Travel Reference
In-Depth Information
c 850
The Chimú begin development of Chan Chan, outside of present-day Trujillo, a
sprawling adobe urban center.
1100-1200
The Incas emerge as a presence in Cuzco; according to legend, they were led to the
area by a divine figure known as Manco Cápac and his sister Mama Ocllo.
1438-71
The reign of Inca Yupanqui - also known as Pachacutec - represents a period of ag-
gressive empire-building for the Incas; during this time, Machu Picchu and Saqsay-
wamán are built.
1492
Funded by the Spanish crown, Genoa-born explorer Christopher Columbus arrives in
the Americas.
1493
Inca Huayna Cápac begins his reign, pushing the empire north to Colombia; his un-
timely death in 1525 - probably from small pox - would leave the kingdom fatally di-
vided.
1532
Atahualpa wins a protracted struggle for control over Inca territories; at virtually the
same time, the Spanish land in Peru - in less than a year, Atahualpa is dead.
1572
Túpac Amaru, the monarch who had established an Inca state independent of the Span-
ish at Vilcabamba, is captured and beheaded by colonial authorities.
1609
Mestizo writer and thinker El Inca Garcilaso de la Vega publishes
Los Comentarios
Reales
(The Royal Commentaries), a celebrated narrative of Inca life before and after
the conquest.
