|
Wade Davis on Inca Society
"The Incas ruled with absolute power but understood
that a people well fed and treated fairly produced more and worked harder than those suffering from injustice and
privation. The entire system was based on the enlightened self-interest of a nobility that derived its authority
from the gods and its power from the control of the most formidable armies of the known world. Demands on the individual
were severe, but predictable and consistent. The state guaranteed freedom from every sort of want and in exchange
demanded heavy tribute in labor. This fundamental reciprocity allowed the ruling elite to harness tremendous levies
of workers to build the great public works of the empire. Evidence of their tireless works is found everywhere
in Peru today: rivers channeled and straightened to liberate precious agricultural land, massive boulders carved
into ceremonial pools or decorated with wild facades of iconography, remnants or royal roads, bridges, palaces,
and way stations."
Wade Davis, One River, 1996
Continued: People of the Rainforest
[an error occurred while processing this directive]
|
