Inca: Rise of the Condor

The history of the Inca Empire (or to give it its proper name, ‘Tawantin-suyu’, which meant ‘four quarters’ ), prior to the early 16th century, is fairly uneventful.

The kingdom was founded in the early 12th century when the first Inca, Manco Capac, led his people down from the mountains and conquered the various Peruvian tribes in the surrounding locales, and established the heart of his empire - Cuzco. He proclaimed himself ‘Inca’ (lit: emperor) and established a system whereby his heir was chosen by a council of advisers of the royal lineage.

There was no clear line of succession; the most competent of the legitimate sons of the Inca's principal wife (Coya) was usually selected. The Inca had one real wife, but he maintained a menage of royal concubines by which he could also father children.

It was from these children of the Inca that he chose his important administrators. The empire was one of the world's few real theocracies, for the Inca was not only ruler but also, in the eyes of his people, a demigod and the head of the state religion. The Inca Empire was a totalitarian state, and the Incas were absolute rulers whose power was checked only by the influence of custom and the fear of revolt.

However, the Inca domain remained small, and for several centuries was no more significant in size or power than neighbouring societies in the Peruvian highlands. It was not until the ninth Inca, Pachacuti, that the Inca state began expanding and became a true imperial state.

In mid-1400s, Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ruled over a diverse and prosperous kingdom. But he was restless, and longed to increase the kingdom and earn the legendary status his forebear, Manco Capac, had earnt.

In the late 1430’s, the capital of Cuzco had been invaded by the rampaging Chanca who were intent on eliminating the Inca. Viracocha Inca, then Inca of the kingdom, quickly fled before the invading army. Control of the empire fell to his son, Inca Yupanqui, who swiftly repelled the Chanca, and subsequently crushed them in further battles. For his victories, the young prince became known as Pachacuti (lit: ‘Lord Cataclysm’). It was at this historical pivot that Cuzco began to look outward, and under the guidance of Pachacuti Inca she quickly dominated the surrounding region and beyond, relocating ethnic groups within her borders, and suddenly transforming the social and economic orders.

It was to Pachacuti Inca’s great surprise and delight then, that in May of 1447, the coastal-dwelling Chimú declared war on the Inca. Incan historians were never able to fully ascertain why the Chimú had declared war on the Inca – they had been friends and allies for the last 30-odd years. Indeed, the last alliance between the Inca and the Chimú had been broken off not less than a month before the Chimú declaration of war.

The Chimú, while smaller in size than the Inca, had numerous other advantages – most notably a larger military and a larger population. They also maintained numerous fortifications, whereas beyond Cuzco, Macchu Piccu and Vitcos, the Incan cities and towns were undefended.

Pachacuti was unperturbed by this however – he ordered his military into the fray, and they met with victory at all times. The Chimú advance had been swift, and they had managed to advance as far as Cuzco before Pachacuti’s armies began their inexorable advance into Chimú territory. Pachacuti had a genius for battle – a knack for knowing how to fight the enemy psychologically that was beyond his time. His closest European counterpart would have been Philip II of Macedonia.

Within two years, the coastal-kingdom of the Chimú had been completely conquered, and when their capital of Chan Chan fell in December of 1448, and the ruling family was taken back to Cuzco, never to return, all knew that the end had come. The kingdom of Chimú was now and forevermore, part of the Incan empire.


Incan Empire: After the Annexation of Chimú – circa 1450

With an empire secured, Pachacuti Inca handed the reins of conquest to his brother Capac Yupanqui and his son Tupa Yupanqui, and focused the rest of his life on the the art of empire managing. Pachacuti literally evacuated the town of Cuzco to rebuild it into the spiritual headquarters of the empire.

As in battle, Pachacuti Inca had a genius for organization and for psychological control. He had the holy objects, or ‘huacas’, of the Chimú and other defeated tribes moved to Cuzco, where they were revered by Inca priests. Cuzco overnight became a Mecca for the Andeans, but it also served a more sinister purpose – the ‘huacas’ of the tribes were in a sense held hostage, in order to discourage their respective worshippers from revolting.

The next twenty years would see the consolidation of the Incan Empire – Pachacuti would spend the remainder of his years coordinating and colonizing the various far-flung reaches of his kingdom. He organized the construction of Sacsahuaman, a mighty fortress that took 20 years to build. It surrounded Cuzco, making it the strongest defensive spot in the South American continent at that time. Pachacuti Inca died in 1471, and was succeeded by his son, Tupac-Yupanqui, under the auspices of whom the Incan empire would experience a drastic change.

In 1471, Tupac-Yupanqui realized that the Inca knew of no more lands to colonise or conquer. They had colonized and conquered the furthest reaches of their known world, and only the unknown and unexplored lay beyond. Determining to expand the knowledge of the world around them, he consulted the High-Priest and organized an expedition under the command of one of his many uncles, Quispe.

Legends of the Andean peoples spoke of lands to the west, beyond the Pacific Ocean, populated by dark-skinned people who knew many strange and wonderful things, and Tupac-Yupanqui bid his uncle discover those lands, and return with proof of their existence. One can only imagine that Tupac-Yupanqui looked forward to future conquests, he could not imagine the bounty his uncle would bring him.

Quispe was granted all the resources a far-flung empire could offer, in order to create several sea-worthy vessels to explore the surrounding seas, and if possible, find the islands to the west that the legends spoke of. In the process of building his ships, Quispe would advance the empires knowledge of naval matters to such an extent that travel upon the sea – never viable before, was now functional and profitable. Quispe would spend the next twenty years charting the coast of South America, but he never succeeded in discovering any of the mystical islands. His failure was forgotten however, as he constantly discovered new lands.

Quispe was a man who feared nothing, and was somehow able to gather around men of a similar personality. They sailed from Lima, and would not see home again for a year, or two, or three. Travelling in uncharted waters, with ships that were constructed for the most part from balsa wood, they managed truly heroic feats. One of the greatest adventures of what became known as ‘Quispe’s Expedition’ was the navigation of Cape Horn. Not less than a year after discovering the Magellanes, Quispe sailed from Coquimbo, around the Cape, and then as far north as Uruguay, circling Tierra del Fuego on his return to port. His men returned telling tales of strange lands, and strange people – of sweet air, and terrible storms.

Returning once again to the ocean, his men circled the Cape again, and this time traveled as far as Itaima. On the way home to Coquimbo, they made land in the pleasant, deepwater port of the province of Aires. It was a land of such beauty that for a moment, Quispe later told the Inca, that he was terrified to think that he had sailed across the world, and had arrived in the Incan heaven. He and his men would stay in Aires, forming good relations with the local natives, for several months more.

In 1491, Quispe began his last journey. His fleet travelled up the west coast of the Americas. His men swiftly discovered Panama, and came across a strange herb in Costa Rica that the natives smoked. They continued onward, ever west, and ever north. Quispe must certainly have been aware that he was unlikely to make another journey, and was determined to find the islands that had eluded him thus far. It was not to be however, for rather than islands, he was greeted on the shores of the northern continent by the Mayans and Aztecs, who were currently subjugating the hapless Zapotec peoples. Quispe sailed on.

It was in late 1493 that Quispe reached California, exploring the coast of Baja. He was an old man, and tired – having spent the larger part of the last 20 years on the sea. As the journey had progressed, he began to grow seriously ill, but refused to return home. Finally, in Baja, he must have known the end was near. He took a small boat to shore, and ordered his crew to return to Cuzco and report to the Inca. According to their later reports, he then walked inland until lost from sight. The crew, without their leader, felt no desire to explore further, and obeying his wishes, returned home.


Extent of the Inca Empire – circa 1494

Tupac-Yupanqui, himself an old man, and near death at the time, was saddened by the loss of his favourite uncle, but heartened by the discovery of the new kingdoms to his north. Here was a world fit to be conquered, fit for him to rule. And it seemed that though his uncle had explored much, that there was still vastly more unknown than there was known. Surely this was a gift of Inti, the Sun God, to his beloved people! As for Quispe, he was with the Condor now, in heaven. Tupac-Yupanqui had no doubt that he would soon join him.

However, while a land bridge existed between the Inca and the Mayan kingdoms, it was populated by fierce and aggressive tribes that would have to be pacified before any real contact between the Inca and the empires of the north could be established and maintained. Trading was sporadic between the kingdoms, and the Inca were never able to establish a strong position within the Aztec markets, despite the quality of their goods. A good deal of the Inca revenue of the last 20 years had been spent in colonizing the rich lands Quispe had discovered on the eastern side of the continent, particularly Uruguay, San Matias and Aires.

Over the length of Tupac-Yupanquis reign, there had been a marked increase in the number of rebellions suffered by the Inca empire. The recent exposure to the northerners, and the increase in the size of the empire made it increasingly difficult to maintain control over the various tribes.

The rebellions were folly, for while they might occasionally capture a province, and rarely even two, no rebel forces were able to stand against the mighty Incan armies, who had lost none of their skill since Pachacuti’s day. It was here that his decision and that of subsequent Inca to refrain from fortification outside of Cuzco showed its true brilliance – as there was nowhere for the rebels to defend themselves. Eventually, they would always be forced to face the armies of the Inca in open battle, and always they would lose.

And thus the situation remained until the death of Tupac-Yupanqui in 1493, and the ascension to the throne of his son, Huayna-Capac. Unlike his forebears, Huayna-Capac would have to deal with a foe that had vastly superior weaponry and tactics, and brought with it a deadly gift – smallpox. The Europeans had arrived.

FYI: Im using the cheats to expose the whole maps when I do the screens, for your own edification. The blue that covers the north-east of my continent is the Portuguese. While I was aware of them from a few years down the track, at the time I had no idea they were there.

No Spanish. Yet.

Snow King, Stroph1: Thanks guys. The Inca are quite a lot of fun indeed, especially once they get started.

Juszuf7: I fully intend to write the entire AAR in this style, so Im glad you enjoyed it. I'll most likely be slowing down, throwing in a few more details and the like, as we enter the 16th century and I have my first meeting with the Europeans. I'll try not to get bogged down in details - which I have a tendency to do, so - if it happens, call me various filthy names until I weep, and promise to do so no more!

As to Quispe, theres an event that fires in 1471 in EEP 1.4.1 that grants you a random explorer. I was surprised, and used Quispe to explore as much of the coast as possible.

AlexandruH: Well, I hadnt expected a very interesting first century - so I just threw on EU in the background while I fiddled with some machines. But then Quispe showed up, and I spent the next 20 years making sure I explored every inch of the coast from Baja to Uruguay. Having an explorer opens up a whole new game to the Inca, and its already had drastic effects on my playing style.

Next post should be up in around 12 hours.

Upon his death in 1493, Tupac-Yupanqui's son, Huayna-Capac (lit: ‘Valiant Youth’) was pronounced Sapa Inca in Cuzco. Huayna-Capac was born in northern city Tomebamba, the son of Cañari princess. His childhood in Tomebamba had a profound effect on him, and during his reign he often preferred to rule from the north, rather than from Cuzco.

Indeed, such was the extent of the empire at the time of his ascension that Huayna-Capac felt that it could not be ruled by one man, and he planned a second capital in the Northern city of Quito, where "he would have made that town equal to the city of Cuzco in splendour and wealth".

He also devoted the early years of his reign to a Grand Tour of his inherited ‘Four Quarters of the World’. He was a firsthand witness to the lifestyle his people led – both the good and the bad. He even travelled via boat to the new cities in Uruguay, Aires and San Matias. San Matias in particular was one of the largest cities in the empire. With over 7000 prosperous citizens devoting hundreds of thousands of hours to the kingdom every year, the region was swiftly becoming a major part of the Andean economy.

However, one serious flaw with the Eastern colonies was the lack of a road connecting them with the greater empire. While boats were adequate for transporting supplies and such, it was the roads of the Inca kingdom that were its heart, its blood, its bone and muscle.

Without the wheel, all travel was done on foot. To maintain swift communications across a kingdom that stretched across some three thousand miles, the Inca had built a series of roads that led from Cuzco to each of the four Suyos (lit: ‘Quarters’). In the kingdom of the Inca, all roads literally did lead to Cuzco. One road ran almost the entire length of the South American Pacific coast.

Due to this titanic road construction, and the lack of a wheel, or swift animal mount, the main form of communication between cities was the chasqui. The chasqui were young men who relayed messages, like relay-runners, down the length of these great road-networks. The message would be relayed and the chain would be continued for hundreds of miles by hundreds of runners until the last runner reached the Sapa Inca and told the message, exact to the original word, because a severe punishment awaited a wrong message, which they knew since their training began in boyhood.

It was Huayna-Capacs vision to establish a road from Cuzco to the Eastern cities, across the continent rather than around. He also dreamed of building a road to the Mayan capital in Mayapan. A road like that would open many doors, not the least of which was trade. And while the Inca had no concept of money, there was always something to trade for.

In order to achieve part of his grand dream, Huayna-Capac would lead his armies north in the late 1490s in order to subjugate the tribes of Panama, and bring them to heel. This was swiftly achieved, and the path was now open, the length of the Panamas, for Inca colonists to populate the region. Within twenty years, the region would be thriving, Huayna-Capac hoped, and the road would be complete.

However, in the midst of his celebrations he was brought grim news from the south. The Quitus and Cannaris Indians that had been subjugated by his father, had risen in revolt – and sought to overthrow their Inca governors. The region was in danger of being completely lost, and Huayna-Capac had to hurry south. It was whilst travelling south at the head of his army in late 1498, that a chasqui brought him strange tidings from the Cape, far to the South.

The Inca was told of white strangers with "beards and a ferocious appearance" who had arrived on the Cape. "These men were so bold that they did not fear dangerous things; they were stuffed into their clothes, which covered them from head to foot." It was also said that the strangers travelled across the sea in large wooden houses. The Inca was greatly troubled by the news, feeling that these were evil signs and ill-omens. He also feared that the appearance of these strange men would cause his people much anguish and fear.

The Inca ordered these strange men to be brought before him, but by the time the chasquis had relayed the message, the men had disappeared, none knew where. Irate, Huayna-Capac arrived in the rebellious provinces and slaughtered all who opposed him. Contemporary records estimate at least 12,000 were massacred (including women and children). Local legends even state that the blood of these pople reddened the waters of a beautiful lake, which today is called Lake Yaguarcocha – Quechua (the language of the Inca) for ‘bloody lake’.

Huayna-Capac headed east to Cuzco, to recuperate from his hard years of campaigning in the North. It was here, in the early 1500s that many chasqui began to arrive with warnings that pestilence was sweeping the realm. A strange new disease that left its victims in feverish agony, and disfigured by a hideous rash. It was smallpox, brought to the Americas by the unwitting Europeans. Lacking any immunity to the disease, many thousands of Indians died. Ten thousand men, women and children died in Cuzco alone during the first month.

The Inca himself remained untouched by the disease in the initial epidemic, and helpless to do anything but watch as the disease decimated his people, he grew ever more wrathful at the strangers, whom he was sure had delivered this disease into his kingdoms heart. Cuzco itself was no longer regarded as safe, and he fled to Quito in the North, where he established his secondary capital with his hundreds of wives and concubines, occupying a sumptuous palace of which sadly, today there remains no trace.

It was while in Quito in 1503, that chasqui began to arrive, bearing a grim new message. More strangers had arrived, and this time they were killing all in sight, without provocation. They were clad in silver shirts that withstood the Incan weaponry, and rode strange, terrible beasts that none had seen before.

They were the Portuguese, and they had come to conquer the Incas.

The Portuguese invaders first made landfall in the Isthmus colony in November of 1503. They had come to the Americas for God, Glory and Gold. Most especially for Gold. The Pope had granted Spain and Portugal all the lands of this New World to do with as they please, as long as they brought new souls into Christianity. One can only imagine the horror of the Portuguese when they began to explore the Americas only to discover a vast, highly-advanced civilisation encroaching upon ‘their’ lands.

Manuel I of Portugal, had he but known it, was as new to the throne as Huayna-Capac, and was determined to put an end to these natives. They would be converted to the True Faith, and they would be saved. And their gold? Their gold would be the prize of the King of Portugal! The price for their 'salvation'.

But wars never go smoothly, and the carefully laid plans of Portugal were disrupted from the start. A storm delayed a large part of their fleet in Tago for the better part of a month, and caused massive supply problems for the Portuguese soldiers in South America.

The initial invaders were thus repelled, after the loss of many of Huayna-Capacs best soldiers. These strange men from across the sea spoke a strange tongue that none could interpret, and were furious in battle. Their strange weapons, made of some unknown metal, sliced through Incan armor as like a knife through water. Initially, the Inca fled before them – for none could stand against these soldiers from the sea. After several beach-assaults that were pushed back, the Portuguese were able to gain a foothold in Isthmus.

It was fortunate for the Inca then, that the Portuguese were never able to send the full weight of their available armies. Had they been able to launch the swift, sudden and overpowering attack that their initial estimates had called for – the empire of the Incas would have fallen within five years.

The Inca were in a very ominous position – the kingdom was still recovering from the epidemic of smallpox that had swept the country not three years before. The Inca had fled to Quito, and fierce strangers were bent on conquering the country.

But somehow, the Andeans managed to throw off the Portuguese. Gradually, the Inca warriors came to realise that the Portuguese could be stopped. Sheer numbers on the side of the Inca meant that most battles eventually turned in their favour. But the costs were horrific – every battle cost the Incas thousands of men. But in Huayna-Capacs eyes it was worth it to throw these devils back into the sea from whence they came. Isthmus was recaptured first, then Aires, and then Uruguay.

Indeed, the Portuguese may have confused these two separate Suyos of the empire as two separate kingdoms entirely. Throughout the duration of the war, the largest part of their forces was often concentrated on the Eastern colonies, whereas the larger part of the Inca empire remained free, and able to produce a constant supply of troops with which to whittle down the Portuguese forces. The invaders who arrived in Isthmus were beaten off time and again, and gradually – as the Inca came to realise the strangers were but men, and not gods, the tide began to turn in their favour.

While they lagged behind the Portuguese technologically, they had numerous advantages – the most important of which was that their supply-train did not have to travel over the ocean to reach the needy armies. Indeed, because of Huayna-Capacs recent campaigns in the north, strong supply-trains already existed in the region – the armies that battled the invaders in Isthmus were portions of the army that had fought to subdue these regions not 10 years before. They were intimately familiar with the region, and used this knowledge to time and again ambush the Portuguese when they were at their most vulnerable.

In the east, all would have been lost, were it not for the remnants of the 30-year old fleet that Quispe had created all those years ago. The fleet had been stationed in Aires when the Portuguese invaded. Their huge warships were more than a match for the local Andeans, but the Inca fought on in the face of insurmountable odds. Time and again, the navy threw itself at the Portuguese fleet that lay off the eastern coast. Its knowledge of the coast, of secret harbours, and supply-depots meant that despite its best efforts, the Portuguese navy – one of the most experienced in the world at the time – could not fully defeat these small ships that continually harassed them. Eventually, they were forced to retreat northward to the more controlled waters of Recife, leaving the men on the ground to face the Incan hordes without supply or support. They were swiftly defeated.

But Portugal could not afford to lose this war - more than just land was at stake. Were the Europeans to discover that Portugal had lost against these natives, then who knew how they would react? With the might of Spain hovering eagerly at her shoulder in Iberia, Portugal knew that a loss here in the New World would only encourage a Spanish invasion at home. And so she doubled her efforts, and sent more men, and more ships. Manuel I fully believed that the ‘savages’ would eventually fall. He, like many Europeans of the time, simply could not comprehend that rather than facing small, disparate tribes, as they had in Africa, they were facing a united empire larger than any in Christendom at the time, with the resources that entailed. The Inca technology might lack in comparison to the Europeans, but so did the Turks, and they had become the scourge of Europe. Were the Inca to become a similar menace?

Gradually however, the Portuguese began to make headway through Inca territory. Aires fell to a renewed assault in 1505, as did Parana, and Uruguay. Advancing swiftly through the area, the Eastern Colonies began to fall, one by one, under the sway of Portugal. By 1506, all but San Matias had fallen to the Portuguese. And in the North they had taken the beachhead at Isthmus and were advancing inland.

It was in these dark times, when it seemed that the Portuguese would succeed in overthrowing the Inca empire, that one of Huayna-Capcac’s many brothers, Tupac-Poma (lit: ‘Royal Lion’) came forward with an ingenious idea. The Inca knew that the Portuguese had a presence in the North-Eastern part of the continent. But there was no way they could reach those lands via sea – the invaders navy was too strong and powerful – they had blockaded the north, and despite the continual harassment of the enemy fleet by Incan ships, they maintained a stranglehold over sea travel.

Tupac-Poma suggested a new strategy – an overland assault. It would take many months – years maybe, for the Inca had no knowledge of the lands within their continent. The tribes that lived in those lands where fierce, and even the mightiest Inca, Pachacuti himself, had been unable to bring them under the rule of the Inca. But Tupac-Poma swore he would achieve it, or he would forgoe his place at the side of Inti, the Sun God, in the afterlife. For an Andean, particularly one of the royal Ayllu, this was a serious oath. For Tupac-Poma, his very soul now lay in his success or failure. Failure was not an option.

Huayna-Capac trusted his brother implicitly. He had several hundred brothers, but had always remained close to Tupac-Poma who was a savage warrior, cunning leader, and fiercely loyal. Granting him ten-thousand men, he watched from the walls of Quito as Tupac-Poma and his men set of on what would come to be known in song as the Long Walk.

It would take two-long years for Tupac-Poma and his men to wend their way along the northern coast to the Portuguese colonies. They were forced to fight every inch of the way as the local tribes tried to force them back, fearing that were one army went, more would follow. Unstoppable in battle, Tupac-Poma was regarded as a demi-god, like the Inca himself, by his men. Wherever the battle was fiercest, there would Tupac-Poma be. Wherever it seemed the battle was lost, there would Tupac-Poma be. The natives grew to fear this man whose armour glowed with the power of the Sun God, and who was unbeaten in a thousand battles.

The two years had seen a resurgence in Inca fortunes too. The Incan ships had finally managed to force the Portuguese fleet to retreat back to Recife, and swiftly the beleaguered forces of San Matias swept forward, taking back Copertanas, Aires and finally Parana. The Portuguese could not be forced out of Uruguay however. They had dug in, and repelled numerous Incan assaults. Isthmus was still held by the Portuguese, and they had taken Mosquitos as well. They had even advanced as far as Curipa before the Incan armies, led by Huayna-Capac himself, had driven them back. But they stood firm in Isthmus, and resisted all efforts to dislodge them.

The war had taken a mental toll on Huayna-Capac, and he had come to despise these Portuguese, these… Europeans. None would ever possess an inch of Incan territory while he drew breath. His fanaticism, the divine will of the earthly incarnation of Inti, the Sun God, awoke a similar drive among his people, and the Portuguese were no longer able to force the Inca to retreat. It had become a brutal war of attrition, which neither side could afford to lose.

The war had reached a stalemate – neither side had managed to truly defeat the other, and neither side was willing to offer peace. It was then, in January of 1509, that Tupac-Poma burst upon the Portuguese colonies from behind like a thunderclap. Advancing swiftly, they took the entire northern coast, and eventually Recife itself fell into his grasp. Tupac-Poma held the entire coast hostage – over five thousand Portuguese citizens. Portugal had no choice, and in December of that year, Manuel I signed a peace treaty with the Inca. No land had changed hands, tens of thousands of men had died, and Portugal had been disgraced before the world.

The Long Walk of Tupac-Poma had been an unmitigated success. He had managed to defeat the Portuguese, and had proved that the Andeans were more than a match for the Europeans. It was a dangerous precedent to set, one that Portugal in particular, and Europe in general could not allow.

It was a humiliation that Portugal would not soon forget, and swore to soon repay.


State of South America - Shortly after Portuguese invasion - circa 1511

Woof. Apologies for the length on the last post - hope nobody has been bored to tears! If so, the shovel is in the cupboard, and savage beatings about my head and upper torso are warranted.

I'll try to keep the posts shorter than this in future - or at the very least, have the decency to split my wars up a bit. I wanted to get through the first war with the Portuguese though, so I could focus on the interim period. Those of you aware of Incan history may have an idea of what I am speaking of. For those of you who dont - stick around 20 years, I assure you it will get VERY interesting.

Gaijin de Moscu: Glad youre enjoying it. You know, it was your South American AARs that kinda-sorta inspired me to play the Inca. I was going to play an American country, and well - the South Americans just seem like so much fun. So I guess some thanks should go your way. Profits are all mine though.

Incidentally, are you really in Kansai right now? I was just over there in Banshu-Ako, near Kobe (well, near in the sense of an hour or two). Beautiful place. I really miss it.

Hula: Hey Hula, thanks for the praise. What can I say? You know youre an inspiration. If France can survive against all odds, then so can the Inca! Actually, I cant take credit for the expansion of the Inca - they already control the majority of those provinces at the start of the game. A scripted event in the 1460s gets you a the North-Western provinces. Hellfire, the only provinces that were truly 'mine' were the ones on the East Coast of South America. Those Incas knew what they were about alright - Ive barely got anything to do.

Mind you, beyond Cuzco and about 4 others, most of those provinces are around 1000 population. So while it seems big, economically its not.

Amric: The Portuguese worry me alright. At this stage they were mostly trading posts - but I know that given a few decades, they will be thriving cities. Which equals BAD for me. I was damn surprised to have them attack me in the first place - I think I might have pissed the AI off because I colonised some of its lands. But this was pre-Treaty of Tordesailles, so...

I was even more surprised when I managed to beat them! All bless Inti, for surely he caused the AI to grant me that Conquistador in 1506, without which Tupac-Poma and the Long Walk would not exist.

But at this stage, Portugal only has Land Tech 6, so my Land Tech 1 and manpower is usually enough to win. Given how quickly Europeans advance through these first few land techs, that gap is going to get very wide, very quickly.

Von Gonsez: Well, I dont know whether to blush or shake your hand. Thanks for the compliments. Im hoping I can survive the Portuguese too, but its another power I fear even more...

Thats it for the nonce. Ive played through to 1519, during which time things become interesting once again, and I'll throw that up tomorrow. So, you'll have to wait a bit. Sorry.

I leave you with these parting words:

There is one God, he is the Sun God.
Ra! Ra! Ra!

In late 1509, the Sapa Inca Huayna-Capac had forced the Portuguese into a humiliating admission of defeat. His armies had triumphed over forces with far superior weaponry and tactics, and had proved themselves a match for the Europeans.

Riding high on the crest of victory, Huayna-Capac made plans for the conquest of the Mayans. The Mayans were a large power which was between the Incas and the Aztecs. As such it had nowhere to expand. It was a moribund culture, whose time was past. Huayna-Capac was convinced that now was the time to attack – his victory over the Portuguese had shown that the Sun God favored his faithful children. In the mind of the Inca there was no doubt that it was a propitious time to attack.

However, upon consulting his generals, most were reluctant to begin another war so shortly after the Inca had survived the last. Tupac-Poma, who had attained a status akin to that of Pachacuti and Manco-Capac, was strongly opposed to the idea of an aggressive war. Clad in the metal armor of the Portuguese, and wielding one of their blades, he was an ominous figure. A reminder of the past, and possibly a hint of the future. He felt sure that where the Portuguese had attacked once, they would attack again.

Alone of the ruling Ayllu, Tupac-Poma had seen the lands that the strangers called ‘Brazil’. He alone had walked among their towns and cities. He knew that these strange buildings the Portuguese lived in were not those of a people who would leave at the first taste of defeat. They would return, again and again, until they were victorious over the Inca. Their God would demand it of them.

Huayna-Capac was disheartened by these words. He had thought that the Portuguese had been thrown back into the sea, from which they would never return. They had tested the might of the Son of the Sun, and Inti’s power had prevailed over their small god. Was that not enough? But Tupac-Poma was a convincing debater. The Inca consulted his oracles, and begged them to divine the future. Should he attack the Maya, or focus on preparation for a war with the Portuguese, that he personally felt may never come?

The oracles were a large part of Inca religious life. Everything, from illness, to the investigation of crimes, or the definition of what sacrifices should be made to what gods, was all done by consulting the oracles, who practised the art of divination by observing in a dish the meandering of a spider, by the disposition of coca leaves, by drinking ayahuasca (an hallucinogen), or even by examining the markings on the lungs of a sacrificed llama.

Their responses were universally grim, and the High Oracle at Ari-Mac delivered their response. In all their many visions, they saw bearded men with pale faces who brought death and destruction. “The Moon, your Mother, tells you that Pachacamac, the Creator and giver of Life, threatens your Family, your Realm, and subjects. Your sons will wage a cruel War, those of royal Blood will die, and the Empire will disappear.” Huayna-Capac was greatly disturbed by these visions. Was he to be the penultimate Inca?

But Huayna-Capac was of the blood of Manco-Capac, of Viracocha, the Creator God himself. His father was the sun, Inti, and his mother the moon. It was not in him to accept a preordained defeat. He would not go quietly into the dark. He would not bow down before his fate. He resolved then and there, on the balconies of Quito, that the Inca would never fall. That his peoples empire would stand against the night, and last until Viracocha himself returned from the West to lead them to the heavens, were the condors flew.

Tupac-Poma laid out a plan of action that would prepare the Inca for the coming battles. The Eastern colonies were still weak, as were the lands surrounding Cuzco – defensive measures must be taken to enable the Inca to defeat this foe, whom Tupac-Poma knew would return again within his lifetime. Fortifications would need to be built.

Colonies were built in the lands near to the Portuguese colonies in Amapa and Majajo. In Surinam and Maracaibo, Andean workers began to build new cities from which they could watch the goings-on in Brazil. Never again, the Inca resolved, would his people be attacked by an unknown foe. A colony was also built in southern Aisen, near the camps of more strangers. They wore different colours than the Portuguese, but spoke the same tongue, and rode the same strange beasts. Contact with these strangers was sporadic at best – the plague that had spread through the Andean lands had begun here, and the Inca believed these strangers were cursed, or devils. The lands surrounding them were almost devoid of people, having been the worst hit by the plague. But Huayna-Capac trusted none of these strangers, Portuguese or not.

And so Huayna-Capac prepared himself, and waited. Tupac-Poma rode at his side, tall and proud, with his silver armor shining in the sun. The Inca were ready for the Portuguese – and they would never be taken by surprise again.

In distant Lisbon, the King of Portugal, Manuel I, seethed with hatred. His country had been belittled and humiliated in front of the whole world. He personally had been insulted. Worst of all, the resistance of the Inca was an affront to God himself.

In many ways, Manuel I was a good man, a learned man. He had fought to prevent the expulsion of the Jews and Moors from his lands as part of his condition of marriage to the daughter of Their Most Catholic Majesties, Ferdinand and Isabella. He had even ‘forcibly converted’ many, though he made no promises to investigate their new faith. He was devoted to literature and learning, and had authorised Vasco de Gama’s epochal journey to India.

Under his enlightened rule, Portugal had become the leading commercial nation of the West. He had fought to resist the corruption that this sudden influx of wealth had brought with it, and strove to preserve the investment of money into the agricultural and industrial development of Portugal itself.

But when it came to the Inca, this kind, peaceful man became as dark a figure as history would produce. Their victory five years earlier in 1509 had caused Portugal to become a laughing stock. He knew the other kings of Europe looked down on him now, though they dared not say it to his face. His Spanish relations became haughty and distant, though they had not the courage to face the savages themselves. They hid at the south of the Americas, and did not leave their small camps.

The King thus planned a second war with the Inca – one in which he would be victorious. This time no storm would delay his fleet. This time, he would be prepared for all contingencies. He would show them. He would show them all.

He appointed a new man as his Governor in the Brazilian colonies. This man was to ensure their protection from any more ‘Long Walks’, to ensure that the Inca were defeated. The Portuguese planned for the next war, and waited for the Inca guard to drop.

The new governors name was Diego Alvarez Correa. He had arrived in Recife shortly after the end of the war to take control, and swiftly set about fortifying the new lands as best he could. Diego was a skilled soldier, who had spent the earlier part of his career exploring the wilderness of the Brazilian coast. He was as knowledgeable of the lands as the Inca were, and had befriended the local natives. As Governor, he knew that Portugal’s greatest threat was the Inca’s knowledge of the land, and Tupac-Poma. He had no doubt that they would be facing the Royal Lion in the next war.

Diego did not underestimate his foe. He knew that Tupac-Poma was a skilled warrior, the best the Inca’s could produce. If he could but defeat the man, then the Inca would fall. There were other stratagems that he could try as well. The Portuguese had made several expeditions during the last five years, and they now had a map of the continent. He knew where the Inca capital was, in distant Cuzco. An army there could win the war in a day.

In early 1515, under the authorisation of his King, he ordered his soldiers to advance upon the Eastern Colonies of the Inca. Their swift capture would be the first step in his conquest. His soldiers, marching into battle, were different from the soldiers that the Incas had faced five years ago. They were more familiar with the territory, and had native allies. They were skilled soldiers, having fought in many European campaigns, and as such of higher quality than the raw recruits who had faced the Inca before. Most importantly of all, they were armed with a terrible new weapon, crafted by the weaponsmiths of Lisbon. A new weapon that would change the face of war itself. A new weapon that was called the gun.