alternatehistory.com

I was thinking about a scenario where Tawantinsuyu survives conquest and becomes analagous to China as a lucrative place for trade. So, perhaps Pizarro's conquest of Peru is a big failure and the Huáscar-Atahualpa civil war is either quickly resolved or never occurs, and the elites realize that there are weapons and technologically superior products that they would want to trade silver for?

I guess what I'm asking is: would it be possible for the Spanish to strike a deal with, say, Huascar, to be granted a city, say Lima or Piura, for establishing trade? That way, Spain would still get some of the silver in the Peruvian highlands (and this might reduce the amount of drastic changes to world history), and there would be technological exchange at the same time, ensuring the survival of the empire.

Or would Spain settle for nothing less than outright conquest?
Top