The Conquest of the Incas

Generally well written but repetitive - some non-sequiturs. What about the mysterious (to me anyway) Nicaraguan Indian.Where are the illustrations? Table of Contents - List of Illustrations Page 9.On page 452 "The painting hangs, dusty and badly-lit, in a chapel of the pink baroque church of the Compania on the main square of Cuzco(plate 4, lower picture)." My copy contains none of the illustrations in the List nor does it contain plate 4 or any other plates.

This was an exceptionally well-written and thorough treatment of the Spanish Conquest. I read it BEFORE and then again AFTER a trip to Peru. If you are considering a trip like ours to Lima, Machu Picchu, Cuzco, and Lake Titicaca I strongly urge you to read this book. The background it provided was essential to understanding a lot of what we did and saw and enhanced the trip after our return by rereading it. In combination with "1491" and "1493" it provides a solid foundation for understanding the effect of European empire-building on the west.

I read Turn Right at Machu Picchu and really enjoyed it. The Conquest of the Incas is much more thorough and covers details which I had not thought of such as what became of the Inca royalty, the rebellions which followed by both Incas and Spaniards who wanted to set up a country of their own, and the Spanish government of Peru. The book often came close to Too Much Information, especially with all the Inca names and geography, but it was worth reading to the end. I highly recommend it.

If a reader wants to dig deeply into this fascinating historic topic, this has to be the book to read. Hemming goes into as much detail as possible, considering the evidence available. For the most part, we must rely on the Spanish perspective of what happened during the Conquest because the Incas had no written language. Thus, the major challenge for Hemming was to provide as objective an accounting of the events as possible. I believe he accomplished this, evidenced, for example, by his clear demonstration that the Spanish conquistadors could not have pulled off their goal without considerable assistance from indigenous groups that did not feel a sense of allegiance to the dominating Incas. I still must find what the best history of the Conquest is in Spanish - having that will give even greater balance to the story.

Fascinating, well researched and documented book that shows what happened when the Spanish arrived in the Andes. It reads like a fast paced adventure novel, and shows just how difficult it was to conquest the Inca, and that a lot of what happened was lucky on the part of the Spanish. A must read for anyone interested in the Inca, the Spanish and European colonization of the Americas.

Excellent book describing how the vast Inca empire was overcome by greedy individuals using utterly inhumane methods. Some brave opposition by a few individuals who were repelled by the inhumanity. Detailed and scholarly. The perfect companion on a trip to South America. I avoided all Colonial Museums, too affected

Too many difficult Spanish names to digest, and just more detail than I needed. The author obviously is an expert, but I had to make myself finish it.

In the chapter in this book entitled `The Elimination of the Incas' the belief of the Spanish administrator Francisco de Toledo that any remnants of the Inca empire must be eliminated is based on his view that the Incas' right to rule Peru was no more justified that that of the Spaniards. And as the author describes in vivid detail, Toledo goes on to finish off any leftovers of Inca "enclaves" with great zeal and efficiency. Toledo proved himself to be quite adept and instigating mass murder or what is now called genocide, as the study of this chapter readily reveals. Toledo was of course correct in believing in the equivalence between Spaniards and Incas with respect to their status as rightful rulers of Peru. Neither had such a right, and both groups engaged in behavior towards the native populations of Peru in a manner that appears like they were competing for the status of who is the most evil. Both Incas and Spaniards had an official religion that they represented, with that of the Incas being tied more to natural objects such as the sun, while that of the Spaniards to an institution that had shown itself to be capable of sustained brutality throughout its history. One noted difference between the Spaniards and the Incas is the keeping of written records, and the history delineated in this book could not have been accomplished if the Spaniards had not done this in fairly meticulous detail. The book is long but highly interesting, and even more so for readers, such as the reviewer, who have visited Peru and are curious about its history, with enough details that cannot be obtained by tour guides. And in that regard, such readers may find that the historical picture given by such guides is sometimes at odds with what is reported in this book. The author makes a conscious effort to refute the notion that the Incas did not resist Spanish conquest, and also addresses the "legend of Spanish atrocities" as he puts it. The book sometimes reads like a story rather than one of history, but this does not detract from the richness of information on each page and the overall quality of presentation. The participants of the conquest, both Inca and Spanish, are sometimes described as having intentions and emotions that would be impossible to verify however. It is difficult for historians in general to refrain from imputing their own attitudes or those of their culture to those of others, and this author is no different. From a study of the book it is fair to say that gold and religion were the driving forces behind the conquest. It seems that greed and the lust for evangelizing use similar strategies, and moral judgments and empathy are suspended during their execution. The author brings out several cases however where conscience apparently gnawed at some Spaniards of clerical persuasions both in Peru and back in Spain, and there were many attempts to arrest the attempts to enslave native populations and exact unreasonable tribute. None of these pangs of conscience however were of the degree that would instigate any official, whether religious or governmental to advocate the complete withdrawal from Peru.Readers interested in the military tactics and strategies used by the conquistadors will find ample food for thought in this book. From studying these, it is apparent that the conquest was not a cake-walk, even though from their use of horses and superior weaponry by the Spaniards it might appear that the fighting was definitely one-sided. It is also interesting to learn, but not surprising, that some of the Indian populations allied themselves with the Spaniards to get rid of the Incas. At the time that the Spaniards entered the Inca territories, civil strife was tearing at the Inca empire, and the Spaniards took full advantage of the resultant disorganization and decimation. This and the willingness of the Indian populations to fight against the Incas set the fate of this empire, taking only about a decade to do so.

To tell the truth I have only read 7% of this book so far, the details are so depressing I am having trouble continuing; the behaviour of the conquistadors is utterly unedifying with nothing noble about it at all; they were just opportunistic thugs with a lust for gold using a cover story of bringing Christianity to the masses. And the Incas were so stupid! OK, the conquistadors arrived at a time of maximum internal strife but the Incas missed so many opportunities to deal with this existential threat that to a degree they deserved what they got. Sadly, this behaviour of willfully exploiting other human societies continues to this day leaving not much hope that we are maturing as a species.

This book, first published 40 years ago, but revised and updated by the author for this new 2012 edition, has always been acknowledged as the definitive work on the collapse of the Inca empire. It is wonderfully readable, wearing its immense scholarship lightly and bringing the period magically back to life. The book is required reading for those with any interest in the region or the period.It is also worth noting that the e-book is beautifully executed; the maps, for example, which are often rendered virtually unreadable by the digitisation process, are as good as on the printed page. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

Fantastic insight into the INCA societies. John hemming is a master of research and detailed but well presented information making this fascinating reading. Really enjoyed it.

Fascinating historical account of the Conquest. Clear view of the actions and motivations of both "sides".

This book made the most superb accompaniment to a recent trip to Peru, giving dramatic life to the ruins, the mountains, and the artefacts which were the background to the Inca civilization. Backed by a formidable body of research, it tells the deeply moving, often unbearably sad, story of the destruction of an empire. It was totally involving and I looked forward to returning to it each evening.