The Last Days of the Incas - Softcover

MacQuarrie, Kim

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0743260503 ISBN 13: 9780743260503

Publisher: Simon & Schuster, 2008

Synopsis

The epic story of the fall of the Inca Empire to Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the aftermath of a bloody civil war, and the recent discovery of the lost guerrilla capital of the Incas, Vilcabamba, by three American explorers.

In 1532, the fifty-four-year-old Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro led a force of 167 men, including his four brothers, to the shores of Peru. Unbeknownst to the Spaniards, the Inca rulers of Peru had just fought a bloody civil war in which the emperor Atahualpa had defeated his brother Huascar. Pizarro and his men soon clashed with Atahualpa and a huge force of Inca warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. Despite being outnumbered by more than two hundred to one, the Spaniards prevailed—due largely to their horses, their steel armor and swords, and their tactic of surprise. They captured and imprisoned Atahualpa. Although the Inca emperor paid an enormous ransom in gold, the Spaniards executed him anyway. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cuzco, completing their conquest of the largest native empire the New World has ever known. Peru was now a Spanish colony, and the conquistadors were wealthy beyond their wildest dreams.

But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Inca emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, inflicting heavy casualties and nearly wiping out the conquerors. Eventually, however, Pizarro and his men forced the emperor to abandon the Andes and flee to the Amazon. There, he established a hidden capital, called Vilcabamba—only recently rediscovered by a trio of colorful American explorers. Although the Incas fought a deadly, thirty-six-year-long guerrilla war, the Spanish ultimately captured the last Inca emperor and vanquished the native resistance.

About this title

About the Author

Kim MacQuarrie is a writer, a four-time Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker, and an anthropologist. He is the author of four books on Peru and lived in that country for five years. During that time, MacQuarrie lived with a recently-contacted tribe of indigenous Amazonians, called the Yora. It was MacQuarrie's experience filming a nearby group of indigenous people, whose ancestors still remembered their contacts with the Inca Empire, that ultimately led him to investigate and then to write his book, "The Last Days of the Incas." A History Book Club and Military Book Club selection, the book was also chosen by the Kiriyama Prize Committee as a"notable book" for 2008 and as an "Outstanding Academic Title" by Choice. Currently FX Channel is developing "The Last Days of the Incas" as a 13-part scripted television series.

MacQuarrie's latest book, "Life and Death in the Andes: On the Trail of Bandits, Heroes, and Revolutionaries," is about a 4,300-mile journey along the Andes Mountains, the longest mountain chain in the world. During the journey, MacQuarrie investigated the lives and stories of Pablo Escobar, Che Guevara,Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Charles Darwin, Thor (Kon Tiki) Heyerdahl, and even an Inca "Ice Maiden," sacrificed 500 years ago on top of a 20,000-foot volcano, yet still perfectly preserved. Visit his website at: kimmacquarrie.com or his blog at kimmacquarrie.com/blog

From the Back Cover

In 1532 the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived in Peru. With a company of 167 men, he brutally defeated the Incan emperor Atahualpa and eighty thousand of his warriors at the Battle of Cajamarca. The following year, the Spaniards seized the Inca capital of Cusco, believing that they had succeeded in conquering the largest native empire the New World had ever known.

But the Incas did not submit willingly. A young Incan emperor, the brother of Atahualpa, soon led a massive rebellion against the Spaniards, nearly wiping them out. Eventually, he was forced to flee to the Amazon, where he established a hidden capital in the jungle, called Vilcabamba. From there, the Incas continued to defy the Spaniards, fighting a deadly guerrilla war that would last for thirty-six years.

Drawing on both native and Spanish chronicles, Kim MacQuarrie tells the dramatic story of the Spanish conquest, with all its savagery and suspense, and recounts the search for the lost capital of Vilcabamba and its recent discovery along with Machu Picchu in southeastern Peru. A fascinating historical account and a modern-day adventure tale, The Last Days of the Incas brings one of the greatest epic stories in the world vividly back to life.

Edition details

• Publisher: Simon & Schuster
• Publication date: 2008
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0743260503
• ISBN 13: 9780743260503
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 522