 00:34:31,400
they were beasts of burden
who would take small packs.
476
00:34:31,400 --> 00:34:35,040
No-one had ever seen, or conceived
of, that a warrior that would
477
00:34:35,040 --> 00:34:39,640
ride a large beast. And the warfare
tactics that were developed were
478
00:34:39,640 --> 00:34:43,400
developed for fighting hand-to-hand
with men, or projectiles with men.
479
00:34:43,400 --> 00:34:45,160
Not for fighting cavalry.
480
00:34:45,160 --> 00:34:48,120
Not for fighting men on horseback,
and so it was a very, very,
481
00:34:48,120 --> 00:34:50,520
different system
of warfare that they had never
482
00:34:50,520 --> 00:34:53,240
encountered before
and were not prepared for, frankly.
483
00:34:53,240 --> 00:34:56,640
Horses gave the Spanish
mobility and speed,
484
00:34:56,640 --> 00:35:00,440
allowing them to outflank whole
armies of Inca foot-soldiers.
485
00:35:00,440 --> 00:35:03,400
And when you are up here,
it's much easier to kill a man.
486
00:35:03,400 --> 00:35:08,360
You have height, you can
thrust straight down into the crowd.
487
00:35:08,360 --> 00:35:12,960
The horses were almost always
revered by the Inca soldiers
488
00:35:12,960 --> 00:35:16,840
because they gave the mounted
Spaniards so much advantage.
489
00:35:16,840 --> 00:35:23,080
Police today, to this day, quelling
a demonstration, will use horses.
490
00:35:26,560 --> 00:35:29,960
Horses were the tanks
of the conquest.
491
00:35:29,960 --> 00:35:32,240
Throughout the empire,
they were used to
492
00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:34,880
charge into ranks
of terrified soldiers.
493
00:35:34,880 --> 00:35:38,760
To the Incan mind, it reinforced
the sense that the conquistadors
494
00:35:38,760 --> 00:35:40,360
were invincible.
495
00:35:43,320 --> 00:35:47,000
A charge of horses was like
modern-day "shock and awe" warfare,
496
00:35:47,000 --> 00:35:50,680
combining physical strength
with psychological
497
00:35:50,680 --> 00:35:53,480
domination of the enemy,
confronting them
498
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:58,280
with something they had never seen
before and struggled to comprehend.
499
00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:02,360
Barely a year after capturing
Atahualpa, Pizarro had
500
00:36:02,360 --> 00:36:03,920
reached Cuzco.
501
00:36:08,200 --> 00:36:11,720
The rapid success of the Spanish
traumatised the empire,
502
00:36:11,720 --> 00:36:15,280
throwing its delicate
systems of government into chaos.
503
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:18,400
And thanks to a fantastic discovery,
we have a snapshot of life,
504
00:36:18,400 --> 00:36:21,320
and death, at this time.
505
00:36:24,840 --> 00:36:28,640
In 1999, Guillermo Cock
and his colleagues found an Inca
506
00:36:28,640 --> 00:36:33,040
burial ground dating from the exact
moment of the Spanish conquest.
507
00:36:33,040 --> 00:36:36,520
One of the people
found there was a young woman,
508
00:36:36,520 --> 00:36:39,240
now known as La Senorita.
509
00:36:42,440 --> 00:36:45,720
She was born
just before the conquest.
510
00:36:45,720 --> 00:36:49,120
We believe that she was born
511
00:36:49,120 --> 00:36:54,160
somewhere between 1526, 1528.
512
00:36:56,920 --> 00:37:01,600
She was not buried in a flexed
position, as you notice immediately.
513
00:37:01,600 --> 00:37:04,440
She was buried extended
and she was buried, no,
514
00:37:04,440 --> 00:37:08,800
with the hands on top of the chest,
as a Christian.
515
00:37:08,800 --> 00:37:10,880
That means that she was baptized.
516
00:37:12,560 --> 00:37:16,000
La Senorita was
born into a world of sun worship
517
00:37:16,000 --> 00:37:18,680
and of elaborate Inca
religious ritual.
518
00:37:18,680 --> 00:37:21,880
But she died worshipping
another god.
519
00:37:21,880 --> 00:37:25,160
And her health may have been poor.
In an empire which could
520
00:37:25,160 --> 00:37:29,760
feed its people, Guillermo believes
she probably died hungry.
521
00:37:31,000 --> 00:37:33,680
She was poorly fed.
522
00:37:33,680 --> 00:37:36,160
She died because of malnutrition.
523
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,240
If she would have lived a week more,
she would have lost all of her teeth
524
00:37:41,240 --> 00:37:46,320
at the same time because of the
infection that she had in her mouth.
525
00:37:47,600 --> 00:37:51,040
Guillermo hasn't been able to
tell for sure whether La Senorita
526
00:37:51,040 --> 00:37:54,520
suffered from a European
disease like smallpox or measles,
527
00:37:54,520 --> 00:38:00,920
because identifiable traces of these
diseases can be hard to find.
528
00:38:00,920 --> 00:38:03,880
But he believes new diseases would
have been present
529
00:38:03,880 --> 00:38:08,520
in the community at the time of
La Senorita's death, arriving with,
530
00:38:08,520 --> 00:38:12,400
or maybe even before, Francisco
Pizarro and his conquistadors.
531
00:38:13,640 --> 00:38:15,520
Chances are that, before Pizarro,
532
00:38:15,520 --> 00:38:20,480
the diseases were already here.
533
00:38:20,480 --> 00:38:24,200
With a more limited spread, but since
the natives used to sail and
534
00:38:24,200 --> 00:38:31,120
trade to the north, they may
have brought some of the diseases.
535
00:38:32,280 --> 00:38:36,560
These diseases spread rapidly along
the Incas' extensive road network.
536
00:38:36,560 --> 00:38:40,560
These 40,000km of road,
which had once held the vast
537
00:38:40,560 --> 00:38:47,040
empire together, were now aiding
the spread of deadly epidemics.
538
00:38:47,040 --> 00:38:50,080
The communication networks
in the Incan Empire were
539
00:38:50,080 --> 00:38:54,040
excellent, and the Inca used to move
people around. And so this migration
540
00:38:54,040 --> 00:38:57,960
of population around the place would
have helped to have transmitted
541
00:38:57,960 --> 00:39:01,600
disease between different,
really quite remote communities.
542
00:39:05,480 --> 00:39:07,920
There were
communicable diseases that
543
00:39:07,920 --> 00:39:11,040
would run riot through a population
that is not prepared for it,
544
00:39:11,040 --> 00:39:13,640
that has no in-built natural
resistance to it,
545
00:39:13,640 --> 00:39:17,120
so I think it's entirely possible
that these diseases really
546
00:39:17,120 --> 00:39:21,520
did some of the groundwork
for the invading Europeans.
547
00:39:21,520 --> 00:39:23,640
And when we start to
548
00:39:23,640 --> 00:39:25,800
think about percentages of
population decrease,
549
00:39:25,800 --> 00:39:29,520
what percentage of the population
was affected by European disease?
550
00:39:29,520 --> 00:39:31,560
On the coast it was terrible.
551
00:39:31,560 --> 00:39:38,480
By 1575, at least 70%, 75%
of the coastal
552
00:39:38,480 --> 00:39:44,280
population was gone.
And by 1610, there was another major
553
00:39:44,280 --> 00:39:50,160
counting of people - between 87
and 93% were gone.
554
00:39:51,320 --> 00:39:54,600
This represents
a staggering loss of life,
555
00:39:54,600 --> 00:39:58,040
which continued for generations
after the conquest.
556
00:39:58,040 --> 00:40:02,160
A whirlwind of death which would
have devastated any empire,
557
00:40:02,160 --> 00:40:05,400
even one as big
and well-developed as the Inca.
558
00:40:06,960 --> 00:40:09,320
La Senorita is an incredible mummy.
559
00:40:09,320 --> 00:40:12,400
She provides this wonderful window
of opportunity on the European
560
00:40:12,400 --> 00:40:16,720
impact on Inca society,
both culturally and physically.
561
00:40:16,720 --> 00:40:20,120
But for me, it's this question
of disease which is crucial,
562
00:40:20,120 --> 00:40:22,720
because I think the Inca
society would have
563
00:40:22,720 --> 00:40:26,080
continued for centuries
if it wasn't for European arrival.
564
00:40:26,080 --> 00:40:29,800
But no society can survive
the 50-90% of population
565
00:40:29,800 --> 00:40:32,720
decline that we think
that European disease
566
00:40:32,720 --> 00:40:35,640
effected on the indigenous
population.
567
00:40:57,320 --> 00:41:00,040
As individuals, we are
all strong and weak
568
00:41:00,040 --> 00:41:03,520
at different times in our lives -
physically, emotionally,
569
00:41:03,520 --> 00:41:06,240
politically - and it is where we
are on that spectrum
570
00:41:06,240 --> 00:41:09,560
when chance meetings or key events
occur that defines the decisions
571
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:14,200
we'll make, and therefore the
pathway that our lives will take.
572
00:41:14,200 --> 00:41:18,040
Societies and empires are no
different. Power structures
573
00:41:18,040 --> 00:41:21,920
waxing and waning as they morph
and change through time.
574
00:41:21,920 --> 00:41:25,400
Therefore, if we are weak
when these key events occur,
575
00:41:25,400 --> 00:41:29,000
our vulnerability can increase
exponentially.
576
00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:34,560
This is what happened to the Inca.
577
00:41:34,560 --> 00:41:37,760
Terrible new diseases had
infected the people.
578
00:41:37,760 --> 00:41:41,120
In the north, their inability to
build a peaceful empire had
579
00:41:41,120 --> 00:41:44,840
undermined the strategy which gave
the empire its strength.
580
00:41:44,840 --> 00:41:48,800
Their failure to arrange an orderly
succession had led to political
581
00:41:48,800 --> 00:41:53,840
chaos and civil war, weakening them
just as the Spanish arrived.
582
00:41:53,840 --> 00:41:56,920
And as the infrastructure
of empire crumbled,
583
00:41:56,920 --> 00:41:59,400
the bargain the Inca had made
with the people
584
00:41:59,400 --> 00:42:03,120
they governed, that their rule
would bring benefits in reliable
585
00:42:03,120 --> 00:42:07,280
food supplies and efficient social
organisation, fell apart as well.
586
00:42:12,720 --> 00:42:16,560
Soon, Pizarro's small band were
joined by hundreds, then thousands
587
00:42:16,560 --> 00:42:22,680
more Europeans, attracted by the
promise of gold, silver and land.
588
00:42:22,680 --> 00:42:25,280
In little more than a year,
589
00:42:25,280 --> 00:42:28,600
one empire in the Andes began to
replace another.
590
00:42:33,360 --> 00:42:36,600
And one of the first buildings
the Spanish built in celebration
591
00:42:36,600 --> 00:42:39,760
was this beautiful church in Quito.
592
00:42:47,440 --> 00:42:51,040
Today, all that remains of the last
independent Inca
593
00:42:51,040 --> 00:42:54,040
ruler are the bodies
of his descendants,
594
00:42:54,040 --> 00:42:57,320
hidden away in the catacombs
beneath the Church.
595
00:42:58,160 --> 00:43:00,320
So we're right underneath
the Covenento Maximo de
596
00:43:00,320 --> 00:43:02,400
San Francisco de Quito.
597
00:43:02,400 --> 00:43:06,800
It's one of the earliest churches
built in South America, in AD 1534.
598
00:43:06,800 --> 00:43:09,560
And why it's important
is that it's a church
599
00:43:09,560 --> 00:43:13,200
built on the foundations
of the palace of Atahualpa.
600
00:43:13,200 --> 00:43:16,640
So it really represents this turning
point for the Inca elite as we
601
00:43:16,640 --> 00:43:21,360
see this transition from Atahualpa's
palace into a Christian space.
602
00:43:21,360 --> 00:43:24,000
And what's different about the Inca
noble elite living
603
00:43:24,000 --> 00:43:26,800
here at the time is that,
unlike in Cuzco, where many of them
604
00:43:26,800 --> 00:43:30,760
are killed, people here live on and
they adopt a Christian way of life.
605
00:43:33,960 --> 00:43:36,840
In some ways, these skulls
are symbols of the final
606
00:43:36,840 --> 00:43:39,400
defeat of the Inca.
607
00:43:39,400 --> 00:43:41,760
They show an elite
capitulating to the Spanish,
608
00:43:41,760 --> 00:43:43,920
converting to Christianity.
609
00:43:43,920 --> 00:43:46,600
Even their final resting place
emphasises their defeat,
610
00:43:46,600 --> 00:43:51,720
underneath a Catholic Church built
right on top of Atahualpa's palace.
611
00:43:55,200 --> 00:43:58,440
But despite the catastrophes which
had befallen them, there was
612
00:43:58,440 --> 00:44:00,480
a resilience to the Inca.
613
00:44:00,480 --> 00:44:02,720
And it would be a mistake to
think that all of them
614
00:44:02,720 --> 00:44:04,640
meekly accepted their fate
615
00:44:07,000 --> 00:44:09,080
Back in Guillermo Cock's
lab in Lima,
616
00:44:09,080 --> 00:44:11,960
there are some more
interesting skulls.
617
00:44:11,960 --> 00:44:15,280
The remains of 70 people
found in a mass grave,
618
00:44:15,280 --> 00:44:18,240
dating from three years after
the Spanish arrived.
619
00:44:19,840 --> 00:44:22,680
At first,
we thought they were poor people
620
00:44:22,680 --> 00:44:28,720
but then we realised that many
of the individuals have injuries,
621
00:44:28,720 --> 00:44:31,120
and pretty bad injuries.
622
00:44:31,120 --> 00:44:34,720
This person, and those
dumped in the grave with them,
623
00:44:34,720 --> 00:44:37,280
died a violent death.
624
00:44:37,280 --> 00:44:41,360
We have a powerful hit on the head,
625
00:44:41,360 --> 00:44:45,000
on the left side, that has been
produced by something
626
00:44:45,000 --> 00:44:47,960
sharp in a 45-degree angle.
627
00:44:47,960 --> 00:44:50,000
We have clear evidence there.
628
00:44:50,000 --> 00:44:54,840
We have also a smash on the side
of the head with something very,
629
00:44:54,840 --> 00:44:58,760
very powerful.
The right arm, the left arm,
630
00:44:58,760 --> 00:45:02,480
the bones in the chest,
shows the evidence of combat.
631
00:45:02,480 --> 00:45:04,360
You don't have to be a genius!
632
00:45:04,360 --> 00:45:05,720
HE LAUGHS
633
00:45:05,720 --> 00:45:08,400
No, it's pretty clear evidence.
It's very clear.
634
00:45:08,400 --> 00:45:11,320
These deaths occurred after
the Spanish arrived.
635
00:45:11,320 --> 00:45:14,600
In other words, these men and women
were rebelling against Spanish
636
00:45:14,600 --> 00:45:18,800
rule, resisting them in
the new colonial capital, Lima.
637
00:45:20,120 --> 00:45:21,440
We are 100% sure
638
00:45:21,440 --> 00:45:24,400
they are all indigenous,
they are all also from the same area.
639
00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:28,680
And many of them joined
the Inca troops
640
00:45:28,680 --> 00:45:32,040
and went in to the siege of Lima,
and they were killed there.
641
00:45:32,040 --> 00:45:35,440
The leader of the rebellion
was Manco Inca,
642
00:45:35,440 --> 00:45:37,840
another son of Huayna Capac.
643
00:45:37,840 --> 00:45:42,200
In 1533, the Spanish had
installed him as Sapa Inca in Cuzco,
644
00:45:42,200 --> 00:45:45,440
with all the pomp
and ceremony of his predecessors.
645
00:45:52,080 --> 00:45:55,160
Manco Inca hoped that,
by cooperating with the Spanish,
646
00:45:55,160 --> 00:45:57,840
he could maintain his empire.
647
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:00,200
But he soon realised
he had been tricked.
648
00:46:00,200 --> 00:46:02,440
As he sat in his palace,
here in Cuzco,
649
00:46:02,440 --> 00:46:06,400
he received reports of his empire
falling apart, its administration
650
00:46:06,400 --> 00:46:10,440
in disarray, and the ruthless
plundering by the conquistadores.
651
00:46:12,840 --> 00:46:15,120
There had been
personal slights, too -
652
00:46:15,120 --> 00:46:18,280
Spanish officials pestering him
for jewellery and gold.
653
00:46:18,280 --> 00:46:21,840
Pizarro's brother had even
stolen his wife.
654
00:46:21,840 --> 00:46:25,720
Only two years after being
installed by Pizarro, Manco Inca
655
00:46:25,720 --> 00:46:28,040
decided to rebel.
656
00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:31,560
Under the noses of the Spanish,
he assembled a huge army
657
00:46:31,560 --> 00:46:34,840
and prepared to re-take Cuzco.
658
00:46:37,000 --> 00:46:40,880
The Incan army surrounded the city,
covering the hills and plains.
659
00:46:40,880 --> 00:46:42,920
It must have been
a magnificent sight,
660
00:46:42,920 --> 00:46:47,120
but a horrifying one for the Spanish
holed up in the city centre.
661
00:46:47,120 --> 00:46:50,480
One Spaniard described the Incan
army as a "black carpet"
662
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:54,040
by day, and "a clear sky filled
with stars" at night,
663
00:46:54,040 --> 00:46:56,680
as their campfires lit up
the landscape.
664
00:46:59,640 --> 00:47:01,960
There were fewer than 200
Spaniards in Cuzco
665
00:47:01,960 --> 00:47:04,400
when Manco Inca
arrived at the gates.
666
00:47:04,400 --> 00:47:07,560
They desperately sent messages
to Lima for help.
667
00:47:07,560 --> 00:47:10,200
Messages which didn't arrive.
668
00:47:11,360 --> 00:47:14,280
The Incas had developed
one tactic that did seem
669
00:47:14,280 --> 00:47:16,560
to be able to kill Spaniards.
670
00:47:16,560 --> 00:47:20,200
Peru is very mountainous,
so they trapped them in...
671
00:47:20,200 --> 00:47:24,320
where they knew a road was going
through - a narrow gorge.
672
00:47:24,320 --> 00:47:26,600
They trapped them at either end
673
00:47:26,600 --> 00:47:29,320
and then rolled huge
stones down on them.
674
00:47:29,320 --> 00:47:33,960
And they managed to kill most of
those relief expeditions
in that way.
675
00:47:33,960 --> 00:47:37,800
It looked like the Spanish empire
in Peru was about to come to
676
00:47:37,800 --> 00:47:39,640
an abrupt end.
677
00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:43,240
But despite the Incas' overwhelming
numerical advantage,
678
00:47:43,240 --> 00:47:45,280
the attack stalled.
679
00:47:45,280 --> 00:47:49,280
Manco Inca's rebellion illustrates
some of the strengths
680
00:47:49,280 --> 00:47:51,800
and weakness of the Inca empire.
681
00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:54,440
On the one hand,
he was able to assemble a vast
682
00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:58,920
army of over 100,000 loyal warriors,
right under the nose
683
00:47:58,920 --> 00:48:02,120
of the Spanish whilst essentially
under military occupation.
684
00:48:02,120 --> 00:48:05,760
But on the other, he was unable to
take the swift and decisive
685
00:48:05,760 --> 00:48:09,640
military action necessary, against
an army far inferior in number.
686
00:48:09,640 --> 00:48:12,640
And that's because when they arrived
at the battlefield, they spent
687
00:48:12,640 --> 00:48:16,320
days feasting, doing ceremonies,
and consulting the oracles.
688
00:48:16,320 --> 00:48:21,400
Anything, that is,
except actually attacking.
689
00:48:21,400 --> 00:48:26,040
Inca battle tactics had consisted
of a vast show of force designed
690
00:48:26,040 --> 00:48:28,240
to persuade their enemies
not to resist.
691
00:48:28,240 --> 00:48:31,280
This had worked for previous
Sapa Incas,
692
00:48:31,280 --> 00:48:34,800
allowing them to build an empire
with minimal bloodshed.
693
00:48:34,800 --> 00:48:37,560
But these tactics didn't
impress the Spanish,
694
00:48:37,560 --> 00:48:40,680
who used the delay to dig in
and wait for help.
695
00:48:43,560 --> 00:48:47,880
It seems to me that what underpins
Inca power is fundamentally
696
00:48:47,880 --> 00:48:51,120
a shared understanding
of the way the world should work.
697
00:48:51,120 --> 00:48:55,040
And when an empire arrives who
play by a completely different
698
00:48:55,040 --> 00:48:57,160
set of rules, they become powerless.
699
00:48:57,160 --> 00:48:59,280
I think the failures of Manco Inca
700
00:48:59,280 --> 00:49:01,600
and Atahualpa can be
explained by this.
701
00:49:01,600 --> 00:49:04,960
From a military perspective,
Manco Inca wastes days before he
702
00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:08,240
attacks the Spanish, following his
customs and elaborate ceremonies.
703
00:49:08,240 --> 00:49:10,520
And Atahualpa - for him
704
00:49:10,520 --> 00:49:13,480
it's completely inconceivable
that during an imperial delegation
705
00:49:13,480 --> 00:49:16,720
to meet Pizarro he might be attacked
and kidnapped.
706
00:49:16,720 --> 00:49:19,920
After months of bloody
skirmishes around the city,
707
00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:23,000
Spanish reinforcements
finally arrived.
708
00:49:23,000 --> 00:49:26,360
Manco Inca realised his rebellion
had failed.
709
00:49:26,360 --> 00:49:28,520
He had no choice but to retreat -
710
00:49:28,520 --> 00:49:31,400
as far away
from the Spanish as he could.
711
00:49:42,840 --> 00:49:46,720
His destination was the remote,
mountainous region of Vilcabamba.
712
00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:57,800
Although only a few days'
march from Cuzco, this area
713
00:49:57,800 --> 00:50:00,040
was difficult for the Spanish
to penetrate.
714
00:50:03,000 --> 00:50:07,160
Protected by steep mountainsides and
encircled by rivers, the Vilcabamba
715
00:50:07,160 --> 00:50:11,840
region offered protection to
Manco Inca and his shattered people.
716
00:50:16,440 --> 00:50:19,960
The Inca arrived here in 1537.
717
00:50:19,960 --> 00:50:23,720
Five years earlier, the empire had
stretched across a continent.
718
00:50:23,720 --> 00:50:28,320
Now it was reduced to a small
patch of mountainous forest.
719
00:50:28,320 --> 00:50:32,720
Its centre, the new Cuzco,
was the town of Vitcos.
720
00:50:49,320 --> 00:50:51,400
I really love this site of Vitcos.
721
00:50:51,400 --> 00:50:53,560
It's on this beautiful
promontory with
722
00:50:53,560 --> 00:50:57,640
valleys on either side, surrounded
by high mountains covered in mist.
723
00:50:57,640 --> 00:51:00,520
There are some real parallels
with Machu Picchu.
724
00:51:00,520 --> 00:51:03,280
But whereas that site is visited
thousands of times every
725
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:06,160
single day,
hardly anyone ever comes here.
726
00:51:06,160 --> 00:51:08,760
And this site really tells
the important
727
00:51:08,760 --> 00:51:12,440
story about the end
of the Inca empire.
728
00:51:25,040 --> 00:51:26,960
THEY SPEAK IN SPANISH
729
00:51:31,280 --> 00:51:34,560
Miriam Dayde Araoz Silva is
one of the few archaeologists who
730
00:51:34,560 --> 00:51:37,280
has excavated this remote site.
731
00:52:10,480 --> 00:52:13,640
Vitcos had been built
during the first flush of empire,
732
00:52:13,640 --> 00:52:16,160
as the Inca expanded from Cuzco.
733
00:52:16,160 --> 00:52:19,760
But now this isolated region would
be the base for the resistance,
734
00:52:19,760 --> 00:52:24,360
the location from which Manco Inca
hoped to rebuild Inca power.
735
00:52:29,200 --> 00:52:32,560
When Manco Inca
first pulls into Vilcabamba,
736
00:52:32,560 --> 00:52:35,520
there's armed conflict back
and forth.
737
00:52:36,680 --> 00:52:39,160
Manco Inca saw the Inca
empire at its height,
738
00:52:39,160 --> 00:52:46,840
and he knew what he was losing
and he was wanting to fight back.
739
00:52:46,840 --> 00:52:49,720
But in 1545, Manco Inca died.
740
00:52:49,720 --> 00:52:53,560
His was the last serious
rebellion against Spanish rule.
741
00:52:53,560 --> 00:52:57,320
And after his death, his small Inca
dominion was increasingly
742
00:52:57,320 --> 00:53:00,800
encroached upon by Spanish officials
and missionaries.
743
00:53:38,000 --> 00:53:42,200
One part of their diminished empire
that the Inca wanted to keep
744
00:53:42,200 --> 00:53:46,680
safe from the Spanish was this -
Yurak Rumi, the White Stone.
745
00:53:51,400 --> 00:53:54,520
It had been a shrine
at the height of empire.
746
00:53:54,520 --> 00:53:58,760
But now it had become one of
the last places on Earth
747
00:53:58,760 --> 00:54:01,400
where the Inca could worship openly.
748
00:54:01,400 --> 00:54:05,520
Today, it is
a place of extraordinary serenity.
749
00:54:11,320 --> 00:54:14,000
These elaborately carved
rocks are an iconic
750
00:54:14,000 --> 00:54:16,600
feature of the religious
landscape of the Inca.
751
00:54:16,600 --> 00:54:20,080
And this one shows how the
ideology is persisting,
752
00:54:20,080 --> 00:54:23,000
even here at Vitcos,
right at the end of the empire.
753
00:54:23,000 --> 00:54:26,120
In front of this rock would have
been carried out elaborate
754
00:54:26,120 --> 00:54:29,680
ceremonies, and over there you can
see structures remaining that might
755
00:54:29,680 --> 00:54:32,520
have housed the priests who
controlled access to the site.
756
00:54:32,520 --> 00:54:36,200
And that, ultimately,
was too much for the Spanish.
757
00:54:36,200 --> 00:54:39,840
In 1570, missionaries
and their converts held
758
00:54:39,840 --> 00:54:43,480
an exorcism of this shrine,
before setting fire to it.
759
00:54:43,480 --> 00:54:47,160
It proved to be the prelude to
a larger attack on the entire
760
00:54:47,160 --> 00:54:49,440
Vilcabamba region.
761
00:54:49,440 --> 00:54:52,680
The Spaniards send a diplomatic
762
00:54:52,680 --> 00:54:58,120
mission into Vilcabamba and that
mission is killed by the Incas.
763
00:54:58,120 --> 00:55:01,160
When the Spanish learn
the ambassador has been killed,
764
00:55:01,160 --> 00:55:05,320
they launch a massive
raid into Vilcabamba.
765
00:55:08,240 --> 00:55:10,800
The Inca had preserved
an independent state
766
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:13,040
here for nearly 40 years.
767
00:55:13,040 --> 00:55:15,800
But the destruction of Yurak Rumi
signalled
768
00:55:15,800 --> 00:55:18,200
the end of the Inca
as an independent people.
769
00:55:18,200 --> 00:55:22,720
The empire's cities and shrines were
left to fall into ruin.
770
00:55:26,480 --> 00:55:27,840
In many ways,
771
00:55:27,840 --> 00:55:30,720
the story of this shrine reflects
that of the Inca empire.
772
00:55:30,720 --> 00:55:33,920
It was founded in the mid-1400s
during one of the early Inca
773
00:55:33,920 --> 00:55:37,560
expansions and its fateful end came
when it was razed to the ground
774
00:55:37,560 --> 00:55:43,600
in 1570 by Christians who saw it
as symbolic of the Inca resistance.
775
00:55:43,600 --> 00:55:45,640
But there's a story that
I really like,
776
00:55:45,640 --> 00:55:48,480
and that's an archaeologist who was
working here only a few years
777
00:55:48,480 --> 00:55:52,040
ago, who saw people coming here to
make offerings of maize and coca.
778
00:55:52,040 --> 00:55:55,600
So I think the symbolic power
of this place is still alive
779
00:55:55,600 --> 00:55:57,360
amongst the population today.
780
00:55:59,320 --> 00:56:02,360
And you can still sense
the power of the Inca as you travel
781
00:56:02,360 --> 00:56:05,200
through the lands that made
up their empire.
782
00:56:05,200 --> 00:56:08,480
Modern highways follow Inca roads.
783
00:56:08,480 --> 00:56:13,640
Incan agricultural terraces
are being restored and reused.
784
00:56:13,640 --> 00:56:18,200
And respect for the earth,
for this incredible landscape,
785
00:56:18,200 --> 00:56:21,240
is strong among the people who
live here today.
786
00:56:21,240 --> 00:56:25,920
Indigenous groups
within the Andes have been
787
00:56:25,920 --> 00:56:29,640
battered by colonial
788
00:56:29,640 --> 00:56:34,160
and republican forces for all
the period since the Inca empire.
789
00:56:35,440 --> 00:56:39,160
But today I think the ideals
of the Inca empire are used by some
790
00:56:39,160 --> 00:56:43,920
of those indigenous groups to fight
and say that, "We deserve the voice
791
00:56:43,920 --> 00:56:48,840
to be able to run our communities as
we wish, and that we have had
792
00:56:48,840 --> 00:56:54,920
the force to construct a society
that is as sophisticated as anything
793
00:56:54,920 --> 00:56:59,800
else in the world and we can do that
again within our own society today.
794
00:57:02,240 --> 00:57:06,160
The ingenuity of the Inca lay
ultimately in their incredible
795
00:57:06,160 --> 00:57:10,320
achievements in agriculture,
architecture, diplomacy
796
00:57:10,320 --> 00:57:12,520
and nation-building.
797
00:57:12,520 --> 00:57:16,360
Achievements which combined to
give their empire a very distinct
798
00:57:16,360 --> 00:57:19,080
and unusual source of power.
799
00:57:19,080 --> 00:57:22,760
The source
of power in many of the Andean
800
00:57:22,760 --> 00:57:25,480
nations still harkens back
to the memory of the Inca
801
00:57:25,480 --> 00:57:28,560
and the great unity that they were
able to provide over very
802
00:57:28,560 --> 00:57:31,640
diverse environments
and very diverse populations.
803
00:57:31,640 --> 00:57:34,520
And so Andean leaders, I think,
still look at the Inca
804
00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:42,440
as a source of unification and a
means of emulating what they did.
805
00:57:48,080 --> 00:57:51,280
The Inca empire may have flourished
comparatively fleetingly,
806
00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:54,400
but I think it's one of the most
intriguing empires the world
807
00:57:54,400 --> 00:57:56,280
has ever seen.
808
00:57:56,280 --> 00:57:59,320
Not just because of the astonishing
way in which the Inca
809
00:57:59,320 --> 00:58:02,760
developed an empire of such
magnitude and complexity,
810
00:58:02,760 --> 00:58:06,960
nor because of their ingenious
innovations in agriculture,
811
00:58:06,960 --> 00:58:08,840
architecture and engineering.
812
00:58:08,840 --> 00:58:11,960
But for me, it's because they offer
a completely different
813
00:58:11,960 --> 00:58:15,560
perspective on how to live our
lives, and at a time when Peru,
814
00:58:15,560 --> 00:58:20,440
South America, and the world faces
some pretty major challenges to
815
00:58:20,440 --> 00:58:24,840
our way of life, I think we have a
huge amount to learn from the Inca.
74314
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