Timed Reading — TOEFL Academic

The Inca Empire was the largest empire in the Americas before European contact. At its peak in the early sixteenth century, it stretched along the western coast of South America for over 4,000 kilometers, covering parts of modern-day Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Chile, and Argentina, making it larger than most European kingdoms of the time. The Inca called their empire Tawantinsuyu, meaning "the four regions," and governed it from their capital city, Cusco.

The Inca were remarkable engineers. Without the use of the wheel or iron tools, they built an extensive network of roads totaling over 40,000 kilometers, complete with rest stations and messenger relay points. These roads connected remote mountain villages to the capital and allowed soldiers, goods, and information to move quickly across the empire. The Inca also built in stone with extraordinary precision. Their walls were constructed without mortar — the stones fit together so tightly that even today a knife blade cannot pass between them.

The empire was held together by a strong central government. The emperor, known as the Sapa Inca, was believed to be a descendant of the sun god Inti. Citizens paid taxes not in money but in labor, a system called mit'a, often working on farms, roads, or temples. In return, the state provided food, clothing, and security during difficult times.

The Inca Empire collapsed with unexpected speed. In 1532, the Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro arrived with fewer than 200 soldiers, despite being vastly outnumbered by Inca forces. He captured the Inca emperor Atahualpa and demanded an enormous ransom of gold and silver. After receiving the ransom, the Spanish executed Atahualpa anyway. Without their emperor, the Inca leadership disintegrated rapidly.

Spanish weapons, horses, and European diseases — to which the Inca had no immunity — completed the destruction of the empire within a few decades.