Until 1492, the whole continents of North and South America were not known in Europe. After the Columbus expedition, a small kingdom of Spain got control over two continents and became the most powerful Empire. Nevertheless, before the Spanish conquest, there were several advanced civilizations on the continent.
One of the Andean civilizations, the Inca Empire was the largest country in the pre-Columbian America. The Empire covered 3000 miles of the west coast of South America and included parts of modern Peru, Ecuador, Chile, Bolivia and Argentina. This civilization was very advanced. For instance, the Incas built a network of roads connecting the different towns of the Empire.
The tax system was one of the statements of the Inca’s economy. There was no difference between the class and prosperity. Everyone had to pay the gold or, at least, corn and potatoes. Indeed, the agriculture was the main activity of this civilization. They lived in mountainous terrain that was completely bad for farming.
However, the Incas found a solution of this problem in a cut of terraces looked like the stairs. Thereby, they could produce maize, potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, melons and cotton. The method of irrigation allowed getting water to the plantations.
The administrative and political center of the Empire was located in Cusco in modern Peru. Nearby Cusco, the Incas created an important geometric ensemble of Machu Picchu built of stone. The significance of this town lies in the ancient beliefs of an existence of the place where they can get the spiritual connection with gods. The stones were cut very careful and fitting perfectly to each other. All the levels of this town were connected with the stairways.
Obviously, the cultural inheritance of the Inca Empire was rich. However, due to the historical events, almost all the cultural valuables were lost. Nowadays, there are no written records left by the Incas. The knowledge of their history and culture are known from the oral narrations which were preserved until the Spanish conquest. The scientists know about the unique calendar of the Incas which consists 12 months of 30 days. It means that even in the 15th century the Incas people had a deep knowledge of math and astronomy.
Within the several centuries the Incas built a great empire which was destroyed by the few hundred Spanish soldiers. In 1532, Francisco Pizarro and his soldiers conquered the Empire. It happened due to the political collapse and disorder within the Empire.
Therefore, the Incas people fell quickly into the Spanish with their weapons and horses. Besides, some of the European diseases were deadly dangerous for the native people of the American continent. Pizarro easily captured the Incas emperor Atahualpa and took control over the whole Empire.
The consequences of this event were horrible. The Inca Empire was in ruin. The Spanish army took the gold and other riches and killed thousands of people. They forced the Incas to convert to Christianity and in case of rejection tortured and killed. It is an interesting example of killing and destroying in order to increase the number of Christians.
Obviously, the main reason of an occupation was the Incas gold. The Spanish conquests led to the expansion of this European. Thus, the Spanish expeditions to South and North America destroyed the great advanced and origin civilization of the Incas.