I had read a book called " Conquistadores" by Budd Levy on the conquistadors 2 year campaign in Mexico against the Aztecs between 1519-1521 with Hernan Cortes and bought another book called "The last days of the Incas" by Kim MacQuarrie. The internet was down for the weekend so I read about a third of it which is about Fransico Pizarro and the conquistadores invasion into Central and South America and the defeat of the Incas. Hernan Cortes showed up with 200 conquistadores and using Machivellian tactics (Machivelli just wrote his book "The Prince" about 10 years earlier) by befriending the enemies of his enemies and took over the Aztec empire of modern day Mexico.
Franscico Pizarro was apparently a 2nd cousin to Hernan Cortes and most of the Conquistadores grew up in the same area of Spain coincidently. Pizarro came over to the New World in 1502 where modern day Haiti/Dominican republic was the place the spanish had thier original settlements and Pizarro had earned an estate from his participation in these conquests where he could have lived comfortably in Panama and was one of the first Europeans to discover the Pacific Ocean while he lived in Panama but like all conquistadores they don't just want some estate but want to join the spanish "elites" by ruling and governing their own conquered countries like Hernan Cortes was doing in Mexico. According to this book, conquistadores were not trained soldiers as much as they were entrepreneurs who would form a "corporation" with a CEO in charge and different conquistadores could invest in it like a stock by lending their horses, armour and weapons, ships, crops they grew etc... and they would get more of the booty if they invested more just like a modern day stock on a stockexchange.
Pizarro had formed 2 previous expeditions in the late 1520's and had gone down the coast of South America and saw lots of gold and silver that the Incas had which they were mainly after and he knew it was just a matter of time where word of this discovery would get out to other competing conquistadores about all this gold so he sailed to Spain immediately to get authority from the King of Spain for the sole right to claim the west coast of South America for the Spanish king. The Queen of Spain had an agreement draw up where Pizarro would have authority in South America on behalf of the King of Spain and that the King of Spain would not have to invest a dime into Pizarros expeditions (which Pizarro would have to finance himself like Cortes had done) and like Cortes agreement, the King of Spain would get 20% of all the booty (Gold, silver, merchandise, land, crops, slaves, etc...). Of course they didn't call it "plunder and booty" in their agreement and it had a more legalistic name to it (just so they didn't seem like pirates I guess).
Like Cortes in Mexico, when Pizarro came back to start his 3rd campaign in Ecuador after returning from Spain he would find the local Indians dying off from the small pox that the Europeans brought over with them and just 5 years earlier the Incan Emperor "Huayna Capac" had died of Small pox and now 2 of his sons (half brothers- Atahualpa from the North and Huascar from the south) were fighting each other over who would be the new Incan ruler. Atahualpa from the north had won and had his half brother "Huascar" held by his generals and made to watch the executions of his wives and children and all blood relatives before being made to march north by foot to his half brothers location. It was right after this 5 year civil war battle between these 2 competing Inca brothers that Pizarro and his conquistadores had just arrived for their 3rd expedition since the previous 2 expeditions were failures.
The new Incan emperor had been getting regular reports from his running scouts of all the conquistadores movements and activities right down to the specific details and number of casualities on each of their invasions and the new Incan emperor "Atahualpa" was curious about these strange white men with beards and metal armour riding on top of strange beasts so let them come closer to his location. There were only 168 conquistadores with Pizarro and the Incan emperor had 80,000 men at his desposal at that one location and the Inca emperor planned at some point to kill all the 168 conquistadores off since they were out numbered and then ride back to Cuzco to get his coronation as the new Inca emperor but first he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the strange white foreigners. Pizarro invited the Inca emperor with 7000 of his generals, chiefs, and warriors who could fit into the walled town at Cajamarca and the other 73,000 Inca warriors couldn't fit into the walled city so stayed on the outskirts of the town and the 168 conquistadores were hiding out inside the stone buildings inside this town where they thought it would be certain death for them.
The Spanish Conquistadores were very arrogant and had told the Incas through translators that they were going to convert all the Incas to become Christians and the Inca emperor when presented with the bible basically threw it down on the ground which is when Pizarro gave the order to attack and 168 conquistadores bursted out of the stone buildings on command where some had horses and razor sharp swords and cannons in a "shock and awe" type of attack against the 7000 trapped Incas in the walled town of Cajamarca where it caught them off guard since the Incas thought it was obvious that the conquistadores were out numbered (400 to 1) and they weren't expecting it since they had heard from their scouts that the Conquistadors were hiding in the stone houses in complete fear (which was partially true of course when they realized their situation) and basically the conquistadores slaughtered all 7000 in the walled town within a matter of 2 hours without even one conquistadore casualty.
Pizarro immediately took the Inca Emperor "Atahualpa" as a hostage and was able to use him as a puppet leader getting him to run his empire just like Hernan Cortes had done after taking "Montezuma" as a hostage 13 years earlier. The Inca Emperor had told Pizarro he would give him a room full of gold as a ransom so he could buy his freedom. Pizarro wrote up an agreement with the help of his notaries (since Pizarro and most of the Conquistadores were illiterate) knowing full well he wasn't going to live up to his end of the agreement in the end. This was his one chance (like Cortes in Mexico) at victory and there was no way he was going to let the Inca emperor go free since that would have been the end of them. Take out the leader which is the head (Inca Emperor) and the body (Inca empire) crumbles. Hearing rumours of an oncoming Inca army towards the conquistadores they got frightened and decided to execute Atahualpa even though the emperor told them that there was no army since only he could give the order to make it happen. Well they didn't believe him and thought a good ole fashion burning was in order but after much discussion with the Spanish Friars that the Emperor had agreed to convert to Christianity so he could have another death that didn't involve burning his body since the Incas were superstitious about this in relation to the "afterlife". Of course after they executed Ayahualpa they realized the advancing Inca army was just a rumour since their wasn't one approaching.
From here the Conquistadores head down to the Inca capital of Cuzco (where Machu Pichu is located near) and after a quick battle take over the city and find another half brother (Manco Inca) who had been in hiding for his life for 5 years to become the new Inca puppet Emperor for the Conquistadores. It is amazing how such a small group of conquistadores (168) who have military technology over the Incas with armed horses which were their main weapon that killed the most on the battle field as well as swords, guns and cannons along with a good communication system during battle to form the best battle plans against such high numbers of Incas.
The Inca empire had only really been an empire for 90 years prior to Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors showing up in South America in the 1530's. Hernan Cortes had shown up in Mexico in 1519 and was pretty much in control of Mexico by 1521 using machivellian techniques on each indian tribe and taking their Aztec leader hostage and consolidating power to himself and the Conquistadores. The conquistadores rarely had casualities in their many battles compared to the Incas since they had superior military technology and strategy for each situation where the Aztecs and Incas just had numbers that totally outnumbered the conquisadores by 500:1 type of ratios. It just proves if you have the knowledge and know-how that being outnumbered in a battle doesn't mean much if you use your resources properly. The Conquistadores excelled at this.
It was in the early 1400's (Around the same time of Joan of Arc in France) that the Incas were a small tribe and were being attacked by other tribes expanding their own empires. It was then that the son of the then Inca king took control of the Inca army and defeated these invading tribes one after another with obvious military skill and basically turned out to be like an "Alexander the Great" for the Incas as he had many victories expanded the little Inca village into a sizeable empire taking over most of Peru which is basically when the Inca "Operation: Kick ass" would commence as the next generation (his son) took over the rest of the territory to form the full Inca empire by the mid 1400's which was really Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador with probably parts of northern Chile and southern Colombia as well. The Incas had never even heard of their northern neighbors "the Aztecs" who ruled the area of modern day Mexico because the Incas only knew of the history in their territories. It is interesting that many parts of the world didn't have contact with each other but they begin doing the same things during their development as a society (Like the 100th monkey syndrome).
After the Conquistadores executed the Incan emperor "Athualpa" believing that he had planned an sneak attack on them behind their backs which wasn't the case and so the Conquistadors later attacked Cuzco (Where they knew all the Inca gold was stored) which was the Inca Capital and took possession of it and they found the 17 year old half brother (Manco Inca) of the old Incan emperor that they had just executed who had been in hiding for the last few years believing that the Inca emperor (his half brother) was going to kill off every possible heir to challenge his position (Just like the good old Roman days!). So Pizarro and the Conquistadores decided to make this 17 year old name "Manco Inca" their puppet Incan emperor as they went about consolidating power through this young heir and getting all the gold and silver they could to send back to Spain.
Pizarro left some Conquistadores in Cuzco to guard the capital and he went on to found his own city which is modern day Lima Peru. I don't know if anyone has seen the movie "A bug's life" where there is a small group of Elite (the grasshoppers) ruling the masses even though they are completely outnumbered by the ants. The conquistadores were in a similar situation where the conquistadores were out numbered 10,000 to 1 or more but forces their way into the Inca power structure and fed off the hard work of the Incas (sounds like a virus). Even though the young puppet emperor "Manco Inca" gives them everything they want believing they are here to liberate the Incas but it doesn't take long for the Incas and the young puppet emperor to realize the foreigners are only interested in the gold and silver and sucking all the resources from them and are always demanding more and they treat the new puppet emperor like shit and even one of Pizarro's younger brothers (Gonzales Pizzaro) decides he wants the new emperors wife (The queen) as his own and the conquistadors indulge to the extreme living like fat cats in this new land.
Well over a couple years the young puppet emperor who is at the top of the Inca pecking order where nothing can happen without his approval realizes the foreigners are just parasites milking them for everything and he escapes and organizes an Inca uprising around 1536AD and stays at a hidden location getting daily information on the Conquistadores movements through their Inca runner system. I mean stealing the emperors queen is just pushing the limits I think!! Take their gold but stay away from their women. That was one of the main things that were pissing off the Incas was the spanish showing up and taking the Inca mens pretty wives for their own cucubines. Their indulgence had no limits!! "I see it and now I want it!" mentality.
This young emperor was the great great grandson of that Inca Emperor of the early 1400's that made the Inca empire what it was. Knowing that they can't beat the Conquistadores with their invincible horses on the battlefield no matter how many Incas they have they finally change their strategy to guerrilla warfare and do small ambushes that turn out successfully for the Incas when there are only a few conquistadores or hide in narrow passage ways and ambush the Conquistadors successfully that way where their horses power is neutralized. In 5 years the Incas with their 10's of 1000's of warriors were only able to kill 30 spaniards (not very impressive eh? Hard to kill someone with stones when they are wearing metal armour) but with guerrilla warfare tactics were able to kill 40 spaniards in a 2 month period. Then they assembled all available Inca tribes around the area of modern day Peru to the Inca capital of Cuzco and cut off the conquistadors communication with the Conquistadors in Lima Peru where Francisco Pizzaro was building his new city.
Even with the 10's of 1000's of Incas attacking Cuzco (where Manco Inca was orchestrating the whole thing with his generals at an undisclosed location) the 190 conquistadores defending Cuzco were able to fend them off with only a few Conquistadore casualties. When you have metal armour, horses, and superior weapons and military experience (from fighting the Moors in Spain in the late 1400's) the Conquistadors were quite efficient leaving 100's of Incas dead of each day of fighting. The Incas had captured a spanish conquistadore on one of their ambushes and kept him alive and that spanish conquistadore had convinced Manco Inca that if he sent the heads of the dead spanish soldiers along with the ripped up paper (letters intercepted from Pizarro in Lima) then the conquistadors would be in fear and the Incas would get the upper hand. I thought this was clever on the part of the spanish soldier since he knew that the conquistadors in Cuzco had lost contact with the Conquistadors in Lima where the Governor General Francisco Pizzaro was since the Incas had broken those lines of communication and they didn't know whether they were dead from the Inca uprising or still alive and were deciding to try to break through the Inca army surrounding Cuzco to reach Lima but when they received the 5 spanish heads with the ripped up paper letters (which was just magical symbols to the Incas since they had no written language) it told the trapped Conquistadores in Cuzco that the Conquistadores had to still be in Lima Peru who were trying to send a telegram to the other Conquistadors in Cuzco so there was no need to try a suicide mission to break through the Inca army surrounding Cuzco since they knew Pizzaro and the Conquistadores were still in Lima.
At this point the Conquistadore who were totally in control up to the point of the Inca rebellion where their luck had changed for the worst and were desperate for fresh recruits since there were now only 400 conquistadores in South America (190 in Cuzco and 200 in Lima) trying to control the whole population (Millions of Incas) so Governor General Franciso Pizzaro wrote a letter to Hernan Cortes's 2nd in command in Mexico asking for help on behalf of the king of Spain (Since the king of Spain gets 20% of all the booty in Mexico and South American from the Conquistadores and definitely wants to keep this little gold and silver mine in production flowing to Spain for other wars in Europe).
It is amazing how fate can change on the turn of a dime. First the Emperor Athualpa who was the main emperor to confront the Conquistadors in 1532 where he was in complete control with his 80,000 troops against 200 or so Conquistadors and within 2 hours of that surprise attack from the Conquistadors where 7000 Incas were trapped and killed in that town by the Conquistadors and then the Inca Emperor was taken hostage by the Conquistadors where he was then essentially powerless and at the mercy of the Conquistadors (Just in a 2 hour period things changed when the Incas least expected it!). With "Manco Inca" as the Conquistadors "puppet Incan Emperor" things changed in a 2 month period as well where they had complete control over the infrastructure and within 2 months of the puppet emperor starting an Inca uprising now the Conquistadores are at the edge of extinction. Fate can be quite elusive at times.
Well with the Conquistadores divided by the Incas in Cuzco and Lima, the Inca emperor Manco (Who was hand picked to be the conquistadors puppet emperor) had his best general (who was the only Inca general successful against the Conquistadors in the Andes mountains using guerilla warfare and ambushes taking advantage of the steep topography of the land to neutralize the powerful effectiveness of the Conquistadors horses and marched 50,000 Incas to Lima and surrounded it with only 190 Conquistadores inside plus other tribes who were allied with the Conquistadors and the Incas attacked and the 100 Conquistadores on horses just massacred them on the open flat areas of the city so the Incas retreated and the Great Inca General decided that to take Lima they would have to do a "shock and awe" approach and have the whole Inca army try to overwhelm the few spanish defending Cuzco. Unfortunately the Incas believed in having their generals and leaders lead the troops into battle (to inspire the troops) so they were the first that the spanish would encounter on the battlefield and the General and his other commanders were wiped out immediately by the Conquistadors and without any Inca leadership the big army fell apart where the leaders of the Conquistadors (Pizarro) would stay far enough behind the action so to dictate and lead the men.
On a side note, Pizzaro who would be 64 years old and had a 17 year old Inca mistress in Lima and she was ironically the rebel Inca Emperor's (Mancos Inca) sister! Kind of strange but then again the previous Inca emperor Athualpa was busy trying to kill off all his brothers who could challenge his position as Inca Emperor. So not the closest family. When it came to power the Incas were similar to the Romans and would ruthlessly kill any family member that could possibly be a threat to them as their role as Inca emperor.
After they repelled the Inca forces with such few conquistadors, Francisco Pizzaro's old partner (Diego de Almagro) for the Conquest who was given the land of Chile (by the King of Spain) had just returned after finding nothing of value except fierce warrior tribes in Chile (who would resist the conquistadors invasions for another 200 years). At this point Diego de Almagro and his 500 conquistadors wanted some of Pizarro's booty and realized Peru was the treasure chest of South America and attacked the city of Cuzco where Francisco Pizarro's brothers (Gonzalo and Hernando) and a 100 other Conquistadores had been defending from the Incas for the past year and he over took these conquistadors by a surprise attack at 2am and claimed Cuzco for himself. Once they repelled the Incas they are busy fighting themselves to get that booty$$ that they all have dreamed of since arriving. At this point 500 Conquistadors from Mexico have just arrived in northern Peru who answered Francisco Pizzaro's letter for desperate need of assistance.
So with the failed attack on the Conquistadors in Lima with his 50,000 Inca warriors against 100 conquistadors plus thousands of allied native tribesmen with them and with his messengers now telling "Manco Inca" that 500 more conquistadors just returned from the south in Chile (Diego de Almagro) and now 500 more conquisadors are arriving from the north (From Hernan Cortes in Mexico to help stop the rebellion), the 21 year old Inca emperor "Manco Inca" realizing if he can't beat 100 conquistadors then he definitely can't beat 1000 more conquistadors so he decides to find another safer place to hide with his other Inca elites to continue the Inca rebellion.
Like the Egyptians, the Incas mummified the old Inca emperors going back to the first Emperor who started the Inca Empire 100 years earlier. Some of these competing conquistadors are sending letters to Manco Inca to side with him but he knows from his experience that the bearded foreigners only lie with their words and doesn't trust them. Hell, the conquistadors don't even trust themselves since they are always suspicious of each others movements and agendas. It is like being in a room with a pot of gold in the middle and you are looking at the competition eyeing up the gold trying to anticipate their thoughts with what they are planning to do since you know they all want the gold for themselves. Manco Inca had originally escaped from the Conquistadors in Cuzco after they had heard he had been planning an Inca rebellion and he knew how much they loved gold and just told Hernando Pizzaro (Franciso's brother looking after Cuzco) that he wanted to do a religious ceremony at a sacred Inca site and promised to bring back a gold statue for him and although Hernando's brothers had warned him not to let him go because of what they had heard, Hernando could only think about the gold and thought the young innocent Inca puppet Emperor would never do such a thing since he was such a good little puppet emperor of theirs. Seems like young Manco had studied the Conquistadors enough to know their buttons. Once he was allowed to leave Cuzco it would be 8 years of him orchestrating the Inca rebellion against the bearded foreign invaders. Of course once the Inca leader left and didn't return with the promised gold I am sure Hernando Pizzaro realizing he was duped by his own selfish greed by the young puppet emperor had one of those Homer Simpson "DOH!!" moments. If he didn't let him go they would have had the empire secured and no more unnecessary fighting for another 36 years since nothing can happen without the Inca emperor's approval.
Manco Inca would start a guerilla warfare campaign against the Conquistadors since the Conquistadors would always wipe them out on a battlefield no matter how many Inca warriors outnumbered the spaniards. Francisco Pizarro's old partner "Diego de Almagro" returned from Chile with his troops and they didn't find any treasure so decided to attack Pizarro's conquistadores in Cuzco and over took them. Diego De Almagro made the mistake of not killing both the captured Pizarro brothers (Gonzales and Hernando) and later released them to make peace but Franciso Pizarro had received troops from Hernan Cortez in Mexico and now the conquistadors are fighting each other and the Pizarros win and later execute Diego de Almagro and then go searching to find the Inca rebel emperor Manco Inco and capture his queen as Manco escapes. Manco sends a message to Francisco Pizarro that he wants surrender terms which Pizarro is happy about and sends him servants and gifts and telling Manco he will be pardoned but Manco kills all the servants that Pizarro sends to him and in retaliation Pizarro then executes his beloved queen (those he loves most) and his top Inca priests are all burned at the stake.
Is anybody bored yet???..... OK good. Lets continue.....
In 1540 Hernando Pizarro returned to Spain with some gold for the king (a bargaining chip) and to plea his case in executing Diego de Almagro but even with the best lawyers that money can buy he was sentenced to 23 years in jail. In 1541 many of Diego de Almagro's men decided to assassinate Francisco Pizarro in Lima and one of the 20 assassins confessed to a priest about this assassination plot during "confession time" at the local church and the priest warned Pizarro about this plot but Pizarro didn't take it seriously and on June 26th the 20 assassins showed up at his house where he was entertaining guests and most of his guests ran for their lives except for 4 who fought along side Pizarro before they all died. Most of these assassins died within a year of the assassination but 6 escaped and were "wanted men" so the only place they could seek refuge was with the rebel Inca emperor Manco Inca who was happy about the assassination of Pizarro and gave the 6 assassins refuge where they trained the Inca warriors against spanish attacks and the emperor regularly dined and played games with Pizarro's assassins over 2 years but these 6 assassins had no plans to live there forever but were patiently waiting for things to change in Peru (with Pizarro now gone) and a new leadership appointed by the King of Spain to take over where they could reintegrate into spanish society and 2 years later that happened and at that point the assassins decided it was now convenient to kill Manco Inca while they played horseshoes alone with the Inca emperor and then rode as fast as they could to Cuzco to inform them that they had killed the rebel Inca emperor and would be forgiven for killing Francisco Pizarro but the Incas caught up to them before they could and killed all 6 of them but now did not have a leader.
With Hernando Pizarro in jail for 23 years, Gonzalo was the last Pizarro brother in Peru and with this new appointed leader to now take over governorship of Peru that the Pizarro's and conquistadors had fought and risked their lives for he wasn't going to let this new governor appointed by the King of Spain just walk in and take over an empire they had fought for. So Gonzalo Pizarro rebelled against the King of Spain and in the process of getting spanish supporters killed 340 conquistadors who wouldn't support him which was more than the Incas were able to kill in all the previous years and he even caught and decapitated the Kings appointed leader of Peru. There was no way he was going to hand over control of the land he and his conquistadores had fought so hard for over the past 15 years just to pass it to some King appointed representitive who never dropped an ounce of blood for it. Once these guys get a taste of power they just can't let it go.
Well Gonzalo had never lost a battle and after 3 1/2 years (1548) the King of Spain sends another man to Peru who assembles an army but the King of Spain has secretly made backdoor deals with many of Gonzalo's men without him knowing about it and at the last minute as they are getting prepared for battle most of his men leave him at the last minute and he surrenders peacefully and the very next day they execute him by chopping off his head and taking away all his possessions and demolitioning all his homes and salting the earth where those homes were (all on the same day!!). Yeah, they didn't like him too much. So by 1548 all the Pizarro brothers are dead except for Hernando that is rotting in a jail cell back in Spain for 23 years. So happily ever after for all 5 of the Pizarro brothers.
After Manco Inca was assassinated in 1544 by the 7 spaniards (who also killed Francisco Pizarro in Lima) after giving them refuge from the Conquistadors. 16 years later in 1560 his son "Titu Cusi" would become the new Inca emperor at the age of 30 while they conducted guerilla warfare against the occupying conquistadors. He would later die of an illness in 1571 and then they appointed the last Inca emperor "Tupac Amaru" who would reign for only 16 months. The Incas didn't want the Conquistadors to know that Titu Cusi had died since it would show the conquistadors that the Incas were now weak and vulnerable so the Incas would just kill all missionaries and messengers that tried to send conquistadors messages to them and the Conquistadors took this as "unfriendly behaviour" so they planned to launch a final assault and squash the Inca rebellion once and for all that had been going on for 36 years beginning with Manco Inca in 1536.
The conquistadors beat them as they always do and chased the new Inca emperor 200 miles since there was a nice bounty on his head to any conquistador who caught him (9lbs of gold per year for the rest of their lives and the conquistadors childrens lives for the Conquistadore who catches the Incan emperor).
So they caught him and brought him back for a mock kangaroo court style of justice that even the best lawyer could not have helped since it was necessary for the Conquistadors to stamp out the last Inca emperor for good. He spends 3 days in "court" in September 1572 and they carry out the execution by beheading the next day. Surprising just before they are about to execute the last Inca Emperor "Tupac Amaru" he gives a speech in his own Inca language (Quechua) to his people so the spaniards won't understand it and he tells them the previous Inca leaders including himself have always deceived them by pretending they hear their orders from the sun god where it is all made up just to get the Inca people to get behind the Inca elites causes etc... The Inca people who were crying for their condemned Inca emperor were probably a little shocked to hear that confession!
The last 80 pages are about Hiram Bingham and how he discovered Machu Pichu and Vitco within a couple weeks apart from each discovery in 1911. Bingham would meet with other local Peruvian researchers and historians on the Incas and pick their brains using the clues/manuscripts from the Incas and Conquistadors descriptions of Vilcabamba (The Last Inca capital) and Vitco of 300 years before and then go out to those areas and offered the local people "financial rewards" if they would take Hiram Bingham to any ruins in the areas where they believed these places to be.
Within 2 weeks of arriving Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Pichu (or at least gets the credit for it) even though it is the local farmers and peasants that lead him to these ruins. As he is up there at Machu Pichu in 1911 he sees another explorers name written on one of the walls "Lizarraga, 1902" which was 9 years before Hiram Bingham.
National Geographic dedicates a whole issue to Hiram Bingham's discovery of Machu Pichu (Translates to "Old Peak") and he finally gets the world fame, status, and attention that he has always seeked. He brings a few other scholars in their various fields on his expedition and another guy is there to study the insects etc... and tells Hiram about a white rock (Chuquipalta) he spots which turns out to be another big discovery about the Incas and Hiram takes credit for it claiming he accidently found it but after later researchers go through both of their independant journals/diaries they realize the other guy found it first and must have told Hiram about it since the ruins were Hirams interest (Chuquipalta- A giant white rock that rose up beside a natural spring which the Incas used and was written about by the early spanish conquistadors).
Hiram Bingham had mistakenly claimed that "Machu Pichu" was the "Lost city of Vilcabamba" until a year after Binghams death an American named "Gene Savoy" came to Peru iun 1964 and retraced Binghams steps 40 years later and followed the old Inca trail and eventually came to one of the ruin sites where the Inca trail stops that Bingham had only spent a couple days at in 1911 and didn't give it much importance. Gene Savoy and his workers began hacking away the thick vines and vegetation that had overtaken the ancient city for 400 years and after a week of cutting they would find more stone buildings where it began to look like a huge ancient city instead of just a couple stone ruins when Bingham was there. Bingham didn't investigate for very long and couldn't see the invisible city that was hidden within the jungle that was vastly larger than Machu Pichu.
Cuzco is where most of the Inca ruins are located since it was the old Inca capital.
Franscico Pizarro was apparently a 2nd cousin to Hernan Cortes and most of the Conquistadores grew up in the same area of Spain coincidently. Pizarro came over to the New World in 1502 where modern day Haiti/Dominican republic was the place the spanish had thier original settlements and Pizarro had earned an estate from his participation in these conquests where he could have lived comfortably in Panama and was one of the first Europeans to discover the Pacific Ocean while he lived in Panama but like all conquistadores they don't just want some estate but want to join the spanish "elites" by ruling and governing their own conquered countries like Hernan Cortes was doing in Mexico. According to this book, conquistadores were not trained soldiers as much as they were entrepreneurs who would form a "corporation" with a CEO in charge and different conquistadores could invest in it like a stock by lending their horses, armour and weapons, ships, crops they grew etc... and they would get more of the booty if they invested more just like a modern day stock on a stockexchange.
Pizarro had formed 2 previous expeditions in the late 1520's and had gone down the coast of South America and saw lots of gold and silver that the Incas had which they were mainly after and he knew it was just a matter of time where word of this discovery would get out to other competing conquistadores about all this gold so he sailed to Spain immediately to get authority from the King of Spain for the sole right to claim the west coast of South America for the Spanish king. The Queen of Spain had an agreement draw up where Pizarro would have authority in South America on behalf of the King of Spain and that the King of Spain would not have to invest a dime into Pizarros expeditions (which Pizarro would have to finance himself like Cortes had done) and like Cortes agreement, the King of Spain would get 20% of all the booty (Gold, silver, merchandise, land, crops, slaves, etc...). Of course they didn't call it "plunder and booty" in their agreement and it had a more legalistic name to it (just so they didn't seem like pirates I guess).
Like Cortes in Mexico, when Pizarro came back to start his 3rd campaign in Ecuador after returning from Spain he would find the local Indians dying off from the small pox that the Europeans brought over with them and just 5 years earlier the Incan Emperor "Huayna Capac" had died of Small pox and now 2 of his sons (half brothers- Atahualpa from the North and Huascar from the south) were fighting each other over who would be the new Incan ruler. Atahualpa from the north had won and had his half brother "Huascar" held by his generals and made to watch the executions of his wives and children and all blood relatives before being made to march north by foot to his half brothers location. It was right after this 5 year civil war battle between these 2 competing Inca brothers that Pizarro and his conquistadores had just arrived for their 3rd expedition since the previous 2 expeditions were failures.
The new Incan emperor had been getting regular reports from his running scouts of all the conquistadores movements and activities right down to the specific details and number of casualities on each of their invasions and the new Incan emperor "Atahualpa" was curious about these strange white men with beards and metal armour riding on top of strange beasts so let them come closer to his location. There were only 168 conquistadores with Pizarro and the Incan emperor had 80,000 men at his desposal at that one location and the Inca emperor planned at some point to kill all the 168 conquistadores off since they were out numbered and then ride back to Cuzco to get his coronation as the new Inca emperor but first he wanted to satisfy his curiosity about the strange white foreigners. Pizarro invited the Inca emperor with 7000 of his generals, chiefs, and warriors who could fit into the walled town at Cajamarca and the other 73,000 Inca warriors couldn't fit into the walled city so stayed on the outskirts of the town and the 168 conquistadores were hiding out inside the stone buildings inside this town where they thought it would be certain death for them.
The Spanish Conquistadores were very arrogant and had told the Incas through translators that they were going to convert all the Incas to become Christians and the Inca emperor when presented with the bible basically threw it down on the ground which is when Pizarro gave the order to attack and 168 conquistadores bursted out of the stone buildings on command where some had horses and razor sharp swords and cannons in a "shock and awe" type of attack against the 7000 trapped Incas in the walled town of Cajamarca where it caught them off guard since the Incas thought it was obvious that the conquistadores were out numbered (400 to 1) and they weren't expecting it since they had heard from their scouts that the Conquistadors were hiding in the stone houses in complete fear (which was partially true of course when they realized their situation) and basically the conquistadores slaughtered all 7000 in the walled town within a matter of 2 hours without even one conquistadore casualty.
Pizarro immediately took the Inca Emperor "Atahualpa" as a hostage and was able to use him as a puppet leader getting him to run his empire just like Hernan Cortes had done after taking "Montezuma" as a hostage 13 years earlier. The Inca Emperor had told Pizarro he would give him a room full of gold as a ransom so he could buy his freedom. Pizarro wrote up an agreement with the help of his notaries (since Pizarro and most of the Conquistadores were illiterate) knowing full well he wasn't going to live up to his end of the agreement in the end. This was his one chance (like Cortes in Mexico) at victory and there was no way he was going to let the Inca emperor go free since that would have been the end of them. Take out the leader which is the head (Inca Emperor) and the body (Inca empire) crumbles. Hearing rumours of an oncoming Inca army towards the conquistadores they got frightened and decided to execute Atahualpa even though the emperor told them that there was no army since only he could give the order to make it happen. Well they didn't believe him and thought a good ole fashion burning was in order but after much discussion with the Spanish Friars that the Emperor had agreed to convert to Christianity so he could have another death that didn't involve burning his body since the Incas were superstitious about this in relation to the "afterlife". Of course after they executed Ayahualpa they realized the advancing Inca army was just a rumour since their wasn't one approaching.
From here the Conquistadores head down to the Inca capital of Cuzco (where Machu Pichu is located near) and after a quick battle take over the city and find another half brother (Manco Inca) who had been in hiding for his life for 5 years to become the new Inca puppet Emperor for the Conquistadores. It is amazing how such a small group of conquistadores (168) who have military technology over the Incas with armed horses which were their main weapon that killed the most on the battle field as well as swords, guns and cannons along with a good communication system during battle to form the best battle plans against such high numbers of Incas.
The Inca empire had only really been an empire for 90 years prior to Pizarro and the Spanish conquistadors showing up in South America in the 1530's. Hernan Cortes had shown up in Mexico in 1519 and was pretty much in control of Mexico by 1521 using machivellian techniques on each indian tribe and taking their Aztec leader hostage and consolidating power to himself and the Conquistadores. The conquistadores rarely had casualities in their many battles compared to the Incas since they had superior military technology and strategy for each situation where the Aztecs and Incas just had numbers that totally outnumbered the conquisadores by 500:1 type of ratios. It just proves if you have the knowledge and know-how that being outnumbered in a battle doesn't mean much if you use your resources properly. The Conquistadores excelled at this.
It was in the early 1400's (Around the same time of Joan of Arc in France) that the Incas were a small tribe and were being attacked by other tribes expanding their own empires. It was then that the son of the then Inca king took control of the Inca army and defeated these invading tribes one after another with obvious military skill and basically turned out to be like an "Alexander the Great" for the Incas as he had many victories expanded the little Inca village into a sizeable empire taking over most of Peru which is basically when the Inca "Operation: Kick ass" would commence as the next generation (his son) took over the rest of the territory to form the full Inca empire by the mid 1400's which was really Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador with probably parts of northern Chile and southern Colombia as well. The Incas had never even heard of their northern neighbors "the Aztecs" who ruled the area of modern day Mexico because the Incas only knew of the history in their territories. It is interesting that many parts of the world didn't have contact with each other but they begin doing the same things during their development as a society (Like the 100th monkey syndrome).
After the Conquistadores executed the Incan emperor "Athualpa" believing that he had planned an sneak attack on them behind their backs which wasn't the case and so the Conquistadors later attacked Cuzco (Where they knew all the Inca gold was stored) which was the Inca Capital and took possession of it and they found the 17 year old half brother (Manco Inca) of the old Incan emperor that they had just executed who had been in hiding for the last few years believing that the Inca emperor (his half brother) was going to kill off every possible heir to challenge his position (Just like the good old Roman days!). So Pizarro and the Conquistadores decided to make this 17 year old name "Manco Inca" their puppet Incan emperor as they went about consolidating power through this young heir and getting all the gold and silver they could to send back to Spain.
Pizarro left some Conquistadores in Cuzco to guard the capital and he went on to found his own city which is modern day Lima Peru. I don't know if anyone has seen the movie "A bug's life" where there is a small group of Elite (the grasshoppers) ruling the masses even though they are completely outnumbered by the ants. The conquistadores were in a similar situation where the conquistadores were out numbered 10,000 to 1 or more but forces their way into the Inca power structure and fed off the hard work of the Incas (sounds like a virus). Even though the young puppet emperor "Manco Inca" gives them everything they want believing they are here to liberate the Incas but it doesn't take long for the Incas and the young puppet emperor to realize the foreigners are only interested in the gold and silver and sucking all the resources from them and are always demanding more and they treat the new puppet emperor like shit and even one of Pizarro's younger brothers (Gonzales Pizzaro) decides he wants the new emperors wife (The queen) as his own and the conquistadors indulge to the extreme living like fat cats in this new land.
Well over a couple years the young puppet emperor who is at the top of the Inca pecking order where nothing can happen without his approval realizes the foreigners are just parasites milking them for everything and he escapes and organizes an Inca uprising around 1536AD and stays at a hidden location getting daily information on the Conquistadores movements through their Inca runner system. I mean stealing the emperors queen is just pushing the limits I think!! Take their gold but stay away from their women. That was one of the main things that were pissing off the Incas was the spanish showing up and taking the Inca mens pretty wives for their own cucubines. Their indulgence had no limits!! "I see it and now I want it!" mentality.
This young emperor was the great great grandson of that Inca Emperor of the early 1400's that made the Inca empire what it was. Knowing that they can't beat the Conquistadores with their invincible horses on the battlefield no matter how many Incas they have they finally change their strategy to guerrilla warfare and do small ambushes that turn out successfully for the Incas when there are only a few conquistadores or hide in narrow passage ways and ambush the Conquistadors successfully that way where their horses power is neutralized. In 5 years the Incas with their 10's of 1000's of warriors were only able to kill 30 spaniards (not very impressive eh? Hard to kill someone with stones when they are wearing metal armour) but with guerrilla warfare tactics were able to kill 40 spaniards in a 2 month period. Then they assembled all available Inca tribes around the area of modern day Peru to the Inca capital of Cuzco and cut off the conquistadors communication with the Conquistadors in Lima Peru where Francisco Pizzaro was building his new city.
Even with the 10's of 1000's of Incas attacking Cuzco (where Manco Inca was orchestrating the whole thing with his generals at an undisclosed location) the 190 conquistadores defending Cuzco were able to fend them off with only a few Conquistadore casualties. When you have metal armour, horses, and superior weapons and military experience (from fighting the Moors in Spain in the late 1400's) the Conquistadors were quite efficient leaving 100's of Incas dead of each day of fighting. The Incas had captured a spanish conquistadore on one of their ambushes and kept him alive and that spanish conquistadore had convinced Manco Inca that if he sent the heads of the dead spanish soldiers along with the ripped up paper (letters intercepted from Pizarro in Lima) then the conquistadors would be in fear and the Incas would get the upper hand. I thought this was clever on the part of the spanish soldier since he knew that the conquistadors in Cuzco had lost contact with the Conquistadors in Lima where the Governor General Francisco Pizzaro was since the Incas had broken those lines of communication and they didn't know whether they were dead from the Inca uprising or still alive and were deciding to try to break through the Inca army surrounding Cuzco to reach Lima but when they received the 5 spanish heads with the ripped up paper letters (which was just magical symbols to the Incas since they had no written language) it told the trapped Conquistadores in Cuzco that the Conquistadores had to still be in Lima Peru who were trying to send a telegram to the other Conquistadors in Cuzco so there was no need to try a suicide mission to break through the Inca army surrounding Cuzco since they knew Pizzaro and the Conquistadores were still in Lima.
At this point the Conquistadore who were totally in control up to the point of the Inca rebellion where their luck had changed for the worst and were desperate for fresh recruits since there were now only 400 conquistadores in South America (190 in Cuzco and 200 in Lima) trying to control the whole population (Millions of Incas) so Governor General Franciso Pizzaro wrote a letter to Hernan Cortes's 2nd in command in Mexico asking for help on behalf of the king of Spain (Since the king of Spain gets 20% of all the booty in Mexico and South American from the Conquistadores and definitely wants to keep this little gold and silver mine in production flowing to Spain for other wars in Europe).
It is amazing how fate can change on the turn of a dime. First the Emperor Athualpa who was the main emperor to confront the Conquistadors in 1532 where he was in complete control with his 80,000 troops against 200 or so Conquistadors and within 2 hours of that surprise attack from the Conquistadors where 7000 Incas were trapped and killed in that town by the Conquistadors and then the Inca Emperor was taken hostage by the Conquistadors where he was then essentially powerless and at the mercy of the Conquistadors (Just in a 2 hour period things changed when the Incas least expected it!). With "Manco Inca" as the Conquistadors "puppet Incan Emperor" things changed in a 2 month period as well where they had complete control over the infrastructure and within 2 months of the puppet emperor starting an Inca uprising now the Conquistadores are at the edge of extinction. Fate can be quite elusive at times.
Well with the Conquistadores divided by the Incas in Cuzco and Lima, the Inca emperor Manco (Who was hand picked to be the conquistadors puppet emperor) had his best general (who was the only Inca general successful against the Conquistadors in the Andes mountains using guerilla warfare and ambushes taking advantage of the steep topography of the land to neutralize the powerful effectiveness of the Conquistadors horses and marched 50,000 Incas to Lima and surrounded it with only 190 Conquistadores inside plus other tribes who were allied with the Conquistadors and the Incas attacked and the 100 Conquistadores on horses just massacred them on the open flat areas of the city so the Incas retreated and the Great Inca General decided that to take Lima they would have to do a "shock and awe" approach and have the whole Inca army try to overwhelm the few spanish defending Cuzco. Unfortunately the Incas believed in having their generals and leaders lead the troops into battle (to inspire the troops) so they were the first that the spanish would encounter on the battlefield and the General and his other commanders were wiped out immediately by the Conquistadors and without any Inca leadership the big army fell apart where the leaders of the Conquistadors (Pizarro) would stay far enough behind the action so to dictate and lead the men.
On a side note, Pizzaro who would be 64 years old and had a 17 year old Inca mistress in Lima and she was ironically the rebel Inca Emperor's (Mancos Inca) sister! Kind of strange but then again the previous Inca emperor Athualpa was busy trying to kill off all his brothers who could challenge his position as Inca Emperor. So not the closest family. When it came to power the Incas were similar to the Romans and would ruthlessly kill any family member that could possibly be a threat to them as their role as Inca emperor.
After they repelled the Inca forces with such few conquistadors, Francisco Pizzaro's old partner (Diego de Almagro) for the Conquest who was given the land of Chile (by the King of Spain) had just returned after finding nothing of value except fierce warrior tribes in Chile (who would resist the conquistadors invasions for another 200 years). At this point Diego de Almagro and his 500 conquistadors wanted some of Pizarro's booty and realized Peru was the treasure chest of South America and attacked the city of Cuzco where Francisco Pizarro's brothers (Gonzalo and Hernando) and a 100 other Conquistadores had been defending from the Incas for the past year and he over took these conquistadors by a surprise attack at 2am and claimed Cuzco for himself. Once they repelled the Incas they are busy fighting themselves to get that booty$$ that they all have dreamed of since arriving. At this point 500 Conquistadors from Mexico have just arrived in northern Peru who answered Francisco Pizzaro's letter for desperate need of assistance.
So with the failed attack on the Conquistadors in Lima with his 50,000 Inca warriors against 100 conquistadors plus thousands of allied native tribesmen with them and with his messengers now telling "Manco Inca" that 500 more conquistadors just returned from the south in Chile (Diego de Almagro) and now 500 more conquisadors are arriving from the north (From Hernan Cortes in Mexico to help stop the rebellion), the 21 year old Inca emperor "Manco Inca" realizing if he can't beat 100 conquistadors then he definitely can't beat 1000 more conquistadors so he decides to find another safer place to hide with his other Inca elites to continue the Inca rebellion.
Like the Egyptians, the Incas mummified the old Inca emperors going back to the first Emperor who started the Inca Empire 100 years earlier. Some of these competing conquistadors are sending letters to Manco Inca to side with him but he knows from his experience that the bearded foreigners only lie with their words and doesn't trust them. Hell, the conquistadors don't even trust themselves since they are always suspicious of each others movements and agendas. It is like being in a room with a pot of gold in the middle and you are looking at the competition eyeing up the gold trying to anticipate their thoughts with what they are planning to do since you know they all want the gold for themselves. Manco Inca had originally escaped from the Conquistadors in Cuzco after they had heard he had been planning an Inca rebellion and he knew how much they loved gold and just told Hernando Pizzaro (Franciso's brother looking after Cuzco) that he wanted to do a religious ceremony at a sacred Inca site and promised to bring back a gold statue for him and although Hernando's brothers had warned him not to let him go because of what they had heard, Hernando could only think about the gold and thought the young innocent Inca puppet Emperor would never do such a thing since he was such a good little puppet emperor of theirs. Seems like young Manco had studied the Conquistadors enough to know their buttons. Once he was allowed to leave Cuzco it would be 8 years of him orchestrating the Inca rebellion against the bearded foreign invaders. Of course once the Inca leader left and didn't return with the promised gold I am sure Hernando Pizzaro realizing he was duped by his own selfish greed by the young puppet emperor had one of those Homer Simpson "DOH!!" moments. If he didn't let him go they would have had the empire secured and no more unnecessary fighting for another 36 years since nothing can happen without the Inca emperor's approval.
Manco Inca would start a guerilla warfare campaign against the Conquistadors since the Conquistadors would always wipe them out on a battlefield no matter how many Inca warriors outnumbered the spaniards. Francisco Pizarro's old partner "Diego de Almagro" returned from Chile with his troops and they didn't find any treasure so decided to attack Pizarro's conquistadores in Cuzco and over took them. Diego De Almagro made the mistake of not killing both the captured Pizarro brothers (Gonzales and Hernando) and later released them to make peace but Franciso Pizarro had received troops from Hernan Cortez in Mexico and now the conquistadors are fighting each other and the Pizarros win and later execute Diego de Almagro and then go searching to find the Inca rebel emperor Manco Inco and capture his queen as Manco escapes. Manco sends a message to Francisco Pizarro that he wants surrender terms which Pizarro is happy about and sends him servants and gifts and telling Manco he will be pardoned but Manco kills all the servants that Pizarro sends to him and in retaliation Pizarro then executes his beloved queen (those he loves most) and his top Inca priests are all burned at the stake.
Is anybody bored yet???..... OK good. Lets continue.....
In 1540 Hernando Pizarro returned to Spain with some gold for the king (a bargaining chip) and to plea his case in executing Diego de Almagro but even with the best lawyers that money can buy he was sentenced to 23 years in jail. In 1541 many of Diego de Almagro's men decided to assassinate Francisco Pizarro in Lima and one of the 20 assassins confessed to a priest about this assassination plot during "confession time" at the local church and the priest warned Pizarro about this plot but Pizarro didn't take it seriously and on June 26th the 20 assassins showed up at his house where he was entertaining guests and most of his guests ran for their lives except for 4 who fought along side Pizarro before they all died. Most of these assassins died within a year of the assassination but 6 escaped and were "wanted men" so the only place they could seek refuge was with the rebel Inca emperor Manco Inca who was happy about the assassination of Pizarro and gave the 6 assassins refuge where they trained the Inca warriors against spanish attacks and the emperor regularly dined and played games with Pizarro's assassins over 2 years but these 6 assassins had no plans to live there forever but were patiently waiting for things to change in Peru (with Pizarro now gone) and a new leadership appointed by the King of Spain to take over where they could reintegrate into spanish society and 2 years later that happened and at that point the assassins decided it was now convenient to kill Manco Inca while they played horseshoes alone with the Inca emperor and then rode as fast as they could to Cuzco to inform them that they had killed the rebel Inca emperor and would be forgiven for killing Francisco Pizarro but the Incas caught up to them before they could and killed all 6 of them but now did not have a leader.
With Hernando Pizarro in jail for 23 years, Gonzalo was the last Pizarro brother in Peru and with this new appointed leader to now take over governorship of Peru that the Pizarro's and conquistadors had fought and risked their lives for he wasn't going to let this new governor appointed by the King of Spain just walk in and take over an empire they had fought for. So Gonzalo Pizarro rebelled against the King of Spain and in the process of getting spanish supporters killed 340 conquistadors who wouldn't support him which was more than the Incas were able to kill in all the previous years and he even caught and decapitated the Kings appointed leader of Peru. There was no way he was going to hand over control of the land he and his conquistadores had fought so hard for over the past 15 years just to pass it to some King appointed representitive who never dropped an ounce of blood for it. Once these guys get a taste of power they just can't let it go.
Well Gonzalo had never lost a battle and after 3 1/2 years (1548) the King of Spain sends another man to Peru who assembles an army but the King of Spain has secretly made backdoor deals with many of Gonzalo's men without him knowing about it and at the last minute as they are getting prepared for battle most of his men leave him at the last minute and he surrenders peacefully and the very next day they execute him by chopping off his head and taking away all his possessions and demolitioning all his homes and salting the earth where those homes were (all on the same day!!). Yeah, they didn't like him too much. So by 1548 all the Pizarro brothers are dead except for Hernando that is rotting in a jail cell back in Spain for 23 years. So happily ever after for all 5 of the Pizarro brothers.
After Manco Inca was assassinated in 1544 by the 7 spaniards (who also killed Francisco Pizarro in Lima) after giving them refuge from the Conquistadors. 16 years later in 1560 his son "Titu Cusi" would become the new Inca emperor at the age of 30 while they conducted guerilla warfare against the occupying conquistadors. He would later die of an illness in 1571 and then they appointed the last Inca emperor "Tupac Amaru" who would reign for only 16 months. The Incas didn't want the Conquistadors to know that Titu Cusi had died since it would show the conquistadors that the Incas were now weak and vulnerable so the Incas would just kill all missionaries and messengers that tried to send conquistadors messages to them and the Conquistadors took this as "unfriendly behaviour" so they planned to launch a final assault and squash the Inca rebellion once and for all that had been going on for 36 years beginning with Manco Inca in 1536.
The conquistadors beat them as they always do and chased the new Inca emperor 200 miles since there was a nice bounty on his head to any conquistador who caught him (9lbs of gold per year for the rest of their lives and the conquistadors childrens lives for the Conquistadore who catches the Incan emperor).
So they caught him and brought him back for a mock kangaroo court style of justice that even the best lawyer could not have helped since it was necessary for the Conquistadors to stamp out the last Inca emperor for good. He spends 3 days in "court" in September 1572 and they carry out the execution by beheading the next day. Surprising just before they are about to execute the last Inca Emperor "Tupac Amaru" he gives a speech in his own Inca language (Quechua) to his people so the spaniards won't understand it and he tells them the previous Inca leaders including himself have always deceived them by pretending they hear their orders from the sun god where it is all made up just to get the Inca people to get behind the Inca elites causes etc... The Inca people who were crying for their condemned Inca emperor were probably a little shocked to hear that confession!
The last 80 pages are about Hiram Bingham and how he discovered Machu Pichu and Vitco within a couple weeks apart from each discovery in 1911. Bingham would meet with other local Peruvian researchers and historians on the Incas and pick their brains using the clues/manuscripts from the Incas and Conquistadors descriptions of Vilcabamba (The Last Inca capital) and Vitco of 300 years before and then go out to those areas and offered the local people "financial rewards" if they would take Hiram Bingham to any ruins in the areas where they believed these places to be.
Within 2 weeks of arriving Hiram Bingham discovers Machu Pichu (or at least gets the credit for it) even though it is the local farmers and peasants that lead him to these ruins. As he is up there at Machu Pichu in 1911 he sees another explorers name written on one of the walls "Lizarraga, 1902" which was 9 years before Hiram Bingham.
National Geographic dedicates a whole issue to Hiram Bingham's discovery of Machu Pichu (Translates to "Old Peak") and he finally gets the world fame, status, and attention that he has always seeked. He brings a few other scholars in their various fields on his expedition and another guy is there to study the insects etc... and tells Hiram about a white rock (Chuquipalta) he spots which turns out to be another big discovery about the Incas and Hiram takes credit for it claiming he accidently found it but after later researchers go through both of their independant journals/diaries they realize the other guy found it first and must have told Hiram about it since the ruins were Hirams interest (Chuquipalta- A giant white rock that rose up beside a natural spring which the Incas used and was written about by the early spanish conquistadors).
Hiram Bingham had mistakenly claimed that "Machu Pichu" was the "Lost city of Vilcabamba" until a year after Binghams death an American named "Gene Savoy" came to Peru iun 1964 and retraced Binghams steps 40 years later and followed the old Inca trail and eventually came to one of the ruin sites where the Inca trail stops that Bingham had only spent a couple days at in 1911 and didn't give it much importance. Gene Savoy and his workers began hacking away the thick vines and vegetation that had overtaken the ancient city for 400 years and after a week of cutting they would find more stone buildings where it began to look like a huge ancient city instead of just a couple stone ruins when Bingham was there. Bingham didn't investigate for very long and couldn't see the invisible city that was hidden within the jungle that was vastly larger than Machu Pichu.
Cuzco is where most of the Inca ruins are located since it was the old Inca capital.
