history 162 project outline and final paper

Title: The Intriguing Growth/formation of Inca Empire

In this project, I opt to focus on how the Inca Empire grew, as its growth seems meteoric. The precise dates indicating when the empire begun are elusive, but the most intriguing factor is that by when Spaniard Pizzarro executed last ruler in 1532 the empire had covered over 300,000 square miles making it as vast as the renown Roman Empire. A key question is how did it risk this quick? What factors contributed to the immense growth? In this light, the project will examine how big the Inca Empire was back then and how quickly it grew. This also goes for examining factors contributing to its rapid growth among them military conquests and Inca leadership, especially Tupac Inca Yupanqui and Pachacuti who were instrumental in expanding the empire. This also goes for interplay between genealogy in context of Inca successions and militarism. The leaders build on economic, administrative and military systems passed on by other leaders to enable the empire become much stronger and simultaneously use the system innovate to facilitate growth. This provides insight on critical elements accelerating empire building in the history.

Bibliography

Primary Source

Lasalle University. “Incan Documents (1500s).” Accessed July 9, 2016. http://www.lasalle.edu/~mcinneshin/356/wk02/incandocs.htm

Comprise of three primary sources (first-hand information), including a description of how the empire operated as written by a Spaniard, Sketches made by a Spanish Empire South American subject and list of taxes. Typically, Incans were not illiterate and thus barely wrote information. These information is derived from Spaniards who had taken over Incas, as subjects and got to experience how the empire functioned, thus providing insight of its success.

Secondary sources

Brian S. Bauer and R. Alan Covey. “Processes of State Formation in the Inca Hearland (Cuzco, Peru),” American Anthropologist 104 (2003): 846.

This article provide insight on administrative, military and economic expansions as key to the growth of the empire. It offers insight on how violence and alliances with regional competitors and integration strategies impacted administration and imperial conquest to accelerate growth. This articles supports the interpretation of the primary sources noted that provide insight on militarism, economic system and administration as key to empire success.

Covey, R. Alan. How the Incas Built Their Heartland: State Formation and the Innovation of Imperial Strategies in the Sacred Valley, Peru. New York: University of Michigan Press, 2006.

This book provides archeological support to illustrate how the state became powerful enough to undertake territorial expansion. This goes for examining Spanish chronicles among other artifacts to provide insight on processes leading to regional changes accelerating growth, such internal social transformations and long-term ecological changes. This articles supports the interpretation of the primary sources noted that provide insight on militarism, economic system and administration as key to empire success.