Even though the Inca had a mighty force of 80,000 men and Spain only 168, the Europeans easily defeated them. Why did this happen? Europe conquered the Inca without difficulty, despite their large numbers, because they were more advanced than them. They had many weapons on their side. One of their most deadly being the silent killer: smallpox. They had one of the smartest strategies, proven to work from previous battles. And finally, they had top-notch swords and guns while the Inca had none. To look at this issue further, one needs to look at how European smallpox was one of the most potent weapons in history.
Smallpox played a key role in the Inca’s collapse to Europe. Smallpox was a deadly European disease that killed almost everyone who contracted it. According to Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA, 95% of indigenous Americans were wiped out completely by smallpox. So why didn’t the Spaniards suffer from the same fate? Well, turns out, they did. Smallpox was a disease that came from domestic cows. The Inca had no cows, only llamas. The Spaniards had, over time, built up immunity from smallpox. Over the generations, when smallpox was an epidemic in Europe, only the strongest of people survived to regenerate. So after many centuries, the Europeans had become almost a super-breed; practically immune to smallpox, they could fight wars without danger of a large breakout. However, the Inca had no helpful animal friends to develop any sort of resistance. Their vegetation did not serve as proper feeding grounds for cows. Moreover, they did not allow their llamas into their homes, nor did they milk them. Therefore, since the Inca had no cows, smallpox was a foreign disease. During the war, the Americans were either sick, nursing, or dead. However, while it is important to recognize that smallpox was a vital aspect concerning the Inca’s downfall, it is equally essential to realize that the Spaniard's strategy also played of utmost importance.
The strategy employed by the Spanish was one of the reasons they won over the Americans. What the Spaniards lacked in quantity was redeemed in brains. However, their brilliant strategy would never have come to be had the gift of writing not occurred. According to Professor Diamond, the expedition’s leader had taken a page out of a war strategy from a few years ago. A former conquistador, Hernando Cortez, had written a book containing the surprise attack tactic. The Inca had no writing because of the continent they were placed on. Since the Maya had writing, it should have passed on to the Inca. But since they did not lie on the same latitude, it did not pass on. During the battle, they employed the scheme beautifully. When they fought, their priest showed the Inca’s leader, Atahualpa, their bible in attempt at peaceful conversion. But since Atahualpa had never seen books, he scoffed at the Spaniards and called for his massive army to attack. They obeyed, but foolishly fell apart into a mass panic when the Spanish brought out their guns. They thought the Spaniards were gods, sitting majestically on giant horses with lethally sharp steel swords, compared to their own blunt bronze ones. Now that the army was in a panicked frenzy, the Spanish promptly capture Atahualpa and force him to command his people to obey Spain and give the Spanish 20 tons of gold and silver. After they gather their riches, they kill Atahualpa, realizing that he was of no use to them. The Inca have now been cleverly reformed by Spain. Having examined this brilliant line of attack, it is imperative to note that none of the stratagems utilized here would have worked without Europe’s weapons.
Spain’s development in weaponry was superior to that of their adversary’s. First of all, Europe's guns were top of the line in the world at the time. They were developed because of gunpowder brought from China. The Inca never got to make them because China was an entire ocean away. Steel was also one of Spain’s fineries. They had the best in the planet, while the Inca had no steel at all! Incans did not have the proper climate to have long burning fires required to make steel while Europe had centuries to perfect it. They had inherited all of the Fertile Crescent’s metallurgy. Now that all of these have been examined, it can be concluded that Europe was more advanced than the Inca.
As can be seen, Spain was infinitely more sophisticated than the Inca, which is why they were able to defeat the enormous Incan army relatively effortlessly. Smallpox went on a rampage, making the Spaniard's job simpler by incapacitating most of the Americans. Then, their outstanding strategy involved staging a surprise attack, then capturing Atahualpa. Of course, the strategy depended on Europe’s fine weapons. Finally, on the whole, the reason why Europe’s exiguous cavalry overpowered the Inca’s extensive infantry was because of Europe’s degree of experience and good fortune was vastly superior to that of the Inca’s.
