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LIBS 130
ZAINAB SALAM 00059066
And
BELKYS GUTIERREZ 00059069
MS MICHELLE WOODING
ASSIGNMENT 4

As time evolved, history has shown that strong nations have often
preyed on others who are considered different from the norms of
society and whose lands are full of material wealth to plunder and
control as their own. There are evidences to show that European
countries have pillaged and stripped other nations of their ancestral
identity, their natural resources and, the right to govern themselves.
All these were achieved through means of deception and inhumane
acts of atrocities. Due to these inhumane measures, society has often
wondered who were really uncivilized from amongst these countries.
There are many whose opinion is that these conquered nations were
uncivilized and by the European conquering them, they brought a
sense of civilization to these countries or groups of people. However,
many are of a different view. The Incas were amongst these
conquered nations by the Spanish and, historical events show that the
Spanish was the uncivilized group amongst the two because of their
brutality, lack of respect, oppression and scene of superiority over the
Incas.
In 1532 Pizarro along with 160 men disembarked the shores of Peru,
in their quest for gold they explored their new surroundings. The result
of which gold was found kept in the Incas temples. In an attempt to
obtain these precious gold, Pizarro and his men inflicted various forms

of brutalities on the Incas; such brutalities consisted of various physical

atrocities. Peart stated that a Friar accompanying the conquerors saw
various atrocities, I saw Spaniards cut off the nose, hands and ears of
Indians without provocation, merely because it pleased them to do itI
have seen Spaniards take suckling infants taken by the arms and fling
them as far as they could (10). Additionally, some of the Incan
women were taken as sex slaves by the conquerors. As part of the
Incas religion, certain women were kept for the high priests of the
temples along with the leader, Atahualpa. These women amongst the
female were of the highest hierarchy and they themselves felt pride
and honor in this. Hence, this cannot be considered as a form of
barbarism on the part of the Incas because these women willingly gave
themselves for what they considered sacred form of worship. What
can be more uncivilized than being taken by the Spaniards whom some
was of a low standings in the sight of the Incas women, without these
elite women consent? For them this was a form of dishonor to their
social position amongst the Incas. Had the conquerors been civilized
as some would like us to believe then such an act would not have been
committed on the Incas women. Along with their brutality toward the
Incas, the conquerors showed disrespect toward them.
An important characteristic displayed in a civilized nation is that of
respect towards another nations culture and religion. This indeed was
non-existent amongst Pizarro and his men. The Incan temples were

decimated along with their religious culture; this was done as an act of
humiliation toward the Incas. Atahualpa for his freedom had agreed to
pay Pizarro a roomful of gold. This was done, however Pizarro broke his
promise and accused Atahualpa of high treason and condemned him to
die at the stake; this was for the Incas a terrible death because it
causes the body to disappear which went against his religious beliefs.
This resulted in Atahualpa converting to Christianity due to fear and
dishonesty on the part of Pizarro. Hemmings correctly stated the
objectives of the conquerors as, The complete humiliation of the Incas
was by destroying their most holy religious relics (225). It is a stated
fact that religion had an important role in the lives of the Incas, with
the destruction of their religion; this had a deep impact on their lives.
The clergy destroyed any object that resembled any form of what they
considered idolatrous cult. The Incas were flogged, imprisoned and at
times killed if the Priests perceived anything from the Incas as a form
of worship different from that of Catholicism. Bernand states,
Feathers, ritual fabrics, conch shells and even cradles fed the
purifying pyres, while hymns were banned and protective stones were
thrown in the water or smashed (84) .Their ultimate purpose was to
completely rid the Incas of their religion. To date there is no sound
evidence to indicate that during times of war or otherwise did the Incas
destroy their places of worship or relics. They maintained utmost
respect for their religion and Gods. Civilization is based on the

understanding that there are different religions in the world and

respect for ones religion aides in a peaceful coexistence amongst
different cultures. It was not enough that the conquerors completely
showed disrespect to the Incas but they completed the destruction of
the Incas by oppressing them.
One of the most uncivilized acts perpetrated by the Spaniards was
the oppression of the Incas in terms of their land and mineral
resources. Bernand stated, The oppression of the native peoples by
the Spanish privileged class, which began with the conquest, was to
last three hundred years (56). The Incas were expulsed from their
lands which became the property of the Spaniards and in many cases
the Incas became slaves in their own country. As such, the Incas no
longer had control of their lands and were made to work on the land for
minimal wages. This was due to the fact that the Spaniards needed
hired laborers to mine for gold. Through this avenue, the Spaniards
were able to gain a huge amount of profits for minimum wages. This
was the perfect example that shows the exploitation of a people.
There is however incidences where the Incas themselves did the same
to their own people, but consideration should be taken that the
Spaniards were way ahead in terms of what we traditionally will
consider being a civilized country. Thus technically it was expected
from the Spaniards to display a higher level of humanity and integrity
toward the Incas. Additionally, the Spaniards stripped the land of its

natural resources; they exploited the mines, removing large quantities

of gold and silver from it. Attached to civilization is fair trade, not the
wanton thief of another countrys resources or the expulsion from their
land which indeed the Spaniards were guilty off. In addition to these
uncivilized acts was the fact that the Spaniards felt totally superior to
the Incas.
The Spaniards saw themselves superior to the Incas in terms of
their weapons and their social standing in society. They displayed their
savagery through the use of their advanced weaponry against the
Incas who had simple bows and spears in oppose to the Spaniards
guns and swords. The Spaniards used this to their advantage by
slaughtering hundreds of Incas in one day. Shouldnt a civilized
country with all its advanced weaponry simple subdue their enemy
rather than slaughter them? Similarly, the Spaniards felt in their
arrogance that they were superior because they were white and the
Incas were brown in color. Undoubtedly, there also existed amongst
the Incas those who felt themselves to be superior to others, however
they did not have a guiding book, The Bible by which to pattern their
lives. The Spaniards had in their possession the Bible for centuries
which dictated the manner others were to be treated. According to
their bible, Paul states, Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it
does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-

seeking, it is not easily angered, and it keeps no record of wrongs

(New International Version, 1 Corinth. 13:4-5).
There will always be disagreement as to who really were the
uncivilized group during the period of the Conquistadors in Peru.
However when one looks at the progress that the European country
had supposedly reached by the 15th century, it was highly expected of
them to display a greater level of tolerance and humanity toward the
people in whose countries they invaded and conquered. This did not
happen; therefore as clearly outlined previously we are left to conclude
that the Spaniards were the uncivilized group because of their acts of
barbarism, subjugation, disregard and their perception of better in rank
against the Incas.

Working Bibliography:
Bernand, Carmen, ed. The Incas: Empire of Blood and Gold. London:
Thames and Hudson, 1994. Print.
"1 Corinthians 13 NIV." 1 Corinthians 13 NIV. N.p., n.d. Web. 07 May 2016.
<http://biblehub.com/niv/1_corinthians/13.htm>.
Hemming, John. The Conquest Of The Incas. Harmondsworth, Middlesex, England:
Penguin Books, 1983. Print
Peart, Karen N. "Empire Of The Sun. (Cover Story)." Scholastic Update 125.9 (1993): 9.
Academic Search Complete. Web. 25 Mar. 2016