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The Inca Rule

It is extremely important when reading historical essays to know who the author is and their background. People often get very emotional about national issues and anything which is written about their culture, and when they write about it themselves, their writing usually reflects their personal point of view. This is particularly true of writings about the Inca rule because it is obvious when looking at these writings from various people that they came away with totally different interpretations, even tough they looked at the same facts. It all depends on the background of the writer and how impassioned they are about the subject.

Some of the writers on Inca history were there on the ground when these activities were taking place and so have first hand knowledge of the events. Others wrote about them from afar, making their judgments based on second- or third-hand information or on other texts on the subject. They also vary in their interpretations depending on whether they are sympathetic to the Spanish cause, or their sympathies lie with the Inca, who were subjugated by the Spanish, even though they had a rich history and an advanced society in many ways superior to the Western societies.

George Vaillant, an archeologist wrote that,

The Indians worked together for their common good, and no sacrifice was too great for their corporate well- being. Man's strength lay in the physical and spiritual welfare of the tribe, and the individual was honored only inasmuch as he contributed to the communal good (Hanke and Rausch 66).

Keen describes this and other comments on Inca society by

Vaillant as evidence of the power of emotions in blinding people to the truth: he believes Vaillant completely ignored the social cleavages and tensions within Inca society.

Guamun Poma de Ayala, a Peruvian Indian, wrote a history of Andean life before Pizzaro, and in 1615 wrote a "letter" to the King of Spain - a 1,200 hu...

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The Inca Rule. (1969, December 31). In LotsofEssays.com. Retrieved 09:30, March 28, 2024, from https://www.lotsofessays.com/viewpaper/1703482.html