Peru May Have Solved It

In the distance of the picture you can see the statue of Francisco Pizarro. The Spanish Conquest of Peru/Incan Empire was started by Pizarro. His cruelty and ruthlessness were his two best qualities, so if those are his best, what are his worst qualities? His greed was overwhelming and as part of his conquests he captured the Inca emperor, Atahualpa. A ransom for his release was a room filled with gold and the ransom was paid, but. Pizarro charged the emperor with various crimes and had him executed. So why would this man be honored with a huge statue in city square of Peru’s capitol?

I think the answer is in the quote, (misattributed to Winston Churchill) “History is written by the victors.” And Pizarro was the victor. The Incas were decimated by superior weapons, horses, and diseases the Spaniards brought with them. But recently there had been some reckoning about Peru’s violent history.

The rock in the foreground is from Machu Picchu and brought to be in close proximity to the Pizarro statue. According to our guide, there is a groundswell of support for the Inca people and a nostalgia for their history. This rock symbolizes the Inca people and their building prowess that culminated in the spectacular Machu Picchu.

In America we struggle with what to do about Columbus Day versus Indigenous Peoples Day. Columbus, not unlike Pizarro was responsible for genocide, enslavement, brutal punishment, and yet there is a National Holiday in his honor. Maybe we can learn something from Peru because when you know better, ideally you do better