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Radio War Nerd EP #184 — The Incan Empire (Patreon)

Published:
2019-05-31 23:14:35
Imported:
2026-06
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Recorded: May 30, 2019

LIMA, PERU — For our fifth and final episode this month, the War Nerd descends from the oxygen-challenged heights of Cusco to the strange sea-level streets of Lima, to tell the amazing & tragic story of the Incan Empire — or at least, what we can glean from the few historical accounts. 

Maps:

* Inca Empire expansion 15th - 16th c.

*Inca Empire when Pizarro arrived

Total time: 2:19:23

Direct link to this episode's mp3 here 

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Comments

Blown Magnet

I listened to this episode earlier in the year and now I’m in Puno, in the middle of a trip to Peru. After seeing the Inca systems of agriculture and learning about how they structured their society, seeing their engineering and construction achievements - I really feel sad that we never saw what Inca society might have evolved into. The episode was fantastic pre-trip background, but nothing prepared me really for the scale of what the Inca built.

Scott H

Can you push this out to the RSS feed?

THEKILLERWHALE

Five in one month! Keep up the good work. Work has nearly been bearable.

Some Guy

I've been looking forward to this for so long!

Brian Harvey

If that why it's not showing up in podcast apps?

Tim Smith

Inga Clendinnen's work on the Aztecs would be a great starting point for a similar piece on that empire, if you have any interest in doing that -- she does a really good job of emphasizing how Aztec belief may have driven some of the choices that appear baffling to us now, and how totally alien those beliefs were.

Johnboy Davidson

yeah i reckon so. probably something to do with there being 5 gazillion eps this month. no big deal really.

mt

Fun side-effect from the serious inbreeding: a guide at one of the Aztec pyramides in Mexico told us that the reason ancient Egyptian and Aztec faces are painted mostly in profile is that their faces were deformed.

Max Durries

Thanks for the recent deluge of content John + Mark! No jonesing for my next fix this month... I know the notion of taking a request may seem rather barbaric; a request for a WWII battle maybe even more so, but a future episode on the Battle of Okinawa (perhaps including the subsequent US annexation of the island) would be a rich, bloody, interesting and impactful show. There is plenty to cover in the Pacific theatres, but one could get bogged down on each engagement- the Battle of Okinawa serves (IMO) as the apex of horror and desperation.

zaabittimov

Great episode! It would be awesome to have an episode some day on the Arauco war(s) and subsequent conflicts between the Mapuche and the Spanish and later the Chilean state.

xnfec

That was interesting. I think another fact about the Conquistadores was that a lot of them were younger sons and so did not inherit anything. They had to self-make or die (or go into the church). William Sullivan makes that point and also the point that the Incas expected to lose due to the aformentioned omens in his book Secrets of the Incas. I think it is a serious book (despite the title) but to be honest, I did not understand half of it, particularly the astronomy. Fun fact, there is such a thing as the Vatican Astronomer. He argues for the astronomical basis for the Incas fear of the omens and their own, extensive, knowledge of astronomy. You can find his documentary on YouTube. I think the Incas fielded 40,000 against 170 Spaniards. Even with just slingshots, you would think that they could have overwhelmed them in a human wave attack? I've seen it argued that the whole of the Inquisition was driven by lawyers and so fewer people were executed for witch craft than you might think due to burdens of proof. Though this might be of small comfort. The law seems to be more of a fig-leaf than a virtue. I've also seen it argued that the whole conquest was drive by debt though you could alse see it as entrepeneurship as well. Not a good adver for either though. Peter Hitchens is Christopher Hitchens brother.

Scorched Earth

The whole thing about having notaries reading out judgments before they slaughtered the Incas had nothing to do with any desire for following the rule of law. It was more about placating their conscience since they knew, deep down, that what they were doing was morally and ethically indefensible; so they gave it an air of legality. Not so much for the Incas themselves, but to make them feel: ‘Hey: we’re actually nice people after all. We do things the right way. ‘

Scorched Earth

Can I offer a suggestion? It would be great if you guys could post some pics and short videos of General Dolan’s and Colonel Kathrine’s conquests as they roam the world. Doesn’t have to be anything fancy or complicated; pics and videos taken with a typical smart phone or consumer grade camera will do nicely.

radiowarnerd

Yeah, I'm beginning to see that the Mapuche deserve a lot more attention than they get.

radiowarnerd

Requests are welcome, no apologies needed! I'm going through the annual sick-of-D-Day moment. But Okinawa...yeah, that was hell on earth.

Bryan Nicholson

Are there plans for a RWN meeting stateside this summer?

George

Not related to this episode, but it's quite difficult to access your content now, probably related to Patreon changes. I generally don't have time to listen to an epsiode in its entirety. Patreon auto-closes the window the episode plays in if I don't look at it for more than few hours. Then, I have to scroll through to try to find my place again. The links to old episodes I've gotten by email also no longer work, so if I want to listen to one of them I have to scroll through pages and pages (on a touch screen device mis-clicking multiple times) in order to find a thing. Preventing me from sharing episodes by email seems self-defeating. I've shared episodes with 4 people: one is my spouse; the other is my dad, who I was visiting at the time; the other two people subscribed after listening to the episode I forwarded.

radiowarnerd

Thanks very much for letting us know about this. We'll look into what we can do to make content more accessible.

Mark Ames

That's not good. Will send this to someone at Patreon. They usually respond, maybe they'll have an answer. Thanks.

Violence Jones

Haven't listened to the full episode yet but my favorite tidbit about the Incas is this quote from 1491 by Charles Mann (an excellent book): Because the Inka was believed to be an immortal deity, his mummy was treated, logically enough, as if it were still living. Soon after arriving in Qosqo, Pizarro’s companion Miguel de Estete saw a parade of defunct emperors. They were brought out on litters, “seated on their thrones and surrounded by pages and women with flywhisks in their hands, who ministered to them with as much respect as if they had been alive.” Because the royal mummies were not considered dead, their successors obviously could not inherit their wealth. ... In consequence, as Pedro Pizarro realized, “the greater part of the people, treasure, expenses, and vices [in Tawantinsuyu] were under the control of the dead.” The mummies spoke through female mediums who represented the panaqa’s surviving courtiers or their descendants. With almost a dozen immortal emperors jostling for position, high-level Inka society was characterized by ramose political intrigue of a scale that would have delighted the Medici.

Mark Ames

Here's what their technical guy wrote back: Thanks for reaching out about this, and for sharing your patron's feedback. For the issue they mentioned regarding the auto-closing of a window. I generally don't have time to listen to an epsiode in its entirety. Patreon auto-closes the window the epside plays in if I don't look at it for more than few hours. I'd love to get more information on this from the patron. Is this on the Patreon app (which version), or on Mobile web, and which device/OS they're using. In these situations, it's usually best if the patron reaches out to us directly. That way we can take a look at their account and troubleshoot with them on our end. Feel free to direct patrons with technical difficulties or payment related questions to us, here– We're happy to work with them to figure it out As for the link expiring after one click. This is a precaution we take to ensure that creators' patron-only content is not pirated, and widely distributed. While I completely understand that this particular patron is not ill-intending with sharing your content freely with family members, unfortunately the same cannot be said for all patrons. As it stands, patrons can use the "check it out" link provided in their email notification of the post once without needing to be logged in. After the first time, the link will still work, however, the patron will need to be logged in, or will need to do so after following the link. I hope that this information helps and please feel free to write in again if there’s anything else that we can assist with.

MS

Given the forthcoming war with Iran, perhaps a look at how (North) Vietnam NVA (an agrarian power) held its own and defeated US forces?

Rob S

Really enjoyed this one. Please do a whole episode on the Sendero Luminoso!

radiowarnerd

Love to! I've been interested in them since the Reagan days. We'd still feel more comfortable with a guest though. So if you have any suggestions, bring 'em on!

Rob S

I am sure you have a better idea of who would be suitable, but my suggestion would be Tony Wood. He´s on the editorial board for the New Left Review and I think he specialises in left wing movements in Latin America. He recently wrote an interesting article on the Sendero Luminoso in the LRB: https://www.lrb.co.uk/v41/n13/tony-wood/even-hotter-even-louder