Social Studies for Ecuador 9 PDF

GLOSSARY Crayon Cray on Spaniards: people from Spain. Legumes: vegetables from the bean family. Knots: fastenings made by tying a piece of string, rope, or something similar. Viceroys: a ruler in a colony, especia...

GLOSSARY Crayon Cray on Spaniards: people from Spain. Legumes: vegetables from the bean family. Knots: fastenings made by tying a piece of string, rope, or something similar. Viceroys: a ruler in a colony, especially when the king is away. SOCIAL STUDIES FOR ECUADOR 9 33  DRIVING QUESTIONS Through what process does one culture begin to absorb another? How did the Inca empire begin? Inti: How about if we talk about the Incas Artie: How did they grow from a small tribe now? into something so big and important? Artie: OK! Inti: Well, they had great leadership. A remarkable man, Pachacuti, came Inti: The Inca empire started as a tribe who to power. He began to reach out to lived in the small village of Cuzco, high in neighboring tribes. He spread stories of the Andes Mountains of South America. his excellence and power to encourage other groups to join him. Even his Artie: Really? name meant "earth-shaker." Many groups were convinced by Pachacuti and that’s Inti: Yes. From that humble beginning, how the Inca empire began to grow. they went on to dominate the Andes. Who knows what they would have done, Artie: Wait, wait, wait.... So this great if it had not been for the arrival of the empire started with small groups of people Spanish in 1532! working together? Artie: So, they were around for about 200 Inti: That is one way to look at it. years? Artie: But it grew much larger, didn’t it? Inti: Very good, Artie. Yes. 34 SOCIAL STUDIES FOR ECUADOR 9 Inti: Absolutely! The Inca leaders after if only they put Inti first. The groups that Pachacuti, expanded the empire using would try to resist recieved the full force his same strategies. Pachacuti’s son, of the Inca armies! Tupac Inca Yupanqui, expanded all the way north to Quito! Part of what allowed Artie: So it was probably better to join the Inca to expand so widely were the peacefully than fight? road systems that had been developed by earlier civilizations. They improved Inti: That’s right. Lots of times the Inca would them to travel quickly and also to send offer local elites art and luxury goods to people and troops from Cuzco to newly convince them to join the empire. Their conquered areas. There, they would strategy of moving some of the most loyal share Inca culture and language to the Inca communities close to people who new members of the empire. resisted Inca rule so that those resistant groups would learn how to live peacefully Artie: Wow, so they conquered many within the empire was also efective. people without killing them? What an interesting process! Artie: Wow. It is still incredible they expanded so far so quickly! Inti: It was also effective! At its largest, the Inca empire stretched from Santiago, Inti: Well, I guess, you could say that Chile, up to southern Colombia. Many they improved systems that had already communities did not fight against the Inca existed in previous cultures, to their own because they saw benefits from joining benefit while adding in their own ideas. peacefully. The Inca would share food with them in times of need and also offer Artie: Oh. What a smart strategy! them protection from their enemies. They would allow them to keep their own gods SOCIAL STUDIES FOR ECUADOR 9 35