The collapse of the Inca Empire was driven by the combination of plague, civil war, and the actions of Spanish invaders who exploited internal divisions.

“Imagine watching the greed of the nobles tear your land apart, while a foreign power with guns and horses arrives to dictate your fate and demolish your cities brick by brick.”

The Inca Empire was not a peaceful paradise but rather a brutal society that practiced deportation and forced labor.

“as we established in episode one, to be ruled by the Incas was definitely not a barrel of laughs. I mean, they are pretty brutal. You know, they will deport you. They will deny you private property. They believe in forced labor, you know, massive chain gangs, all of this kind of thing.”

The Inca Empire treated its subjects as harshly as the Spaniards did, often forcing relocation and linguistic assimilation.

“Of course, the Incas, as we've described in our very first episode, are pretty terrifying overlords. I mean, they will destroy your village and move you, you know, hundreds of miles across the empire and force you to speak Ketwa, their language, you know, if they want to.”