Estimados Queen Isabella y King Ferdinand,

2. Estimados Queen Isabella y King Ferdinand, We, the Incas are writing this letter in as an attempt to improve the situation of our people. Thus we wish to tell you, the Queen and King of the conquistadors, about our history, and the way we used to live. We wish to tell you about the way the Spaniards have been treating our rights and values. We wish to inform you what you can do in order to ease the pain of our people, the Incas, and restore order in our weakened, once powerful empire. Although our early history is not widely known or spoken of, our ancestors, under the rule of the first Inca, Munco Copac, are believed to have occupied the Cuzco over 300 years ago. The Incas, the descendants of these tribes, established the Incan empire in the early 12th century.

3. The Incan empire expanded slowly until the 15th century when, under the rule of Pachacuti Inca Yapanqui (1437-71), the pace of conquest rapidly accelerated. Eventually, the territories of the Incan empire covered all types of climate and landscape. The coastal region is a narrow strip of desert, where rain is scarce throughout the year. The Andes rise to a high plateau, broken by deep valleys basins that offer us excellent arable land. By the end of the 15th century, the Incan empire was the wealthiest and most powerful in the area. Before the Spanish came to conquer, we had a simple, yet successful, regularity of life. The people of the Incan empire were divided into four social classes, all of whom spoke Quechua and contributed to the strength of the Incan empire. The first and most powerful social class were the Sapa Inca, who were the ruler of the Incas. The Coyas, who had absolute power over the empire. The regional army commanders, known as the four Apus, came after the high priest and army commander in chief. Army generals, architects, and administers were next in line.

4. The quipucamayoc, who were the Incan accountants, were next, along with the artisans, army captains, and musicians. At the bottom of the structure of social classes were the farmers, conscripts, sorcerers, and herders. Within these classes, we, the Incas, live in large families or clans, which we call allyus. Each allyu was supervised a chief, or curca. Unlike the Spaniards we see, we possess no furnishings and sleep on the bare floors. Our basic foods are potato and maize, and we wear garments made from Alapaca. We, the Incas, are a hard working people and we excel in many professions. Apart from the very young and the elderly all of us complete our fair share of work each day. Our children are trusted to help with the crops and keep animals away. According to their ancestry, each family is assigned their own profession and place of work. Some families, for example, were assigned to work on the maize (corn) fields, whereas others were in charge of defending the Empire.

5. Incan families, like ours, have to give the total of one third of their crops to the tax system. Some goods are with other Incas, others are sacrificed to our gods and ancestors. The portion which we are obliged to give to the tax system are stored in Inca Imperial government houses. Because our farmers are well trained and we manage our resources wisely, we have a great variety of crops. We have a great variety of crops, with 240 types of corn and 40 types of maize. Our towns are also carefully planned before any construction took place. Most towns around Cuzco, our imperial centre, have special quarters reserved for guests, and all towns have at least one temple in honour of our gods and ancestors. Our most beautiful town is Machu Picchu, located on Cuzco.

6. We, the Incas, are a deeply religious people. We fear that evil befall at any time. Sorcerers hold a high position in society as protectors from the spirits, who we believe have the power to strike at any time. Our main god is Vicocha, the creator of the Sun, the Moon, and all humanity. Alongside him, Inti, the God of the Sun, and Illapa, the God of Weather, are also worshipped on a regular basis. The Sun is considered a very powerful element of life, for was the source that ripened crops and offered warmth and heat. Ancestor worship is also a very important ritual, and mummification is still practised in order to preserve the bodies of our respected elders. In times of uncertainty or despair, we sacrifice human beings in order to gain help ad protection from our gods and ancestors. Most of the time, however, sacrifice only involves animals and sacks of maize. Dead Kings and Emperors are also worshipped. Alongside the religion, respect and honesty are the most important values in Inca life. Everybody has their own possessions and responsibilities, and stealing is almost unheard of. No jails, so far, have been built within the Empire. We are a trustworthy, loyal and proud people, with no intention of causing harm to one another. Conquered peoples are permitted to practise their own traditions and religion as they wish. Before the Spaniards, our Empire was ruled with peace and unity.

7. In 1527, at the peak of the Empire’s power, rumours were that men in unusual clothes were nearing Cuzco, the Imperial Centre. In 1532, when Atahullpa and Huascar, the sons of Huayna Copac, were fighting over succession, the Spaniards reached the coast of the Empire. With just 63 horsemen and 200 solders, the Spaniards, led by Francisco Pizarro, were able to conquer the Inca Empire. We had no way to match the conquerors, eho were armed with gunpowder and steel weapons. The Spaniards treat our rights and values with no respect. We are no longer permitted to practise our religion and traditions as we wish, and everything we used to believe in is now being ridiculed and suppressed by Spaniards who took over our land. In the name of their religion, Christianity, they burned our idols, killed our priests and destroyed the temples we worshipped in. From the stone, we were forced to build houses, churches and cathedrals. Christianity strongly disagrees with the ideal of polytheism. The Spaniards, like all other Christians, believe in only on God, who can be witnessed in three forms: God the Father (the creator), God the Son (who came to Earth as Jesus Christ), and God the Holy Spirit (the unseen power of God). Followers of Christianity do not worship their ancestors, nor do they practise the art off mummification. There are, however, a number of similarities between the native religion and Christianity. Just like us, Christians believe that good deeds are rewarded and a good life will lead to a good afterlife in Heaven.

8. In addition to the suppression of our beliefs, we, the Incas, are no longer permitted to manage our resources according to our own rules and traditions. Our storages, which we very carefully looked after, have been robbed, and masses of our maize and potatoes are being sent to the ports of Deville, along with shiploads of the glittering gold we preserved for centuries. It is our people that work, yet starve. And, besides the slavery and cruel punishments, European diseases, such as chicken pox and measles, also contribute to the decrease of the Inca population. The rules the Spanish force us to follow are cruel, brutal and unjust. For no payments or rewards, Incas of all ages are enslaved by Spanish businessmen. We have also been forced to give up all of our possessions and values. Punishments, which are increasingly common, often result in injury, trauma or death. In contrasts to this, Inca rules are bases on help, tolerance and equality. People in all social classes are obliged to complete the same amount of work each day.

9. Although we are nowhere near as powerful as the Spaniards who conquered our Empire, the anger and hatred within our pole was stronger than fear. In August 1536, the most significant rebellion of our history took place in Lima, the newly found capital. Under the command of Manco Inca and his most valiant general, Quizo Yapanqui, 50,000 warriors were ordered to kill every Spaniard they found in the region. Although the rebels were courageous and determined, they were no match for the Spaniards, who were armed with guns and steel weapons. Our soldiers were defeated, tortured and eventually killed.

10. As a result of all this, we do not feel positive about the future. The Spaniards have robbed us of resources leaving us nothing to eat or trade. The number of Incas is rapidly decreasing and, because of the disease that spread through our land, the amount of people dying is not likely to slow down. Potato, maize and gold are all very valuable in the old world, which causes the Spanish settlements to grow steadily. Thus, they will require more slaves. Compared to the Spaniards, we are powerless. The Spaniards have no intention of acknowledging our rights. Instead of tolerance and peace, force and brutality are now ruling the empire. Whatever the Spaniards decide to do, peace will be very hard to restore. Even some of our fellow Inca, we feel, have lost their loyalty and respect. Our customs are not to be practiced. It seems like the Inca, no longer have an identity. On behalf of our people, we recommend you, the Queen and King, to do your best to restore order within the empire. If the Spaniards are to stay, they must not continue to disrespect and torture us, as this will only result in more conflicts. In return we will allow them to practice their religion, just as we allowed previously conquered kingdoms

11. Resources of the Incan empire should be distributed by Inca chiefs, as they have proved to be capable of doing so before the empire was conquered. And most importantly, no Inca is the slave or be another mans slave. At this stage the main priority of the Spaniards is to restore order within society and help the Inca regain their freedom. After Incan and Spaniards have a equal status, Inca temples should be rebuilt, and if there are no people starving are portion of the crops should be sacrificed to the gods. We hope and pray that this letter gets to you in time, and changes will be made in the way the empire is ruled. Yours Sincerely The Natives