Peru

The military history of Peru and the Peruvian experience of war remain extremely controversial for a wide range of reasons. The first of these has to do with the Incas who established the largest empire in pre-Columbian America, centered in Cusco in modern-day Peru. It lasted from the 13th century to 1533 when it was destroyed by the Spanish Conquistadors.

On account of the nature of its savage destruction, some recent historians have dealt in a kindly fashion with how the empire was established, often contrasting it to the blood rituals in the Aztec Empire. However, it is likely that the Incas were able to establish and keep together such a large political state only by force or threat of force. They certainly had a significant ...