Inca & Spaniard: Pizarro and the Conquest of Peru

A very readable book for young adults about the Spanish Conquest of Peru. Marrin describes in vivid detail the daily life of the Incas before the Spanish arrived. A warlike people, the Incas valued toughness, courage and obedience to authority. They were not strangers to capital punishment or torture. Like the Aztecs, they practiced ritual human sacrifice to appease the many gods they worshipped. Although their society was highly organized and technologically advanced, they were not prepared for warfare on European terms. When Pizarro arrived, he kidnapped their leader and held him for a ransom of silver and gold. Without their leader to give them instructions, the Incas were helpless to launch a rescue mission; they had been trained to obey orders, not to think for themselves. For many years the Incas made attempts to resist Spanish rule, but in the end, Spanish greed, weapons, cruelty and disease overtook them. A sorrowful yet valuable account of the Spanish impact on the New World.