Why were the Spaniards the subjugators of the Incas instead of the Incas eventually having dominion over the Spaniards? The answer is not only a matter of circumstances but also the will of God in what nation will conquer.

In the first battle at Cajamarca the Spaniards defeated the Incas despite overwhelming numbers. Steel weapons were the greatest advantage of the Spaniards along with their horses. Horsemen have always had an advantage over foot soldiers, and with the Spaniards steel weapons they cut through the Indians cotton armor. Incan resistance was no use for the Spanish armor and helmets protected them from the Incan maces and clubs.

After the battle of Cajamarca the Spanish continued to conquer the Incans. The Incas were devoted to their god-like king. Pizarro, the leader of the conquistadors, used this to manipulate the Incas and set up a puppet government with a relative. However when Incan allies of the Spanish saw the violent ways of the new Spanish colonialism, they turned around and fought back. In addition Spanish rivalries beset the invaders. Despite these difficulties the Spanish eventually conquered the Incas and set up colonies.

Epidemics brought on by the Spaniards also played a role in aiding the conquest. A smallpox epidemic brought by Europeans had decimated the Incas even before Pizarro arrived. Among those killed was the emperor Huayna Capac. A civil war broke out between his two sons. In the end the brother named Atahuallpa consolidated control. Nonetheless the civil war and European epidemics significantly weakened the Inca nation, paving the way for Pizarro.

Eurasians had domesticated animals for food in addition to farming. Life lived close to animals and people helped breed diseases like smallpox and measles that decimated the peoples of America. The Spanish developed immunities to these diseases early on as they developed and so were not as vulnerable to them as the Native Americans. Thus when the conquistadors came to the Americas, diseases went rampart among the Natives.

How could God allow such destruction of a nation? The often-cruel conquistadors do not seem to deserve these victories, and Pizarro never really got to enjoy them himself for a Spanish rivalry cost him his life. It does not make sense for Satan to use the conquistadors to destroy a pagan nation that committed things like human sacrifice. But it does make sense that the Conquistadors were agents for God’s punishment of the Incas. This can be proven by how God deals with another nation of similar religion.

The Incas were a developed imperial nation having similarities with the ancient Egyptians. Among these were the worship of a sun god, the worship of their kings as gods, mummification, and more. However there are distinct differences involving the terrain, crops, warfare, and others, yet many religious principles are similar.

There appears to be a correlation between the Inca religion and Egyptian religion as well as the invasions of each. Isaiah 19:1-4 says, “The oracle concerning Egypt. Behold, the Lord is riding on a swift cloud and is about to come to Egypt; the idols of Egypt will tremble at His presence, And the heart of the Egyptians will melt within them. ‘So I will incite Egyptians against Egyptians; And they will each fight against his brother and each against his neighbor, city against city and kingdom against kingdom. Then the spirit of the Egyptians will be demoralized within them; And I will confound their strategy, So that they will resort to idols and ghosts of the dead and to mediums and spiritists. Moreover, I will deliver the Egyptians into the hand of a cruel master and a mighty king will rule over them,’ declares the lord God of hosts.” The Incas suffered a civil war, and eventually suffered under a cruel colonial government just like the Egyptians.

The Incas committed the same crimes committed by the Egyptians, and so suffered the same fate. Thus the powerful Spanish set up a cruel colonial government over the Incas like the mighty and cruel Assyrian nation that conquered the Egyptians. God used Iron, the weapon that gave the Spaniards such an advantage over the Incas, to give the Egyptians into the hands of the Assryians. There is no eternal paradise or punishment for nations, and so they must suffer the consequences on earth.

Encyclopedia Britannica, Encyclopedia Britannica, inc. William Benton publisher, 1964©

Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond, W.W. Norton & Company New York London, 1999, 1997 ©

"The Americas" World History. September 2003.

"Spain" The library of Congress: Federal Research division: Country studies division. September 2003.

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