So...Machu Picchu is the most fabulous city in South America. Its beauty is blended
with the great history of Inca people. The mysterious city, hidden deep
in the green Urubamba Valley's jungle, high on a mountain top had been
brought into attention of the outside world by Hiram Bingham, a famous
Yale historian, and since then it is attracting people from all corner
of the world. Machu Picchu is
something more than a nice city. Actually you are traveling all the way
to Peru, not just to uhh... let's say, to see it. Rather you want to be
there to feel the ancient city. When you look around the ruins, you feel
the warmth of Inca people around you. That is where the enjoyment comes
from.
The Lost City of the Incas, Machu Picchu, Peru
Monday, January 30, 2012
Historical facts: Spanish conquest
Spanish conquistadors led by Francisco Pizarro and his brothers explored south from what is today Panama, reaching Inca territory by 1526. In July 1529 the queen of Spain signed a charter allowing Pizarro to conquer the Incas. Pizarro was named governor and captain of all conquests in Peru, or New Castile, as the Spanish now called the land.
When they returned to Peru in 1532, a war of the two brothers between Huayna Capac's sons Huáscar and Atahualpa and unrest among newly conquered territories—and perhaps more importantly, smallpox, which had spread from Central America—had considerably weakened the empire. Pizarro did not have a formidable force; with just 168 men, 1 cannon and 27 horses, he often needed to talk his way out of potential confrontations that could have easily wiped out his party.
After the fall of the Inca Empire many aspects of Inca culture were systematically destroyed, including their sophisticated farming system, known as the vertical archipelago model of agriculture.
A Lost City Is Found
It is believed by many that Machu Picchu was a royal retreat for Inca
nobility in Cuzco, built during the reign of Pachacútec, a place of
spiritual and ceremonial significance, or possibly the administrative
center for a well-populated region. It would have been no more than a
small town by Inca standards; home to less than 1,000 people at its
peak. It is still a mystery as to why the Spanish never found the hidden
jewel of the Andés. Some believe that it was abandoned and its memory
lost even to the Amerindians of the region before the conquistadors
arrived. The entire mountain masterpiece was built, settled and
abandoned in less than 100 years. We may never know why.
When Yale professor of history Hiram Bingham stumbled upon the jungle
covered ruins at Machu Picchu in July 1911, he was actually searching
for the legendary lost city of Vilcabamba.
Background
Hiram Bingham was born in Honolulu, Hawaii, to Hiram Bingham II (1831–1908), an early Protestant missionary to the Kingdom of Hawai'i. He attended O'ahu College, now known as Punahou School in Hawai'i from 1882 to 1892. He went to the United States in his teens in order to complete his education, entering Phillips Academy in Andover, Massachusetts, from which he graduated in 1894. He obtained a B.A. degree from Yale University in 1898, a degree from the University of California, Berkeley in 1900, and a Ph. D. degree from Harvard University in 1905. While at Yale, Bingham was a member of Acacia Fraternity. He taught history and politics at Harvard.
Historical facts: Begining of The Incas
The
Inca Empire flourished on the west coast of South America from 13th to
16th century. They conquered this region after a series of wars against
Indians tribes. The Incas first came on the Peruvian scene somewhere
around 1300 A.D. They were then just a small group. During their first
two hundreds years they were competitors of small tribes. At the time of
Emperor Pachacuti Incas became the most powerful nation in South
America. And they continued to remained same for another hundred years.
After his death his son Topa Inca continued to conquest both to north
and south direction. Under his reign the Empire had spread into Central
Chile and Northern Ecuador. The next Inca Emperor Huayna Capac got hold
of the remaining Andes. He even spread his conquest up to Bolivia.
Before he died he separated his reign into two parts to be ruled by his
two sons Huascar and Atahualpa. Sad thing was that still after his death
there was a great civil war between the two brothers. At 1532 Atahuallpa got his brother killed and became the Emperor of Inca. At the same time ( on 1532) Spaniards arrived.
While our known world was prospering in its own way in
Europe and Asia in 13th or 14th century, a parallel world was gaining
momentum in South America. They did not have any Newton, Pascal or
Shakespeare; they did not have even any written languages. Still there
grew a
great civilization. They built houses and palaces with enormous
stones; they built roads with highest quality without having the
knowledge of all those great scientists of the other part of the world.
How they achieved those is still a mystery.
They lasted not long, but developed to a
great monarchy within a short period of time.
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