smallpox led to the downfall of the incan empire.
smallpox led to the downfall of the incan empire.
what specific thing led to the downfall of the incan empire?
smallpox
when francisco coronado and the spaniards first explored the rio grande valley in 1540, in modern new mexico, some of the chieftains complained of new diseases that affected their tribes. cabeza de vaca reported that in 1528, when the spanish landed in texas, "half the natives died from a disease of the bowels and blamed us." when the spanish conquistadors arrived in the incan empire, a large portion of the population had already died in a smallpox epidemic. the first epidemic was recorded in 1529 and killed the emperor huayna capac, the father of atahualpa. further epidemics of smallpox broke out in 1533, 1535, 1558 and 1565, as well as typhus in 1546, influenza in 1558, diphtheria in 1614 and measles in 1618.
conquistador
the strategic deployment of incan mythology did not end after the incan empire was colonized by the spanish. in fact, incan mythology was utilized in order to resist and challenge the authority of the spanish colonial authorities. many incan myths were utilized to criticize the wanton greed of european imperialism. there was widespread killing and rape of women and children in south america by the european soldiers. for example, there are myths among the indigenous people of the former inca empire that tell the stories of foreigners who come into the andes and destroy valuable objects. one such myth is the tale of atoqhuarco amongst the quechua, which describes how an indigenous woman is destroyed in an act of rebellion against a lascivious foreigner, whom eventually is transformed into a predatory fox. powerful colonial institutions are also critiqued in some of these myths, with the catholic church being frequently lambasted. for example, the story of the priest and sexton highlights the hypocrisy and abusive nature of a catholic priest and his callous treatment of his indigenous parishioners. as such, these myths show that inca mythology was strategically deployed for subvert and rebel against spanish rule in the former incan empire.
inca mythology