Francisco Pizarro came with a rag tag group of about 150 soldiers. The Incans were excellent administrators, and under Atahualpa, they were at the height of their power when the Spanish showed up. The Andes run from Ecuador in the north, all the way down to Argentina in the south.The Incans controlled the entire mountain range and much of the coast line and jungle running parallel to the mountains on either side.They came down out of the mountains and brought existing cultures under their dominion over the course of a couple hundred years. That is 30% longer than the Untied States. As a reference point, the Andes mountains run 4,300 miles north to south. It is hard to get your head around just how vast the Incan empire was. They grew up jockeying for power and considered siblings to be rivals. The kids didn't grow up together and love each other like brothers. The civil war kicked off when Atahualpa's father, the previous emperor, died and left a power vacuum.Ĭivil wars amongst siblings was common in the Incan empire, as the emperors had huge harems of wives and hundreds of children. I am more familiar with the story of Pizarro, so I will stick with that.Īfter all, the capture of the last Incan empire occurred in Cajamarca, the city where I met my wife and where my brother Brian lived with his family for more than 15 years, when he wasn't in the jungle working with cacao farmers.Ītahualpa had just consolidated his power after a bloody civil war against his brother. Same with Hernan Cortes capturing Montezuma. It is such a mysterious and unbelievable event. Thinking about Columbus and his accomplishments always brings a couple of thoughts to my mind.įirst, I always end up thinking about the capture of the last Incan emperor, Atahualpa, by the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro. Something from Fortunato Chocolate is probably a good start, but I digress. What are we supposed to do? Light some candles in the name of Christopher Columbus? How do you go about celebrating Columbus Day? It just seems odd to me that we'd take a day off from work, and shut down the banks for this day. I'm not going to wade into the controversy about the legacy of Christopher Columbus, whether he is somebody who should be celebrated or not, all things considered. Today is a federal holiday, Columbus Day.I've always thought that Columbus Day was a strange holiday.
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