How the spaniards (conquistadors) destroyed the economic structure of Essay

How the spaniards (conquistadors) destroyed the economic structure of the Incan Empire - Essay Example were doing these people a favor, they have led to the long term destruction of what is now Latin America, due to the overwhelming poverty and elitism that dominates the continent. Through this conquest, the conquistadors destroyed the economic structure of the Incan Empire and of the region altogether. The Incas were a civilization in what is now South America that had a history of being led strongly, which included its economic structures, even though â€Å"The Inca Empire was actually quite short-lived, lasting only about 100 years, from ca.1438AD, when the Inca ruler Pachacuti and his army began conquering the neighbors of the Inca heartland of Cuzco, until the coming of the Spaniards in 1532† (Ogburn 1997). The Incas were led, during their best periods, by Huayna Capac. After Capac and his heir apparent both died of smallpox, however, a war broke out in order to decide who would take over the civilization and become its new leader. At the center of this conflict were Huascar and Atahualpa, who were brothers and were also the sons of Huayna Capac. Huascar became the emperor of the civilization, although there is no evidence to suggest that he was meant to assume this power when his father died. Huascar was a madman, who came close to murdering his mother and his sister, but he was still very popular amongst most of the population that he governed over in the southern part of the region. Atahualpa, on the other hand, took over the northern part of the region during this time period. These two brothers were able to live in peace for a few years, but problems eventually broke out, which caused a war between the two sides. Consequently, over 100,000 people were killed during this war, which shows the savage demeanor of this society. Atahualpa’s side eventually won the war, but he soon started to go insane as well. He treated members of the losing side very horribly and even killed Huascar’s children right in front of him. While Atahualpa now had full control of