In Pursuit of the Sacred: Understanding Inka Colonialism in the Andes

Abstract

The Inka Empire, or Tawantinsuyu, was the largest ancient empire in the Americas. During thefifteenth century and the first decades of the sixteenth century, the Inkas managed to conquervast regions of the South American Andes, subduing a variety of groups and polities. But theInkas did not expand their realm for the sole purpose of extracting resources and accumulatingwealth. To various degrees, they developed a colonial project that aimed at reshaping thepolitical, economic, cultural and religious institutions and practices of the colonized. There is nodoubt that Inka colonialism involved, among other things, corvée labour, the strategic relocationof people(s) and the exploitation and production of staple crops and luxury goods. Nevertheless,we argue in this paper that, above all, the Inkas expanded into the Andean region tomeet and relate to the Sacred. Inka expansionism was a sort of religious quest through whichthe Inkas built up their authority and legitimized their rule.