Atahualpa
1502-1533
The Last Incan Emperor
by Rit Nosotro( )
“Be advised that I, being free, do not have to pay tribute to anyone, nor do I believe there is a king greater than I. However, I will have the pleasure to be the friend of your emperor, since he should be a great prince to send his armies throughout the world. But this Pope does not interest me; much less will I obey him, I being in the kingdom of my father and our religion being good and I and my subjects are happy. However, despite my being a son of Huayna Capac I cannot discuss anything so wise and old. The Christ that you speak of died, the Sun and Moon never die, besides how do you know your god created the world?”1
This quote comes from the last emperor of the Incan Empire, Atahualpa. Atahualpa was born in Caranqui in 1502. He was the son of Huayna Capac, the previous emperor of the Incan Empire, before it was divided. At the time of Huayana’s death the Incan empire was split between two of his sons, Atahualpa and Huasacar.
Atahualpa ruled the northern part of the empire in Quito, and Huasacar, the true heir to the throne, ruled the southern part of the empire in Cusco. For several years both brothers got along without any conflict, but when Huasacar demanded that Atahualpa make an oath to him, the trouble began. Though Atahualpa was willing to comply with his brother’s request, Huasacar was less certain and rather suspicious for Atahualpa’s agreeable attitude. Being uncertain of Atahualpa’s motives, Huasacar took captive some of Atahualpa’s messengers and killed them. In response to this great offense Atahualpa refused to cooperate with Huasacar and civil war broke out.
It was on the Plain of Chillopampa that the two armies met for the first time. Huasacar was not a warrior and when he was sent to persuade Atahualpa to surrender a big battle broke out. Atahualpa was captured yet he escaped and joined up with his army once again. Atahualpa defeated Huasacar at different times during the ongoing battle as he began to take over and capture the rest of the Incan empire. Finally, in 1532, at the battle at Quipaipan, the war reached its high point: Huasacar, along with his family and army were captured and later killed by the orders of Atahualpa. With the capture of his brother and enemy, Atahualpa was now able to settle down and claim his throne in Cajamarca, before going to Cusco.
While Atahualpa was in Cajamarca, Francisco Pizarro entered the picture. Francisco Pizarro, from Spain, along with other Spaniards, sent for Atahualpa in order to talk about certain requirements for the Incan Empire to follow; Atahualpa agreed to go. Upon arriving, Atahualpa found that an ambush was waiting. He went and talked with Pizarro about the requirements that the Spanish were going to put upon the Incans: the main one being the conversion to Christianity. If all of the Incan Empire did not become Christian, Atahualpa and his people would be seen as enemies of the Church and of Spain as well. Atahualpa simply refused by saying that he would “be no man’s tributary.”2 This response led to what is now called the Battle of Cajamarca.
Refusing to comply with the requirements that Pizarro and his men were imposing, Pizarro signaled his conquistadors, and the ambush began. They captured Atahualpa and killed thousands of other Incans. Believing that having Atahualpa, captured, would throw the Incans into turmoil without knowing whom to follow, Pizarro saw it as a way that the Spanish would be able to conquer the entire Incan Empire. Atahualpa tried desperately to ransom himself by saying that he would give them a room full of gold if they would only let him go. They agreed to the gold and they received the largest amount of gold for a ransom that they had ever received. However, once Pizarro and his conquistadors had received the gold for Atahualpa’s ransom, they simply sentenced Atahualpa to death because they feared being attacked by the Incans, which outnumbered Pizarro and his men by far.
Atahualpa’s sentence was to be burned at the stake. However, just as he was about to be burned, he was given one last chance to convert to Christianity and then be killed in a “more respectful” way—strangulation. For fear of his soul not going to the after life because of being burned, according to Incan tradition, Atahualpa accepted the offer and was baptized into the Christian faith. Following his baptism he was strangled to death, leaving the Incans without a leader, which marked the end of the Incan empire.
Commentary:
Looking at Atahualpa’s life from a Christian perspective the story
of Uzziah, the King of Judah, comes to mind (2 Chronicles 26:1-23). Uzziah
became a great king, but as it says in 2 Chronicles 26:16, “after
Uzziah became powerful, his pride led to his downfall.” This was
Atahualpa’s weakness—pride. Though he was seen as a great
hero to the Incan people as a whole, because he thought of himself as
the one and only king he was unaware of what danger was lurking. Uzziah
thought of himself as a great king that could do whatever he pleased,
and when it came to being in the presence of God, he saw no reason to
be afraid of God. Atahualpa saw no reason to be threatened by Pizarro
and his men, because he thought that since his men outnumbered the Spaniards,
he would be able to conquer them with no problem at all. However, this
was not the case, for both Uzziah and Atahualpa. God struck Uzziah down
with leprosy because of his failure to call in the priest to make an offering
to the Lord, and “King Uzziah lived with leprosy until the day he
died” (2 Chronicles 26:21). This fearlessness and pride, along with
the thought of being superior, led Atahualpa to his death too, and it
also led to the destruction of the Incan empire as a whole.
QuickQuiz
What part of the Incan Empire did Atahualpa rule in the beginning of
his reign?
A) the entire empire
B) the southern part of the empire
C) the northern part of the empire
D) the west part of the empire
What did Atahualpa do with Huasacar and his family?
A) he imprisoned them
B) he excommunicated them from the church
C) he set them free
D) he had them killed
What year did Pizarro and his conquistadors invade the Incan territory?
A) 1532
B) 1533
C) 1502
D) 1520
What was the ransom that Atahualpa promised Pizarro?
A) the rule of the Incan empire
B) a room full of gold
C) a bunch of cattle and other animals
D) some precious stones and beads
Answers: C, D, A, B
Endnotes
1. Wikipedia- the Free Encyclopedia
2. Wikipedia –the Free Encyclopedia
Bibliography:
"Atahualpa." Wikipedia The Free Encyclopedia. 22 Feb 2008 <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atahualpa>.
"Atahuallpa." Britannica Biography Collection. 22 Feb 2008 <http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=f5h&AN=bgh10027&site=ehost-live>.
"Atahualpa." The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2007. Columbia University Press. 22 Feb 2008 <http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-Atahualp.html>.
The Holy Bible, New International Version. Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan, 2002.
