The Last Days of the Incas by Kim MacQuarrie (PDF)

Description

The epic story of the fall of the Inca Empire to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the aftermath of a bloody civil war, and the recent discovery of the lost guerrilla capital of the Incas, Vilcabamba, by three American explorers.In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed—due largely to their horses, their steel armor and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cuzco, completing their conquest of the largest native empire the New World has ever known. Peru was now a Spanish colony, and the conquistadors were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams. But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Inca emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, inflicting heavy casualties and nearly wiping out the conquerors. Eventually, however, Pizarro and his men forced the emperor to abandon the Andes and flee to the Amazon. There, he established a hidden capital, called Vilcabamba—only recently rediscovered by a trio of colorful American explorers. Although the Incas fought a deadly, thirty-six-year-long guerrilla war, the Spanish ultimately captured the last Inca emperor and vanquished the native resistance.

User’s Reviews

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⭐In accounting for Francisco Pizarro’s arrival in the New World and his further adventures in South America, with a band of 168 conquistadors interacting with numerous members of the native Inca empire, author Kim MacQuarrie has submitted an extra-superlative effort, having written himself a par-excellent history book on the subject. There is no doubt about it. He went to extraordinarily great lengths in researching and chronicling the stories that ensued from both perspectives of the conflict. Before reading such a thoroughly impressive, factual, and fascinating book, I had no idea that there were so many Pizarro brothers-in-arms in country. The author introduces us to Francisco, Juan, Gonzalo, Hernando, and Francisco Martin, providing an in-depth analysis of their extended families and personal lives. We also encounter Hernando de Soto, Hernan Ponce de Leon, Hernan Cortez, Vasco Nunez Balboa, Diego de Almagro, Pedro de Alvarado, Rodrigo Orgonez, Rui Diaz, and Gabriel Rojas, among a great many others as they arrive on the scene, often during fiercest battles and most notable incursions. On several occasions, they arrive just in the nick of time. Or, maybe, they just happened to cross paths at some important point in their lives. Among the most impressive individuals present in the book, in my humble opinion, is the exceptionally astute legal clerk, Espinosa, and Viceroys, de Gasca and de Toledo. Neither did I recognize or realize that there were so many powerful and wise Inca emperors, who ruled during that short span of years. Readers are cordially introduced to Tupac Inca, Huascar, Atahualpa, Manco Inca, among others; and Tupac Amaru, who lived up to the middle of September in 1572. In addition, we are pleased to meet their military generals, Quisquis, Ruminari, Quizo, Illa Tupac, and Tiso in the course of the narrative and follow their military campaigns. Thus, the amazing history between the Incas and the newly arriving conquistadors proved to be most intriguing, filled with joy, triumph, and achievement, on one hand; suffering, misery, and despair, on the other, right up until Spain gradually obtained a firm toehold in South American politics. In any event, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, and Chile, remained largely unknown and mysterious places to the present day, even after these countries gained their independence from Spain, and when modern-day explorers and archeologists were able to take a closer look at the ancient ruins they would find in the more isolated and remote regions of the high elevation Andes Mountains and densely forested Amazon jungles. Kudos to Hiram Bingham, Gene Savoy, Vincent and Nancy Lee, among others, about whom the author writes in glorious detail and with obvious glowing admiration. My philosophy on the subject is simple: give them a history lesson, a topographical map, and point them in the right direction. These fearless, intrepid, and daring adventurers will make significant discoveries wherever they may travel.

⭐Adventurous telling of the clash between old and new worlds. Bold narrative insights into personal motivations give 21st century readers a relatable and highly engaging account of our new world legacy, like it or not.

⭐I just finished reading this book. It is a remarkably well-told history which I had little known. There are no heroes; only faceless victims of the naked pursuit of power no matter what the cost to others.. Rarely, if ever, have I read a book which exposes more treachery and brutality on all sides. Brothers fighting and killing fellow brothers on the Inca side, part of the explanation for its ultimate demise. Treachery and brutality among the Pizarro brothers, starting with Francisco, and their henchmen. Civil wars within the Spanish themselves, first between the conquistadors and then with the royal government.It’s remarkable to me what the Incas achieved in being able to pull together over three centuries with a rule over 10 million people and create the architectural wonders they did. All of it was decimated in the course of one generation. Unspeakable tragedy.The parallel history of the discovery of Machu Picchu, Vitcos and then Vilcabamba is fascinating. And duplicity reigned, too, among the explorers. Hiram Bingham clearly overstating the conviction that Machu Picchu was the foundational capital. And later the explorer Savoy who discovered Vilcabamba, co-opting the material which another archaeologist found (Lee).The quest for power and the willingness to stoop to any length to get it which MacQuarrie so vividly communicates in a novelistic style will not soon leave me.

⭐I have always wondered how a few hundred Spanish conquistadors could have conquered an entire native empire in what is today South America and defeated armies numbering in the hundreds of thousands. In The Fall of the Incas, Kim MacQuarrie gives a good insight into this historical phenomenon. A few points below.1) Many of the conquistadors came from Spain’s poorest region, Extremadura and were born of impoverished backgrounds. They were know as Extremaos. Francisco Pizarro, the most famous of the Pizarro brothers that conquered the Incas, came from a low-class family and was born outside of wedlock.2) The conquistadors were not part of the Spanish military. They were mainly lower class men from varying professions. Due to limited advancement opportunities in their home country, they signed on to ships in hope of making monetary profits as well as gaining titles of status through conquering other peoples, lands and natural resources. A portion of their wins would flow to the Spanish crown.3) The Catholic Church gave its blessing to the activities of the conquistadors and to wage war on the natives if they did not accept the Christian faith. Missionaries and friars travelled alongside the conquistadors.4) The conquistadors were usually able to defeat the native warriors in battle. This was largely because they had better weaponry that was made of steel, guns, armor, and, very importantly, horses, which gave them leverage over their opponents.All four Pizarro brothers, Francisco, Juan, Hernando, and Gonzalo, ended up dyeing young or serving a long prison sentence. Nevertheless, the Spanish crown eventually took control of their conquered lands in what is today Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia, and Peru.5) An effective tactic used by the Pizarro brothers in South America as well as by Hernando Cortez in Mexico was to capture the leader of the natives and rule through him, thereby, making him a puppet emperor. Both Pizarro and Cortez successfully achieved this.6) In addition, the Spanish conquistadors were able to divide and find allies among the natives who fought alongside them in battle. This contributed to their successes.

⭐Very informative and fast paced account of the Spanish Conquest of the Inca Empire – tragic for the Inca civilisation, and testament only to the unstoppable greed of the conquering nation who plundered an incredibly well organised civilisation, that ensured the common people did not go hungry and the Nation prospered – of course the Elite prospered more! That so few of them overcame the huge Inca armies is surprising, and seems to have been due their mighty horses and superior steel armour and weapons making it hard for the Incas to subdue their attackers. The sheer brutality and greed of the Spanish conquistadors who had left insignificant lives in their home country to make a new life and find wealth is staggering and not a laudable characteristic. Nowhere can i see evidence of any generosity or compassion or cooperation on the part of the Spanish, just overwhelming lust for gold and mistreatment of the native people.

⭐Bought this book before a prospective trip to Peru. It covers the Spanish invasion in depth but is very easily readable. Found when I was in Peru that it opened up a greater understanding of the sites and sights I was seeing and greatly added to the whole experience of being there. Genuinely, I would recommend if you are going to Peru read this first, it will add to your enjoyment of the exotic and wondorous country.

⭐MacQuarrie conjurs up a vivid history of the Inca Empire and its conquest by the Spaniards. Rather like Bible stories, he has used his imagination to paint a vibrant picture of the events of the time; unlike the Bible stories he has more factual evidence upon which to base them. For those who have visited Lima, Cuzco and the surrounding areas it is easy to envisage the unfolding tale; indeed, many of the sites are now visible and visitable.The book could have done with a few more maps and illustrations, but if read in conjunction with “The Illustrated History of the Incas” by David M Jones, then all will fall into place.The book is very readable and is up-to-date with the latest archeological evidence and interpretations. Highly recommended; read it before you go there.

⭐The best book iv ever read, if you love your history and specially about South American history then this is for you, it tells you every bit of info from how the Incas were formed to when the Spanish arrived and so on, and so much information about macchu picchu and other famous ruins, I mostly loved this book because iv actually hiked the Inca trail to macchu picchu which makes it even more exciting to read, amazing book!

⭐This book is a wonderful tale of the fall of the Inca Empire and the arrival of the Spanish Conquistadors. I liked the fact that the story was brought up to date with details of the search for the lost ruins, which sometimes seemed equally beset with the problems of greed that had infected the early Spanish ‘settlers’. A very interesting and informative book.

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