The return of the Inca

In Peru there are still many tales and legends about the Inca coming back to life (literally resurrecting) and restoring the Tawantinsuyu in the present day. Such tale is usually called "Inkarri" (From Inca Rey, which means Inca King).

In Cusco there are many people who think that there are Incas alive in a place they call Paititi, and there are frequent interesting conversations about it in many bars and restaurants.

Apart from that, there's still much poverty in Peru, and people don't trust peruvian politicians anymore, because they always do whatever they want and take everything they can, just like the conquistadors.

People who speak Quechua or Aymara are very marginalized and their rights as Peruvian citizens are often, if not always ignored... the same for people in the Amazonas forest.

These are just some reasons why so many people reminds the empire as a glorius time for Peruvians.

So, considering this and the political problems there have always been in Peru, is it plausible to have a timeline from 1900 up to any date in the future, with someone claiming to be the heir of the empire? And what if the Inca wants to restore the empire and establish some sort of monarchy?

What kind of person would he be?

Would his "restoration" be peaceful? Would it be violent?

Would the Inca side with the army or with terrorists, or he would be against both?

How much division do you think this person might cause in Peruvian people? Or maybe everyone unites and side with him?

And in the end, do you think the resulting country would be better than today's Peru? Would it be called Peru?

BTW, this doesn't mean that Peruvian people might return to some sort of ancient epoch, as almost everyone wants technological progress.
 
Interesting idea. They would have to prove direct descent though and IIRC, the Inca didn't have writing, which means that is going to be hard. As for the political ramifications, I don't know. I don't know anything about Peruvian politics.
 
around 80% of the population speaks Spanish, and I doubt that Quecha Incan revival would be welcomed from this heavy majority.
 
The key question might be how will this Inca handle economy? If we can define that we can check witch power groups will opose him and with might support him.
In any case, such a restoration will be violent. A lot of powerful people would lose power if it's succesfull and they will resist it with violencie. Also, if it happens after WW2 and it threatens USA economic interests or it's seen as a leftist movement (specially if it happens after the Cuban Revolution) we could probably see some kind of direct or indirect intervention in Peru.
Would Peruvians support a monarchy?
As for the languaje, it can be an issue. But if the Inca doesn't speak about a quechua restoration but instead a Peruvian restoration, something like the return of the old glorious days, the languaje and all that stuff isn't a problem
 
I think it would be some kind of populist movement with Inca influences rather then a pure Inca movement (Incaism?). BTW, i love the idea, not sure if I would IRL.
 
>>Reviving old thread<< ><!!!

>>Sorry, reviving old thread<<

Sorry, I didn't pay attention to this thread because I'm doing the final thesis for the college.

around 80% of the population speaks Spanish, and I doubt that Quecha Incan revival would be welcomed from this heavy majority.

That's right, but many of those are bilingual, especially in the Andes highlands. There's also the fact that many young people don't want to speak it anymore, as there are others that want to retain their identity. This often seems to divide Peruvian people (among other things that divide them, mostly economically). The true current situation is very difficult to know, but often someone appears to touch the issue again, like some leaders claiming that we should take our Andean roots (which we certainly have), and start from there.

Many people don't speak Quechua but still have the ideal of a "great old glory". I even remember how they spoke about the Inca Empire at school, like the best time in our history and with some kind of a strong idealistic view of it. I've noticed that most of the teachers still do it that way. The strange thing is that after that they usually put on top how bad was the colonial times AND how glorious it was at the same time. And the Republic, it's taught as to have been a true independence even if today many people still suffer abuses not different from the colonial times. The problem comes when people see this reality and relate it to living in a democracy.

There's some kind of political reason for history and identity being inculcated like that, like trying to create an identity for Peruvians, a "crossed" identity, in a country that is ethnically diverse. And the true history as it should be taught, from the objective point of view (which only archaeologists and people who can buy expensive books can know), is still "hidden" to young school students.

There have been bad consequences, such as people having a confuse identity, with the result being: or they reject their identity and try to be "less Amerindian and Peruvian as we possibly can", or they try to identify with "Incan or Pre-Columbian culture as they possibly can, and this way we are more Peruvian". With this, depending on the political leaders’ point of view, people will support those who are closer to their ideological selection. That’s why half of the Peruvians voted for Ollanta and half to escape from Ollanta, who tried to take advantage of this divisions with his populist point of view.

I know people who discuss about Quechua being taught at schools, giving different reasons such as, being this a very difficult to solve problem. because they don't have one"
Interesting idea. They would have to prove direct descent though and IIRC, the Inca didn't have writing, which means that is going to be hard. As for the political ramifications, I don't know. I don't know anything about Peruvian politics.
I don’t think the lack of writing would be a problem, because there are people who descent from the Inca and can proof that through documents written by chroniclers and registers made by the priests in the colony.
The key question might be how will this Inca handle economy? If we can define that we can check witch power groups will opose him and with might support him.
In any case, such a restoration will be violent. A lot of powerful people would lose power if it's succesfull and they will resist it with violencie. Also, if it happens after WW2 and it threatens USA economic interests or it's seen as a leftist movement (specially if it happens after the Cuban Revolution) we could probably see some kind of direct or indirect intervention in Peru.
Would Peruvians support a monarchy?
As for the languaje, it can be an issue. But if the Inca doesn't speak about a quechua restoration but instead a Peruvian restoration, something like the return of the old glorious days, the languaje and all that stuff isn't a problem

Well, there will be those who oppose to it. You’re right about it happening after WW2, or even today. But what I was thinking was more like what happened in Japan with the Meiji restoration, with the identity issues and today’s Peruvian culture added to it. And what if it happened not now, but 50 or 100 years later from now? What if the Inca convinced Peruvians that they can have a democratic, constitutional monarchy, with development, technology and a self identity with the Inca as a symbol? (I think this would be an easy way to unite Peruvian people, if given the conditions).

There's also another possibility (But I personally don't like this one): Right now, politics in Peru is still a sensitive matter, as neo-liberal economy seems to be failing most of Peruvians, and there are more and more leaders supporting populist measures, and they almost always take the Inca or pre-Columbian times as their basis. Even if most people speak Spanish, most are of low economical resources and not well informed or educated, and therefore, easy to convince with populist ways.

If economy improved and people’s conditions also improved, I think the reasons for an “Inca Return” wouldn’t be as populist as if it happened now. And right now there are educated people, teachers and politicians who also think that the best is to take our Amerindian roots. Their opinion is that, in order to have a better cultural communication within our own country, Quechua should be taught to young students in every school.

So what do you think? You can ask anything or add what you know.
 
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