Ad
related to: incas political structure
Search results
Results From The WOW.Com Content Network
The Inca Empire was a federalist system [verification needed] which consisted of a central government with the Inca at its head and four quarters, or suyu: Chinchay Suyu (northwest), Antisuyu (northeast), Kuntisuyu (southwest), and Qullasuyu (southeast). The four corners of these quarters met at the center, Cuzco.
The Inca referred to their empire as Tawantinsuyu, [14] "the suyu of four [parts]". In Quechua, tawa is four and -ntin is a suffix naming a group, so that a tawantin is a quartet, a group of four things taken together, in this case the four suyu ("regions" or "provinces") whose corners met at the capital.
The Inca state was known as the Kingdom of Cuzco before 1438. Over the course of the Inca Empire, the Inca used conquest and peaceful assimilation to incorporate the territory of modern-day Peru, followed by a large portion of western South America, into their empire, centered on the Andean mountain range.
Inca leaders kept records of what each ayllu in the empire produced but did not tax them on their production. They instead used the mita for the support of the empire. The Inca diet consisted primarily of fish and vegetables, supplemented less frequently with the meat of cuyes (guinea pigs) and camelids. In addition, they hunted various animals ...
Smallpox caused the death of the Inca ruler Huayna Capac as well as most of his family including his heir, [36] [37] [38] caused the fall of the Inca political structure and contributed to the civil war between the brothers Atahualpa and Huáscar. [39] [40] [41] Taking advantage of this, Pizarro carried out a coup d'état.
The Sapa Inca was at the top of the social hierarchy, and played a dominant role in the political and spiritual realm. [3] Manco Capac, the first Inca monarch, adopted the title capac or qhapaq (roughly translated as "king"). [4] [5] Inca Roca, the sixth Inca monarch, was evidently the first to bear the title sapa Inca ("emperor") officially. [6]
The strategic and political use of this policy might have also been related to transhumancy, when large herds of llamas, alpacas and vicuñas were managed by the state. The element of political stability is obvious as the new settlements depended on the Incas for defense, supplies and governance.
The Inca plan was a proposal formulated in 1816 by Manuel Belgrano to the Congress of Tucumán, aiming to crown a Sapa Inca to lead the independent territory. After the Declaration of Independence of the United Provinces of South America (modern Argentina ), the Congress discussed the form of government that should be used.