Viracochu And The Incan Civilization

During the 14th century, a civilization known as the Incas began to flourish in what is now Peru. They were one of the many small groups who resided in the Andes Mountains of South America, but had wanted to expand their tribe, both in terms of it’s population and territory. In the 15th century, they had absorbed most of the surrounding tribes, at first peaceably and later, when they met resistance, by subjugation. At around 1438, the Incas had gained a new, strong king, Pachacuti, who had greater visions for his people than any of his predecessors. Pachacuti and his descendants conquered land until they made Inca into a vast empire that controlled a large portion of South America. The states of which they had conquered comprised of most of …show more content…
However, the original tribe had a separate, polytheist culture, and worshipped around two dozen various gods and goddesses. The deities all represented different domains and aspects of the Incan world, which included things like mountains, rivers, flowers, wealth. However, the two most important gods of all, were the creator god, Viracochu and his son, the sun deity, Inti. Both of them were extremely powerful and important in Incan culture, as Viracochu was the reason for the Incan’s and the world’s existence, and Inti represented the sun, which was crucial in order for the Incan’s to grow crops. Although Viracochu was considered the most important deity, Inti received the most offerings, especially from farmers who were praying for a profitable harvest. The Incans relayed their myths, beliefs and religion orally, until early Spanish colonists put them down on …show more content…
Thousands upon thousands were ordered to work silver from the Cerro, or Potosi Mines, and due to the damaging chemicals and harsh working conditions, thousands upon thousands died. The Spanish proved they were excellent multi-taskers, because as they caused the deaths of hordes of Incan people, they also worked on the destruction of their religion. The Spaniards believed that all should worship their Christian God, and took great lengths to convert all of the native population through the demolition of temples, statues and any religious related items or places they could find. The Spanish wanted to obliterate any sign of previous religion, so that the Incans could only focus and believe in one- theirs. This is the cause of the astounding depletion of understanding of the Incan religion and culture, as it was forbidden to pass down any previous religious or cultural knowledge.
The Spanish colonisation had a drastic and irreversible effect on the Incan people, culture and way of life. The two nations had battled, and in the end, the side with the newest weapons won. As soon as the Spanish had conquered, they began to swiftly eradicate all signs of Incan way of life and replace it with their own. Because of their wasteful attitude towards the native people, resources and culture, we know very little of the Incan empire, the greatest of