Thank you.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Pizarro will not be riding into the sunset. Though he didn't IOTL either.
Pizarro was your run of the mill asshole conquistador who got lucky.
The Sons of Inti Shall Not Perish
- Thread starter King of the Uzbeks
- Start date
Thank you.
Thanks for the encouragement.
Pizarro will not be riding into the sunset. Though he didn't IOTL either.
Pizarro was your run of the mill asshole conquistador who got lucky.
A surviving Incan Empire TL!?
Subscribed.
I'm definitely interested!
PS: On the testimonies of the conquistadors, Atahualpa stated that he had plans of taking prisoners, castrate them and send them to become guards for the sun temple. Anything similar planned here?
Subscribed.
I'm definitely interested!
PS: On the testimonies of the conquistadors, Atahualpa stated that he had plans of taking prisoners, castrate them and send them to become guards for the sun temple. Anything similar planned here?
Excellent. I'm glad that we finally have one of these. People are always mentioning how lucky the OTL conquest was but we never see an actual TL.
Chapter 1.2: Gold and Gore
Chapter 2: Gold and Gore
Rumiñavi, with his name spelled differently due to alternate translation
The decision of Pizarro to ambush Rumiñavi in Saña was a hasty one. He feared that the longer the Spanish stayed in one place the less awe they would inspire amongst the natives, which would hurt them. He also suspected that Rumiñavi was suspicious of the true motives of the Spanish presence in the empire. While we will never know the truth of the matter that was not an unreasonable assumption considering the rate at which the general was sending news to Atahualpa. Pizarro also was likely afraid that the arrival of even more troops would overwhelm even the well armed Spaniards, he was particularly fearful of a siege around Saña. Therefore he believed that his best option was to break the Army at Saña and approach the emperor on his own, perhaps spinning a lie that Rumiñavi had been planning a takeover of Tawantinsuyu and the Spanish had stopped him. So he had his men prepare a trap.
The Spanish had occupied Saña for three days by the dawn of their attack on Rumiñavi. They had become aquatinted with the layout of the square and carefully prepared positions in case of an attack. Now they began planning an ambush against one of the most powerful men in the empire. They arranged their cannon pointing towards the center of the square and assigned positions for calvary charges. The Pizarro Brothers carefully planned the reception of Rumiñavi, knowing they only had one chance to capture or kill the general.
At the appointed time Rumiñavi entered Saña at the appointed time. There is no indication that he expected any sort of attack, even if he was concerned about the intentions of the Spanish. The thousands of soldiers he brought with him certainly expected nothing. These were professional soldiers, with experience in the brutal warfare in the north and certainly battle ready. But they held no expectations of a fight, instead expecting a festival of sorts. And so they marched in with the mood of a party, expecting fine food and good drinks.
Vicente de Valverde
The first sign something was amiss was the fact that the Spanish were circled around the center of the square as the Tawantinsuyu entourage approached it. Upon the arrival of Rumiñavi two Spaniards and an interpreter approached the general. It was not the Pizarros, it was Vincente de Valverde, a Friar along with the expedition, and Hernando de Soto, an experienced conquistador. They asked if Rumiñavi accepted Charles V as his Emperor and the Holy Trinity as his God. Rumiñavi replied no. They asked if he acknowledged the supremacy of the Catholic Church, he said no. They presented him with the banners of the conquistadors and a bible and he refused them. At this point Valverde exclaimed that Rumiñavi was beyond saving and demanded his arrest.
Suddenly shots were fired from the guns of the Spanish, causing chaos in the ranks of the Tawantinsuyu. This was only multiplied by the charging of the calvary into battle, swords raised. The panic amongst the Tawantinsuyu only increased. Their clubs and axes could do little against the hard chain armor the Spaniards wore and they had little defense against the sharpened steel made in the best forges of Toledo. Their awe of horses turned to fear as the Spanish used their advantage mercilessly upon the soldiers. Hundreds fell. A Spaniard, later determined to be Pedro Pizarro, leapt towards Rumiñavi and sliced a wide gash in the General's cheek with his sword. However he was then clubbed in the back of the head just afterwords and fell to the ground. He was found after the battle to have been trampled to death. He was the only Spanish man to die on November 12th. As the slaughter continued the bleeding Rumiñavi was seized by Spaniards. Seeing this the Tawantinsuyu began to flee, despite attempts to contain them for further massacre they began to flood out of Saña and towards the bulk of Rumiñavi's army encamped outside of it. The army, despite lacking its leader, began to mobilize itself in a disorganized manner. However soon the Spanish followed and fell onto the still preparing army with their full power and they began to scatter the shocked army into a retreat, then a rout. A last desperate attempt to rescue Rumiñavi failed, but the general managed to shout word out to retreat towards the mountains. Soon the once proud Tawantinsuyu was straggling up the steep slopes towards Atahualpa bearing the terrible news of defeat.
Pizarro's victory, though dampened by the death of his brother, now presented him with more options. He now had conclusive proof of the advantages he had over the Tawantinsuyu and experience battling them. He knew reinforcements were due to arrive the next year at Tumbez with. So some Spaniards argued for stopping his march at Saña, consolidating the Spanish rule over the area between there and the north while waiting for reinforcements before marching into the High Andes and attacking the Inka himself. Intelligence could be gathered during that time and the area around Saña was becoming well known for Pizarro's men, making it ideal for a defense against Tawantinsuyu coming down towards the town. It would allow time for the recruitment of Indian auxiliaries as well. However staying still was making the Spanish anxious and fears that the remnants of Rumiñavi's army would link up with the Inka and sweep down and slaughter them. Some argued that they should press the Tawantinsuyu right then, taking advantage of the disorganized army and the panic following the defeat at Saña, perhaps using Rumiñavi as a bargaining chip. This faction hoped to capitalize on their advantages before the Tawantinsuyu could adapt to the invasion. Greed also played a role, if Diego de Almagro and his men arrived before the seizure of any treasure and assisted in taking it they would be entitled to a share of it. Francisco Pizarro, still grieving his brother, took his time deliberating.
His first action was to send a Spanish emissary to the Inka explaining his actions. He cooked up a fanciful story about Rumiñavi. Pizarro claimed that Rumiñavi had said Atahualpa was illegitimate and that the Inka ought to be removed. Rumiñavi had though himself a better Inka was was preparing a march on Cusco. Pizarro stated that Rumiñavi had offered the Spanish a quarter of the gold and a third of the silver in the empire in exchange for their assistance[1]. Pizarro claimed that "out of respect for his majesty" he had rejected the offer out of hand. But Rumiñavi had supposedly persisted and then attacked the Spanish to keep his plot a secret. This lie was sent along with the the three low ranking Spaniards towards the Inka's encampment.
Atahualpa offered the Spanish Gold
When they arrived at the Inka's household outside of Cajamarca it was Atahualpa who faced a dilemma. He rejected the tale quickly, he trusted Rumiñavi and had already heard reports of the Battle at Saña. His wariness of the Spanish had shifted into complete distrust and hatred. Certainly some of his consuls advocated killing the messengers and sending a gory message back to the Spanish. However Atahualpa refused this option, reportedly remarking that sending back the heads of the men was not worth the effort of the runners. Though this event likely never happened it shows the cautious but clever nature of the Sapa Inka. Atahualpa still did not know exactly what the Spanish sought or how many there were beyond his empire. He sought to capture at least a few for information. He'd been bombarded with tales of the horses, steel swords, and gunshots. He and his commander in chief of the army, Chalcuchima, both immediately grasped what uses these things might have and sought to posses their power. The awe held my many Tawantinsuyu towards the invaders also played into the decision of the Inka, by defeating them he could solidify his power as an all powerful ruler.
So instead of attacking them he politely listened to the men, the first whites he ever saw. He listened to their false story about Rumiñavi's betrayal and nodded. Soon there after he retired to his chambers and decide his next move. The three men currently there would not be enough to ransom back Rumiñavi, even with their single horse and their armor and swords. So that option was not open to Atahualpa. In all likelihood the Inka considered many options. A full on assault was too obvious beforehand and after the massacre at Saña he had no plans to repeat it. To invite the Spanish into his court would be suicidal, at least now with the advantages the Spaniards had. He could request a "higher ranking man" to negotiate with. But that would smack of an ambush with such a request. But eventually the Inka came up with an idea and told his advisors his plan and it was set into motion.
He returned to the emissaries and thanked them for discovering Rumiñavi's treason and invited the Spanish to come to Cajamarca and encamp near but not with his forces. There they could celebrate the victory and receive rewards. As an incentive he had the emissaries adorned with a fair amount of silver and gold and promised more. He promised the Spaniards a liter full of gold and silver for their efforts, with more for specific heroes of the battle. Such riches were a beacon to the Spanish and soon they prepared to enter the mountains towards Cajamarca. An attempt to get Rumiñavi[2] to disclose information on the Emperor's Army failed. Even if it was a trap they were confident of their ability to fight back an attack in the town, a fact that is probably true.
Of course the Inka had no plans in letting them get there.
+++
1: Without Atahualpa's ransom promise the Spanish still have little idea of how damn rich the royalty was, meaning 1/4 and 1/3 seem reasonable for a lie.
2: IOTL Rumiñavi is famous for hiding The Treasure of the Llanganatis and refusing to reveal its location under torture.
Rumiñavi, with his name spelled differently due to alternate translation
The decision of Pizarro to ambush Rumiñavi in Saña was a hasty one. He feared that the longer the Spanish stayed in one place the less awe they would inspire amongst the natives, which would hurt them. He also suspected that Rumiñavi was suspicious of the true motives of the Spanish presence in the empire. While we will never know the truth of the matter that was not an unreasonable assumption considering the rate at which the general was sending news to Atahualpa. Pizarro also was likely afraid that the arrival of even more troops would overwhelm even the well armed Spaniards, he was particularly fearful of a siege around Saña. Therefore he believed that his best option was to break the Army at Saña and approach the emperor on his own, perhaps spinning a lie that Rumiñavi had been planning a takeover of Tawantinsuyu and the Spanish had stopped him. So he had his men prepare a trap.
The Spanish had occupied Saña for three days by the dawn of their attack on Rumiñavi. They had become aquatinted with the layout of the square and carefully prepared positions in case of an attack. Now they began planning an ambush against one of the most powerful men in the empire. They arranged their cannon pointing towards the center of the square and assigned positions for calvary charges. The Pizarro Brothers carefully planned the reception of Rumiñavi, knowing they only had one chance to capture or kill the general.
At the appointed time Rumiñavi entered Saña at the appointed time. There is no indication that he expected any sort of attack, even if he was concerned about the intentions of the Spanish. The thousands of soldiers he brought with him certainly expected nothing. These were professional soldiers, with experience in the brutal warfare in the north and certainly battle ready. But they held no expectations of a fight, instead expecting a festival of sorts. And so they marched in with the mood of a party, expecting fine food and good drinks.
Vicente de Valverde
The first sign something was amiss was the fact that the Spanish were circled around the center of the square as the Tawantinsuyu entourage approached it. Upon the arrival of Rumiñavi two Spaniards and an interpreter approached the general. It was not the Pizarros, it was Vincente de Valverde, a Friar along with the expedition, and Hernando de Soto, an experienced conquistador. They asked if Rumiñavi accepted Charles V as his Emperor and the Holy Trinity as his God. Rumiñavi replied no. They asked if he acknowledged the supremacy of the Catholic Church, he said no. They presented him with the banners of the conquistadors and a bible and he refused them. At this point Valverde exclaimed that Rumiñavi was beyond saving and demanded his arrest.
Suddenly shots were fired from the guns of the Spanish, causing chaos in the ranks of the Tawantinsuyu. This was only multiplied by the charging of the calvary into battle, swords raised. The panic amongst the Tawantinsuyu only increased. Their clubs and axes could do little against the hard chain armor the Spaniards wore and they had little defense against the sharpened steel made in the best forges of Toledo. Their awe of horses turned to fear as the Spanish used their advantage mercilessly upon the soldiers. Hundreds fell. A Spaniard, later determined to be Pedro Pizarro, leapt towards Rumiñavi and sliced a wide gash in the General's cheek with his sword. However he was then clubbed in the back of the head just afterwords and fell to the ground. He was found after the battle to have been trampled to death. He was the only Spanish man to die on November 12th. As the slaughter continued the bleeding Rumiñavi was seized by Spaniards. Seeing this the Tawantinsuyu began to flee, despite attempts to contain them for further massacre they began to flood out of Saña and towards the bulk of Rumiñavi's army encamped outside of it. The army, despite lacking its leader, began to mobilize itself in a disorganized manner. However soon the Spanish followed and fell onto the still preparing army with their full power and they began to scatter the shocked army into a retreat, then a rout. A last desperate attempt to rescue Rumiñavi failed, but the general managed to shout word out to retreat towards the mountains. Soon the once proud Tawantinsuyu was straggling up the steep slopes towards Atahualpa bearing the terrible news of defeat.
Pizarro's victory, though dampened by the death of his brother, now presented him with more options. He now had conclusive proof of the advantages he had over the Tawantinsuyu and experience battling them. He knew reinforcements were due to arrive the next year at Tumbez with. So some Spaniards argued for stopping his march at Saña, consolidating the Spanish rule over the area between there and the north while waiting for reinforcements before marching into the High Andes and attacking the Inka himself. Intelligence could be gathered during that time and the area around Saña was becoming well known for Pizarro's men, making it ideal for a defense against Tawantinsuyu coming down towards the town. It would allow time for the recruitment of Indian auxiliaries as well. However staying still was making the Spanish anxious and fears that the remnants of Rumiñavi's army would link up with the Inka and sweep down and slaughter them. Some argued that they should press the Tawantinsuyu right then, taking advantage of the disorganized army and the panic following the defeat at Saña, perhaps using Rumiñavi as a bargaining chip. This faction hoped to capitalize on their advantages before the Tawantinsuyu could adapt to the invasion. Greed also played a role, if Diego de Almagro and his men arrived before the seizure of any treasure and assisted in taking it they would be entitled to a share of it. Francisco Pizarro, still grieving his brother, took his time deliberating.
His first action was to send a Spanish emissary to the Inka explaining his actions. He cooked up a fanciful story about Rumiñavi. Pizarro claimed that Rumiñavi had said Atahualpa was illegitimate and that the Inka ought to be removed. Rumiñavi had though himself a better Inka was was preparing a march on Cusco. Pizarro stated that Rumiñavi had offered the Spanish a quarter of the gold and a third of the silver in the empire in exchange for their assistance[1]. Pizarro claimed that "out of respect for his majesty" he had rejected the offer out of hand. But Rumiñavi had supposedly persisted and then attacked the Spanish to keep his plot a secret. This lie was sent along with the the three low ranking Spaniards towards the Inka's encampment.
Atahualpa offered the Spanish Gold
When they arrived at the Inka's household outside of Cajamarca it was Atahualpa who faced a dilemma. He rejected the tale quickly, he trusted Rumiñavi and had already heard reports of the Battle at Saña. His wariness of the Spanish had shifted into complete distrust and hatred. Certainly some of his consuls advocated killing the messengers and sending a gory message back to the Spanish. However Atahualpa refused this option, reportedly remarking that sending back the heads of the men was not worth the effort of the runners. Though this event likely never happened it shows the cautious but clever nature of the Sapa Inka. Atahualpa still did not know exactly what the Spanish sought or how many there were beyond his empire. He sought to capture at least a few for information. He'd been bombarded with tales of the horses, steel swords, and gunshots. He and his commander in chief of the army, Chalcuchima, both immediately grasped what uses these things might have and sought to posses their power. The awe held my many Tawantinsuyu towards the invaders also played into the decision of the Inka, by defeating them he could solidify his power as an all powerful ruler.
So instead of attacking them he politely listened to the men, the first whites he ever saw. He listened to their false story about Rumiñavi's betrayal and nodded. Soon there after he retired to his chambers and decide his next move. The three men currently there would not be enough to ransom back Rumiñavi, even with their single horse and their armor and swords. So that option was not open to Atahualpa. In all likelihood the Inka considered many options. A full on assault was too obvious beforehand and after the massacre at Saña he had no plans to repeat it. To invite the Spanish into his court would be suicidal, at least now with the advantages the Spaniards had. He could request a "higher ranking man" to negotiate with. But that would smack of an ambush with such a request. But eventually the Inka came up with an idea and told his advisors his plan and it was set into motion.
He returned to the emissaries and thanked them for discovering Rumiñavi's treason and invited the Spanish to come to Cajamarca and encamp near but not with his forces. There they could celebrate the victory and receive rewards. As an incentive he had the emissaries adorned with a fair amount of silver and gold and promised more. He promised the Spaniards a liter full of gold and silver for their efforts, with more for specific heroes of the battle. Such riches were a beacon to the Spanish and soon they prepared to enter the mountains towards Cajamarca. An attempt to get Rumiñavi[2] to disclose information on the Emperor's Army failed. Even if it was a trap they were confident of their ability to fight back an attack in the town, a fact that is probably true.
Of course the Inka had no plans in letting them get there.
+++
1: Without Atahualpa's ransom promise the Spanish still have little idea of how damn rich the royalty was, meaning 1/4 and 1/3 seem reasonable for a lie.
2: IOTL Rumiñavi is famous for hiding The Treasure of the Llanganatis and refusing to reveal its location under torture.
Last edited:
Thank you for your support. Quito has interesting times ahead.
Thank you. This has been fixed.
A new Incan timeline !Good luck.
Thanks Petike.
These mountains ain't built for horses.
Chapter 1.3: The Long and Winding Roads
Chapter 3: A Long and Winding Road
The Andes Mountains proved a large asset to the Tawantinsuyu
The Tawantinsuyu Road system was, in 1532, arguably the best that the world had seen since Rome had fallen into chaos. It stretched from the northern mountains to the souther desert. Storehouses were set up and runners staggered to ensure the fasted possible communications. Rope bridges of dizzying hight helped keep the Empire together. With no written language messages were either oral or on Quipu[1]. Watchtowers dotted the highways and each community donated portions of food and time to give runners good rest. With no wheels for commercial use all travel was done by foot, or liter for the powerful of the Tawantinsuyu Empire. The only other thing that crossed the roads were long trains of Llamas carrying goods or being traded.
This road system was good moving moving Tawantinsuyu troops about with ease and rapid responses. However the roads made it easy for the Spanish to travel along the coast with greater ease then the invaders had expected. But it was different now that they headed inland.
The Chancay is hardly even a river, more of a stream, but it flows from the mighty Andes down into the Pacific. A small road ran up its course into the steep hills, going through the town of Chongoyape. From there it turned onto the treeless alpine tundra. Forts dotted the landscape on the way to Cajamarca and narrow passes were often threaded by the road.
It was into this type of desolate country, the land where the Tawantinsuyu had originated, that Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish marched starting on December 2nd, when they departed Saña for their "meeting" with Atahualpa, bearing the imprisoned Rumiñavi. In doing so they unknowingly surrendered themselves to the Inka's will. At Saña the Spanish had possessed the advantages of being well positioned to exploit their advantages (such as their position being well suited for a calvary attack), surprise, and their weapons and horses striking fear into the unprepared army[2]. However the desolate passes were a completely different game.
The road system had been built for three things, people walking, people running and llamas. So the roads were more then paths but were not designed with ease of transport in mind. A human is relatively versatile on steep roads with many switchbacks and the llamas were bred for mountain living.
Horses were not.
On the smallest Tawantinsuyu roads, of which the one following the Chancay Stream was, the steep and narrow route made riding the horses dangerous enough that most Spanish chose to lead the horses along rather then ride. Fighting on the horses was out of the question, the horses could simply not get the traction needed to charge effectively. And so immediately one of the major advantages of Pizarro was defeated by nature. The narrow roads also forced the Spanish to march single file up the road, keeping their effectiveness further limited.
The roads were bad enough, but off the roads even foot-soldiers were useless to Pizarro. The terrain was rough and they had no experience with such land. They didn't know the area or where the cliffs were. But the locals did, and the Tawantinsuyu did.
For all their claims about the "subhuman" natives across the Americas the Spanish faced a very real biological fact entering the Andes. The Tawantinsuyu had lived in the mountains for centuries. Simple facts of Unequal Inheritance[3] caused them to have stronger lungs to breath the thin Mountain air. The Spanish did not have this and many soon came down with weakness likely resulting from this.
In summation the road leading towards Cajamarca singlehandedly annulled the advantages the Spanish had for almost everything[4].
Tawantinsuyu Sling
Atahualpa did not know all of this at the time, he only had fragmented and panicked reports of their power. But he knew the land well and knew the Chancy road provided a good opportunity for an ambush and began to plan accordingly. He dispersed parts of his army, swelled with numbers from Rumiñavi's force, into the mountains. Watchtowers who spied the Spanish sent off runners like clock work. Locals the forcibly kept silent. At the end of the stream, where the road turns into the alpine tundra, Chalcuchima sat. Officially awaiting to escort the Spanish but in reality serving as a last line of defense. It is almost certain that some Spaniards expected an ambush, but most expected it to occur in the presence of the Emperor. Those who did fear an attack in the mountains still felt good about their odds.
The exact location of the Battle of Chancay Road is still unknown, as it was not near any specific town. But there are a few first hand accounts that serve as a guide and the date is recognized as December 9th. The ambush likely started with a massive army appearing on a high hillside into the view of the the Spanish. They did not realize the scale of the attack until the first volley of stones hit them. At the time the crossbows were few in number and the guns inaccurate and time consuming. This made the simple stone sling the most efficient projectile weapon in the Andes. A good Tawantinsuyu solider could strike with deadly accuracy with one. The stone volley killed a few Spanish but mostly sowed confusion amongst them. The Spaniards faced the problem of aiming up steep cliffs towards small targets with their bows and guns, a nearly impossible task. So they attempted to leave the road. Their horses became even more useless off road and the terrain was hard to traverse for inexperienced travelers. Soon Tawantinsuyu warriors were streaming out of the hills. The Spanish still had one crucial advantage however: Steel. Their swords were far, far better then anything then Tawantinsuyu possessed and the armor was effective against the clubs and bronze weapons. But the numbers were against the Spanish and the hills meant they were attacking the Tawantinsuyu up steep hills, and there was only a certain number of hits a Spanish man could take before an enemy solider got lucky. Stones continued to fly down on the the Spanish group, scattering attempts to organize as one hit to the face could kill a man.
All hope of a Spanish victory was lost when a small group of Tawantinsuyu freed the tied up Rumiñavi and brought him back to their lines. The Tawantinsuyu now had a general and a huge physiological victory over the Spanish. Soon the Spanish became bottled on the road, with enemy soldiers on both sides and quickly became surrounded. Pizarro was prepared to fight to the death, which he did, but after he bled out after a lucky cut from an axe the Spaniards fell apart. Those who kept fighting were isolated and killed while many others surrendered.
An unintentional side effect of the Tawantinsuyu's less advanced weapons was a relatively low casualty rate for the Spanish, some 84 men survived the massacre, and were to be brought before Atahualpa.
Some were determined to die for their faith and nation and would not yield to a "barbarian" king. But others lacked that conviction. And so the knowledge the Spaniards held began to leech into the New World.
+++
1: The Knot Things
2: And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope
3: Evolution
4: IOTL Pizarro wrote "We were very lucky they did not set upon us" while passing the region.
The Andes Mountains proved a large asset to the Tawantinsuyu
The Tawantinsuyu Road system was, in 1532, arguably the best that the world had seen since Rome had fallen into chaos. It stretched from the northern mountains to the souther desert. Storehouses were set up and runners staggered to ensure the fasted possible communications. Rope bridges of dizzying hight helped keep the Empire together. With no written language messages were either oral or on Quipu[1]. Watchtowers dotted the highways and each community donated portions of food and time to give runners good rest. With no wheels for commercial use all travel was done by foot, or liter for the powerful of the Tawantinsuyu Empire. The only other thing that crossed the roads were long trains of Llamas carrying goods or being traded.
This road system was good moving moving Tawantinsuyu troops about with ease and rapid responses. However the roads made it easy for the Spanish to travel along the coast with greater ease then the invaders had expected. But it was different now that they headed inland.
The Chancay is hardly even a river, more of a stream, but it flows from the mighty Andes down into the Pacific. A small road ran up its course into the steep hills, going through the town of Chongoyape. From there it turned onto the treeless alpine tundra. Forts dotted the landscape on the way to Cajamarca and narrow passes were often threaded by the road.
It was into this type of desolate country, the land where the Tawantinsuyu had originated, that Francisco Pizarro and the Spanish marched starting on December 2nd, when they departed Saña for their "meeting" with Atahualpa, bearing the imprisoned Rumiñavi. In doing so they unknowingly surrendered themselves to the Inka's will. At Saña the Spanish had possessed the advantages of being well positioned to exploit their advantages (such as their position being well suited for a calvary attack), surprise, and their weapons and horses striking fear into the unprepared army[2]. However the desolate passes were a completely different game.
The road system had been built for three things, people walking, people running and llamas. So the roads were more then paths but were not designed with ease of transport in mind. A human is relatively versatile on steep roads with many switchbacks and the llamas were bred for mountain living.
Horses were not.
On the smallest Tawantinsuyu roads, of which the one following the Chancay Stream was, the steep and narrow route made riding the horses dangerous enough that most Spanish chose to lead the horses along rather then ride. Fighting on the horses was out of the question, the horses could simply not get the traction needed to charge effectively. And so immediately one of the major advantages of Pizarro was defeated by nature. The narrow roads also forced the Spanish to march single file up the road, keeping their effectiveness further limited.
The roads were bad enough, but off the roads even foot-soldiers were useless to Pizarro. The terrain was rough and they had no experience with such land. They didn't know the area or where the cliffs were. But the locals did, and the Tawantinsuyu did.
For all their claims about the "subhuman" natives across the Americas the Spanish faced a very real biological fact entering the Andes. The Tawantinsuyu had lived in the mountains for centuries. Simple facts of Unequal Inheritance[3] caused them to have stronger lungs to breath the thin Mountain air. The Spanish did not have this and many soon came down with weakness likely resulting from this.
In summation the road leading towards Cajamarca singlehandedly annulled the advantages the Spanish had for almost everything[4].
Tawantinsuyu Sling
Atahualpa did not know all of this at the time, he only had fragmented and panicked reports of their power. But he knew the land well and knew the Chancy road provided a good opportunity for an ambush and began to plan accordingly. He dispersed parts of his army, swelled with numbers from Rumiñavi's force, into the mountains. Watchtowers who spied the Spanish sent off runners like clock work. Locals the forcibly kept silent. At the end of the stream, where the road turns into the alpine tundra, Chalcuchima sat. Officially awaiting to escort the Spanish but in reality serving as a last line of defense. It is almost certain that some Spaniards expected an ambush, but most expected it to occur in the presence of the Emperor. Those who did fear an attack in the mountains still felt good about their odds.
The exact location of the Battle of Chancay Road is still unknown, as it was not near any specific town. But there are a few first hand accounts that serve as a guide and the date is recognized as December 9th. The ambush likely started with a massive army appearing on a high hillside into the view of the the Spanish. They did not realize the scale of the attack until the first volley of stones hit them. At the time the crossbows were few in number and the guns inaccurate and time consuming. This made the simple stone sling the most efficient projectile weapon in the Andes. A good Tawantinsuyu solider could strike with deadly accuracy with one. The stone volley killed a few Spanish but mostly sowed confusion amongst them. The Spaniards faced the problem of aiming up steep cliffs towards small targets with their bows and guns, a nearly impossible task. So they attempted to leave the road. Their horses became even more useless off road and the terrain was hard to traverse for inexperienced travelers. Soon Tawantinsuyu warriors were streaming out of the hills. The Spanish still had one crucial advantage however: Steel. Their swords were far, far better then anything then Tawantinsuyu possessed and the armor was effective against the clubs and bronze weapons. But the numbers were against the Spanish and the hills meant they were attacking the Tawantinsuyu up steep hills, and there was only a certain number of hits a Spanish man could take before an enemy solider got lucky. Stones continued to fly down on the the Spanish group, scattering attempts to organize as one hit to the face could kill a man.
All hope of a Spanish victory was lost when a small group of Tawantinsuyu freed the tied up Rumiñavi and brought him back to their lines. The Tawantinsuyu now had a general and a huge physiological victory over the Spanish. Soon the Spanish became bottled on the road, with enemy soldiers on both sides and quickly became surrounded. Pizarro was prepared to fight to the death, which he did, but after he bled out after a lucky cut from an axe the Spaniards fell apart. Those who kept fighting were isolated and killed while many others surrendered.
An unintentional side effect of the Tawantinsuyu's less advanced weapons was a relatively low casualty rate for the Spanish, some 84 men survived the massacre, and were to be brought before Atahualpa.
Some were determined to die for their faith and nation and would not yield to a "barbarian" king. But others lacked that conviction. And so the knowledge the Spaniards held began to leech into the New World.
+++
1: The Knot Things
2: And an almost fanatical devotion to the Pope
3: Evolution
4: IOTL Pizarro wrote "We were very lucky they did not set upon us" while passing the region.
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Yessss, this is going right where I had hoped it would.
On a less gushing note, how abundant and available for extraction are the necessary resources in Tawantinsuyu's domain to make use of this knowledge? If we're talking gunpowder, saltpeter and guano are abundant around the Atacama and on some near offshore islands, respectively (and the Tawantinsuyu were already using guano on a wide scale for fertilizer, IIRC), but what about stuff like iron ore?
Also, this might be totally off-base, but I remember hearing a while back that supposedly one of the major factors that caused Andean cultures' technology to develop the way it did was due to a lack of fuel. Specifically, the claim I heard went that the slopes and altiplano environments don't support many large trees or other woody plants, meaning no charcoal to smelt iron (and no wooden or stone bridges, so they used ropes and cables instead), and thus no iron tools to do things. This idea seemed a little lead-pipes-brought-down-Rome when I first heard it, but I don't know enough about the history of the region to know if it's BS or not. In doing your research for this TL has this idea come up at all, or is it just pop-history nonsense?
Anyway, this is a great start to a cool idea and the best of luck to you going forward with it.
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Deleted member 93645
Great update. It will be interesting to see how the Inca Empire modernizes and fortifies itself against future incursion.
Considering the Inca Empire's current structure, I think they would probably adapt a system like the "Gunpowder Empires" of the Old World (The Ottomans, Mughals, and Safavids) where only imperial bureaucrats and professional troops know how to make gunpowder and cannons, to prevent rebellions from gaining ground. This could reinforce the centralized yet imperial structure of the Inca state.
Any plans for Manco Inca?
Considering the Inca Empire's current structure, I think they would probably adapt a system like the "Gunpowder Empires" of the Old World (The Ottomans, Mughals, and Safavids) where only imperial bureaucrats and professional troops know how to make gunpowder and cannons, to prevent rebellions from gaining ground. This could reinforce the centralized yet imperial structure of the Inca state.
Any plans for Manco Inca?
