The ruler of the Incas during the time of the Spanish invasion was a man named Atahaulpa. His road to rule is marked with blood, betrayal, and murder. Before Atahaulpa became INCA, his father Hoya Copec named both Atahaulpa and his brother Huascar. Neither brother wanted his decision, but out of respect to their father, neither made a push until he was dead. A third brother was also around, but not really in the picture for leadership. His name was Nina

Huaya Copec predicted that he would be the last INCA. He told both his sons that they need to listen to the strangers. Prior to Pizzaro arriving, the Spanish made two attempts into Inca lands. Neither were successful. Once Huaya Copec died (small pox), the two brothers split the empire in half. Allegiances were split, family members and loyal government officials were forced to choose between the two brothers. The years that followed 1526, were bloody and violent. Many Incans died and many great leaders were beat. Because they lost, they lost their lives in capture. The last part of the civil war saw Atahaulpa erasing his brother's name from all records.

Haley's Comet was an event that was charted and seen as an important celestial occurrence for the Inca. In the year of the return of Haley's Comet, during the civil war, cryptically, omens foresaw the coming destruction of the Incas. During the Festival of the Sun, which is the largest festival of the Incas, an eagle was seen in the air. At first this was seen as a good thing since the eagle was a symbol of the gods. The eagle fell to the earth dead. Many of the elders saw this as very, very bad.

In the months that come, a comet pasted across the moon and created a haze over the moon. The colors the Incans saw made them scared. The first ring of haze was red. This was bad. The elders saw this as blood. This blood was going to be spilled through a war that the Incas could not win.

The second ring was greenish-black. This was interpreted as the end of the Inca's faith and their laws. When the Spanish came, there were forced to convert to Christianity and obey Spanish rule. This was not the worst news from the comet.

The third ring made the Incans really upset. The smoke on the outer rim of the moon was interpreted the eventual removal of the Inca from the earth. Smoke just disappears, and pretty much so did the Incas. The Spanish destroyed the majority of the Incas. The ones that got away, escaped into the high altitudes of the Andes.

The man that conquered the Incas was the conquistador, Francisco Pizzaro. Pizzaro was just like any other conquistador. His lust for power, money, and fame drove him to destroy an entire people. Pizzaro was able to capture Atahaulpa rather easily. Like Cortez, Pizzaro portrayed himself through religion. Unlike Cortez Pizzaro did not call himself an outright god, he claimed to be god-like. For the Incas, this was not far fetched considering the Atahaulpa was considered a walking god on earth himself. At the Battle of Cajamarca in 1532 Pizzaro was able to defeat over 8,000 Inca with a force smaller than 200 men.

Atahaulpa was held for a huge ransom of gold. Atahaulpa promised Pizzaro a room full of gold. Pizzaro agreed to let the Incas buy his freedom. In the end, the Incas did raise the ransom, but they killed him anyway. The amount of gold and silver were astounding, the Incas delivered 7 tons of gold and 13 tons of silver. Each conquistador receive a share of 45lbs of gold and 90 lbs of silver. Atahaulpa during his captivity ordered the death of his brother Huascar because Atahaulpa believed that he would be freed and he didn't want his brother to get the upper hand. Huascar's men did not side with Atahaulpa after, they saw Atahaulpa as a larger threat compared to the Spanish.

After the death of Atahaulpa, Pizzaro realized the value of customs and traditions. He placed a step-brother Manco Inca on the throne to be his puppet. Manco Inca was chosen because Pizzaro believed he could easily control him. During his occupation, Pizzaro created a new city, Lima as his capital. Now that the Incas were no longer a threat, Pizzaro needed to worry about his own Spanish. A Spanish officer, Pedro de Almagro started to complain and question Pizzaro since he was left out of some of the money earned. At this same time Manco Inca showed his true intentions and attempted to assassinate Pizzaro. It failed and Manco Inca and his people fled deeper into the mountains.

The feud between Pedro de Almagro and Francisco Pizzaro became more intense. Almagro arrests Pizzaro's brothers and has them executed. In 1538 Pizzaro returned the favor. He defeated Almagro and had him beheaded. No more than 3 years later, Almagro's son and a group of dissatisfied conquistadors raided Pizzaro's home and killed him. Besides revenge, one of the reasons for the death of Pizzaro was his failure to give away land which he promised many years ago. Manco Inca provides asylum Almagro and his assassins as Pizzaro's' men search for them. While in the mountains, the assassins turned on Manco Inca and killed him to show the Spanish that they are still loyal to the crown.

Charles V is tired of the out of control attitude of the Spanish in South America, and he sends a new governor to settle down the conquistadors. The conquistadors led by Pizzaro's son kill him along with 350 other Spanish that they suspect will double-cross them. By 1548, Charles V sends a large enough force to stop the Conquistadors. They were given a choice to surrender and be pardoned or fight and die. The vast majority chose surrender.