Question

As this kingdom was so vast, in each of the many provinces there were many storehouses filled with supplies and other needful things; thus, in times of war, wherever the armies went they drew upon the contents of these storehouses, without ever touching the supplies of their confederates or laying a finger on what they had in their settlements . . . Then the storehouses were filled up once more with the tributes paid the Inca. If there came a lean year, the storehouses were opened and the provinces were lent what they needed in the way of supplies; then, in a year of abundance, they paid back all they had received. No one who was lazy or tried to live by the work of others was tolerated; everyone had to work. Thus on certain days each lord went to his lands and took the plow in hand and cultivated the earth, and did other things. Even the Incas themselves did this to set an example. And under their system there was none such in all the kingdom, for, if he had his health, he worked and lacked for nothing; and if he was ill, he received what he needed from the storehouses. Based on the excerpt, what can you conclude about the Inca government?

Answer 1

The Inca Empire needed an organized and efficient government to administer vast territories. The power was centralized in the Inca (emperor), who was granted a divine origin. It is necessary to emphasize the operation of two basic principles: the reciprocity and the redistribution. Reciprocity, from an existence prior to the Inca domain, was a mechanism that operated within the villages and communities, allowing mutual aid, cooperation and the regulation of exchanges. For example, agricultural work was carried out by all the members of an family group by virtue of the ties of reciprocity in force, and the product of labor was shared among all.