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Inca Empire

Government

History >> Aztec, Maya, and Inca for Kids

When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 1500s the Inca Empire was huge. It stretched for over 2000 miles from the north to the south and had a population of an estimated 10 million people. The Inca needed a sophisticated and organized government to maintain an empire this large.

Monarchy

The Inca government was called the Tawantinsuyu. It was a monarchy ruled by a single leader called the Sapa Inca.

Sapa Inca - The emperor or king of the Inca Empire was called the Sapa Inca, which means "sole ruler". He was the most powerful person in the land and everyone else reported to the Sapa Inca. His principal wife, the queen, was called the coya.

Inca Government Organization

Below the Sapa Inca were several officers who helped to rule the empire. High ranking officials were often relatives of the emperor and were always part of the Inca class.

Viceroy - Below the Sapa Inca was the viceroy, or Inkap Rantin. He was a close relative of the Sapa Inca and worked as his closest advisor.
High Priest - The high priest, called the "Willaq Umu", was also a very powerful man. He was probably second in power to the Sapa Inca due to the importance of religion in the Inca Empire.
Governors of a Quarter - The Inca Empire was divided up into four quarters. Each of these quarters was ruled by a governor called an Apu.
Council of the Realm - The Sapa Inca also kept a council of men who advised him on major matters. These men were powerful nobles.
Inspectors - In order to maintain control and to make sure people were paying their taxes and following the ways of the Inca, the Sapa Inca had inspectors that watched over the people. The inspectors were called "tokoyrikoq".
Military Generals - There were also military generals. The head general was usually a close relative of the Sapa Inca. These leaders were called "Apukuna".
Other Officials - There were many other government officials and leaders throughout the Inca Empire such as priests, military officers, judges, and tax collectors.

Dividing up the Empire

The Empire was divided up into quarters called "suyu". The four suyu were Chinchay Suyu, Anti Suyu, Qulla Suyu, and Kunti Suyu. At the center of the four quarters was the capital city of Cuzco.

Each suyu was then further divided into provinces called "wamani". A lot of times each wamani was made up of a tribe that had been conquered by the Inca. There were also smaller divisions within each wamani.

The smallest, and maybe the most important, division of government was the ayllu. The ayllu was made up of a number of families and often acted like a large family. The ayllu was responsible for paying taxes. Also, land was assigned by the government to each ayllu based on the number of people in the group.

Inca Taxes

In order to run the government, the Inca needed food and resources which they acquired through taxes. Each ayllu was responsible for paying taxes to the government. The Inca had tax inspectors that watched over the people to make sure that they paid all their taxes.

There were two main taxes that the people had to pay. The first tax was a portion of the ayllu's crops. The crops were divided up three ways with the first third going to the government, the second third to the priests, and the final third was for the people.

The second type of tax was called the mit'a. The mit'a was a labor tax that each man between the ages of 16 and 60 had to pay by working for the government for a portion of the year. They worked various jobs such as laborers on government buildings and roads, mining for gold, or even as warriors in the army.

Laws and Punishment

The laws were made by the Sapa Inca and passed down to the people through the tax collectors. Murder, stealing, cheating on taxes, and cursing the gods was all against the law.

However, there wasn't a lot of crime in the Inca Empire, mostly because the punishments were very harsh. For example, people were often executed for cursing the gods. If they were caught stealing, they would have their hands cut off.

Interesting Facts about the Government of the Inca Empire

Every ayllu had its own tax collector.
Although the Inca had a road system between the cities, commoners were not allowed to travel on the roads. The roads were guarded by the army and trespassers were usually killed.
The name for the inspectors "tokoyrikoq" is translated as "he who sees all".
Most conquered tribes were allowed to remain in their homelands. However, if they were considered rebellious, they would be moved to other areas of the empire.
The Inca roads were an important part of the Inca government as they were used for communication.

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