Invaders of Peru

We're in Cusco, Peru, which was the capital of the Incan Empire. We have been walking around Cusco a lot, and have seen a lot of Incan ruins, including temples and a big fortress. The Incan Empire was the biggest and most powerful Empire in the new world. It included Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Colombia, and there were millions of people who lived there. Until 1532, when a group of 160 Spanish conquistadors came and took over the Incan Empire. 

The way the Spanish defeated the Incans was that they had steel armor, swords, guns, and horses and the Incans had wooden clubs, slings, and spears and their armor wasn't strong enough against the Spanish weapons. What did the most damage were the cavalry charges, there weren't any horses in the Americas. I can imagine that the Incans were terrified by the horses if they were new to their culture. The first time the Incans and the Spaniards battled, the Spanish captured the Incan Emperor and defeated an army with 80,000 people and the Spaniards had 160 people. Not a single Spaniard died but over 5,000 Incans died that day. The Spaniards would have kept going if it didn't turn night because they couldn't see in the dark with out any lights. Even though the Incans were defeated they still held the longest stand against the Spanish.  

Incan sun temple now the Santo Domingo Church

Before the Spanish came to Peru, the Incan Empire was weakened by European diseases. The Emperor died because of these diseases. When the Emperor died there was a big Incan Civil War that weakened them, and that was one of their biggest weaknesses that made it easier for the Spanish to dominate.

my sun temple portrait

We have seen how the Spanish made Cusco their own, by just walking around and seeing all of the ruins and how they built their churches on the Incan foundations. I think it is so crazy that the Incan Empire went from being so powerful to defeated so quickly.