Huayna Capac - Death and Legacy

Death and Legacy

Huayna probably contracted smallpox while campaigning in Colombia (though some historians dispute this). The Spaniards had carried smallpox to South America, and the Native Americans had not acquired immunity against it. Huayna and about 200,000 other South and Central Americans died in that epidemic. Both Huayna Capac and his oldest son, Ninan Cuyochi, died.

Before his death, Huayna Capac divided the empire, leaving the newly conquered north to his favorite son Atahualpa and the rest to his legitimate heir Huáscar. Upon the death of their father, Huayna Capac, in 1525 or 1527, the brothers Atahualpa Inca and Huáscar Inca were granted two separate realms of the Inca Empire: Atahualpa, the northern portion centered on Quito, and Huáscar, the southern portion centered on Cuzco.

Huáscar quickly secured power in Cuzco and had his brother Atahualpa arrested. But Atahualpa escaped from his imprisonment with the help of his wife and began securing support from Huayna Capac's best generals, who happened to be near Quito, the nearest major city. Atahualpa won the ensuing civil war. In keeping with a longstanding Inca and Andean tradition of fraternal conflict, Atahualpa rebelled against his brother Huáscar and imprisoned him.

Pizarro and his men had the fortune of ascending into the Andes just as Atahualpa was returning to Cuzco after successful conclusion of his northern campaigns. After launching a surprise attack in Cajamarca and massacring upward of 6,000 Incan soldiers, Pizarro took Atahualpa prisoner. To secure his release, Atahualpa pledged to fill a room of approximately 88 cubic meters with precious golden objects, the famous Atahualpa's Ransom Room. Over the next months, trains of porters carted precious objects from across the empire, including jars, pots, vessels, and huge golden plates pried off the walls of the Sun Temple of Coricancha in Cuzco. On May 3, 1533, Pizarro ordered the vast accumulation of golden objects melted down, a process that took many weeks. Finally, on July 16, the melted loot was distributed among his men, and 10 days later, Pizarro had Atahualpa executed anyway.