Standing guard over the Urubamba Valley, the Sacred
Valley of the Incas, Ollantaytambo's great terraces and massive stoneworks
served as a ceremonial center and fortress, protecting the heart of the
Incan empire from its enemies. Its massive structures were crafted by
moving giant stones for miles using sheer manpower and ingenious engineering
devices. The builders even rechanneled a river to allow the giant stones
to be manoeuvred across. It was here at Ollantaytambo that the Incas
staged their last victory over the Spanish.
In 1536, the Inca ruler Manco Inca led a rebellion against the Spanish
invaders. To quell the rebellion, Francisco Pizarro dispatched his younger
brother, Hernando, to Ollantaytambo to capture Manco. With a force of
70 cavalry, 30 foot soldiers, and a “large contingent of native
auxiliaries,” the confident Spaniards planned a dawn attack to
surprise the sleeping Indians, but it didn't work. The Spaniards were
overwhelmed by showers of arrows, spears and boulders, which rained down
from the high terraces above the city. Then, by diverting the Patachanca
River through previously dug channels, the Incas flooded the plains below
the fortress, and the bewildered Spaniards found themselves mired in
mud and water up to their horses' bellies. They had no choice but to
retreat.
Pizarro returned, this time with four times the force. The city fell
but Manco escaped. Two years later Pizarro captured Manco's sister and,
when Manco refused to negotiate, had her stripped naked, flogged, and
shot to death with arrows. He then had her body tied to a raft and floated
down the Urubamba River. Pizarro was not a guy to mess with!
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