War of the two brothers

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

War of the two brothers
Emperor Atahualpa, the victorious brother, however, his reign as emperor was short
Date 1527 (hostilities begin) to april 1532 Location Peru and Ecuador Result Reunion and later destruction of the Inca Empire (Northern Inca Empire victory)
Combatants
Inca Empire apart from northern territories, allied city-state Tumebamba, conservatives	Confederate Northern Inca Empire (1527-1532), separatists
Commanders
Huascar, Inca emperor and claimant to the northern regions	Atahualpa, Northern Inca emperor (legitimate)
Strength
~200,000, with another 2 million reservists	+50,000, later expanded up to 250,000
Casualties
~100,000 soldiers (in two battles and three city-captures), 100,000-1,000,000 civilians	Casualties added to those placed to left

War of the two brothers, Inca Civil War or Inca war of succession, legendary war in South America and perhaps the most devastating on the continent. It broke out in 1527 (fighting started in 1531) as a disaggression between the two brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa and was - in a way - a war of succession of the Inca throne. However, it was Huáscar who started the war since he saw himself as the rightful heir of all Incas, while Atahualpa was revealed to be tactically superior to the mighty armies of Cusco.

[edit] The division of an empire

The mighty Inca Empire was formed in the 1100s, but first in 1438, when Pachacuti (the world-shaker) took power, the small city-state of Cusco with 40,000 inca inhabitants became an empire. Around 1500, the empire stretched from Coquimbo and below to the south and to Quito and Colombia in the north. The capital was Cusco (belly) in the center, from which the Sapa Inca ruled all. The empire, at its peak under Huayna Capac (1492-1527) had over 15 million inhabitants and controlled an area of more than 2 million square kilometers. However, the legacy of the Sapa Inca demanded he was the son of the former Sapa Inca and his sister, which invoked inbreeding, culminating in Huáscar.

Huáscar, the loser of the war between he and his brother

In 1524-1526, the spaniards under Francisco Pizarro explored South America. What was suspected to be smallpox was taken to the continent, causing later disaster for the incas. However, the Sapa Inca Huayna Capac went to the north to investigate about the unfamiliar men. He never met any spaniards, but got smallpox and died in 1527. And what what was worse, the eldest son and heir, Ninan Cuyochi, died shortly before him. As no one was clear heir, the choice stood between Huáscar, oldest pure heir, Manco Inca, his younger brother, and Atahualpa. Atahualpa was Huayna Capac's favorite son but only of half noble blood, his mother was a normal woman and former mistress of Huayna Capac. Huáscar saw it as an insult that Atahualpa was up for question to inherit, but the truth was that Atahualpa probably should have become a better Sapa Inca. Some sources say he was offered that by his father at his death bed, if so, he refused.
The Inca Empire was, to Huáscars great displeasure, splitted between him and Atahualpa. Huáscar recieved more than 90% of its area and some 80% of the population, capital Cusco, and its important temples. Atahualpa got the three important cities in the north, Cajamarca, Tumebamba and Quito and a small share of the area, mostly his mother's homelands.

[edit] War begins - Huáscar invades

Huáscar saw it as a great insult - though his own inbreeding, which made him insane^{[citation needed]} - that a "bastard"^{[citation needed]} had inherited Huayna Capac, though Atahualpa had gotten only a small part of the empire. In 1531, Huáscar demanded Atahualpa to swear him allegiance to Huáscar, to make him a puppet. He refused, this may have been an excuse for war, and the armies of Huáscar soon walked across the border.

Out of the Inca Empires standing army of 250,000, most were in Quito. However, since Huáscar alone had at least 12 million citizens under him, he could easily muster an army that outnumbered Atahualpa. Cajamarca, close to the border, was captured and shortly thereafter Atahualpa himself. However, Atahualpa escaped before Huáscar had the time to execute him, and united himself with his father's former generals in Quito, Chalicuchima and Quizquiz.

Tumebamba, called "the second Cusco", defected and switched side, it may have two reasons. One was that Tumebamba was Canaris (indian tribe, not inca) and waited for a moment to regain independence after have been defeated by Huayna Capac earlier, another that it seemed Huáscar would win the war and that it was madness to fight on Atahualpas side. However, in the battle of Chimborazo, Huáscars superior army was defeated and forced to retreat. As soon as Atahualpa reached Tumebamba he showed no mercy but burned the city to the ground.

[edit] Empire reunited

Atahualpa was saluted as a hero when recapturing Cajamarca, he stayed there with 80,000 troops (see Atahualpa) while his generals chased Huáscar to the south. In april 1532, only miles from Cusco, Huáscars retreat was stopped, his army annihilated and disbanded, his family and supporters executed, Cusco seized, and himself captured (battle of Quipaipan). This marked the reunion of the Inca empire and so the end of the Northern Inca Empire as Atahualpa with arms had taken control of it all, now on his way to Cusco to be crowned Sapa Inca and to put Huáscar to death.

The war was over by now as Huáscar was in capture, his supporters (the Cusco nobility) and family executed, the capital held by generals Quizquiz and Chalicuchima, and Atahualpas army of 250,000 men securing peace to the empire. However, before Atahualpa had the chance to move, he met up with conquistador Francisco Pizarro, once again on the move, and was captured by the spaniards (battle of Cajamarca), not as a part of the finished civil war, but as a part of the Spanish conquest of Peru. He had Huáscar drowned from captivity, and was himself later garrotted at August 29, 1533.

[edit] Casualties

Out of the 15 million population, some half was concentrated to the war area (from Cusco to Chimborazo). Hundreds of thousands warriors participated in the two great battles, and at least 100,000 soldiers (put together) died. However, the main victims were civilians as both brothers acted very harsh to the civilian population of the other brother. Lesser cities were put to ruins, Tumbes sacked and - as described above - the great town of Tumebamba destroyed and the citizens killed. An absolute minimum number of civilian killed is around 100,000, but it could be ten times higher. Captives were tortured and killed in the most gruesome way, mostly just in the name of the Sapa Inca, not furfilling any real purpose as terror (like Genghis Khan). Villagers were massacred and just hesitating in the field of battle often led to death of the soldier. As the war were over, the invading spaniards saw the destruction and death as they marsched across the empty and often burned plainlands.