Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui ( qu, 'Tupaq Inka Yupanki'), translated as "noble Inca accountant," (c. 1441–c. 1493) was the tenth

Sapa Inca The Sapa Inca (from Quechua ''Sapa Inka'' "the only Inca") was the monarch of the Inca Empire (''Tawantinsuyu''), as well as ruler of the earlier Kingdom of Cusco and the later Neo-Inca State. While the origins of the position are mythical and ...

(1471–93) of the

Inca Empire The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was

Pachacuti Pachacuti Inca Yupanqui ( qu, Pachakutiq Inka Yupanki) was the ninth Sapa Inca (1418–1471/1472) of the Kingdom of Cusco which he transformed into the Inca Empire ( qu, Tawantinsuyu). Most archaeologists now believe that the famous Inca si ...

, and his son was

Huayna Capac Huayna Capac (with many alternative transliterations; 1464/1468–1524) was the third Sapan Inka of the Inca Empire, born in Tumipampa sixth of the Hanan dynasty, and eleventh of the Inca civilization. Subjects commonly approached Sapa Inkas add ...

. Topa Inca belonged to the ''Qhapaq panaca'' (one of the clans of Inca nobles). His wife was his older sister, Mama Ocllo.de Gamboa, P.S., 2015, History of the Incas, Lexington,

Biography

His father appointed him to head the

Inca The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...

army in 1463. He extended the realm along the Andes through modern

Ecuador Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ' ...

,Prescott, W.H., 2011, The History of the Conquest of Peru, Digireads.com Publishing, and developed a special fondness for the city of

Quito Quito (; qu, Kitu), formally San Francisco de Quito, is the capital and largest city of Ecuador, with an estimated population of 2.8 million in its urban area. It is also the capital of the province of Pichincha. Quito is located in a valley on ...

, which he rebuilt with architects from Cuzco. During this time his father

reorganized the kingdom of Cuzco into the ''Tahuantinsuyu'', the "four provinces." Tupac Inca led extensive military conquests to extend the Inca empire across much of Southern America. He became Sapa Inca (sole ruler) in his turn upon his father's death in 1471, ruling until his own death in 1493. He conquered Chimor, which occupied the northern coast of what is now

Peru , image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg , image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg , other_symbol = Great Seal of the State , other_symbol_type = National seal , national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...

, the largest remaining rival to the Incas. He conquered the province of Antis and subdued the Collas. He imposed rules and taxes, creating two Governor Generals, Suyuyoc Apu, one in Xauxa and the other in

Tiahuanacu Tiwanaku ( es, Tiahuanaco or ) is a Pre-Columbian archaeological site in western Bolivia near Lake Titicaca, about 70 kilometers from La Paz, and it is one of the largest sites in South America. Surface remains currently cover around 4 square kilo ...

. Tupac Inca Yupanqui created the fortress Saksaywaman on the high plateau above Cuzco, which included storehouses for provisions and clothing. Tupac Inca died about 1493 in Chincheros, leaving two legitimate sons, and 90 illegitimate sons and daughters. Chuqui Ocllo, one of the wives of Tupac Yupanqui, convinced him that his son Ccapac Huari would succeed him, however, Topa Inca Yupanqoi changed his mind and decided on his son Titu Cusi Hualpa (who would later become emperor

). This provoked anger in Chuqui Ocllo and she poisoned Topa Inca. She and her favorite son were both killed soon after Topa Inca's death.

The Pacific Expedition

Legend

Topa Inca Yupanqui is also credited with leading a roughly 10-month-long voyage of exploration into the

Pacific The Pacific Ocean is the largest and deepest of Earth's five oceanic divisions. It extends from the Arctic Ocean in the north to the Southern Ocean (or, depending on definition, to Antarctica) in the south, and is bounded by the contine ...

around 1480, reportedly visiting islands he called ''Nina Chumpi'' ("fire belt") and ''Hawa Chumpi'' ("outer belt", also spelled ''Avachumpi, Hahua chumpi''). The voyage is mentioned in the ''History of the Incas'' by

Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa (1532–1592) was a Spanish explorer, author, historian, mathematician, and astronomer. His birthplace is not certain and may have been Pontevedra, in Galicia, where his paternal family originated, or Alcalá de Henare ...

in 1572. Pedro Sarmiento described the expedition as follows:

:…there arrived at Tumbez some merchants who had come by sea from the west, navigating in balsas with sails. They gave information of the land whence they came, which consisted of some islands called Avachumbi and Ninachumbi, where there were many people and much gold. Tupac Inca was a man of lofty and ambitious ideas, and was not satisfied with the regions he had already conquered. So he determined to challenge a happy fortune, and see if it would favour him by sea.… :The Inca, having this certainty, determined to go there. He caused an immense number of balsas to be constructed, in which he embarked more than 20,000 chosen men.… :Tupac Inca navigated and sailed on until he discovered the islands of Avachumbi and Ninachumbi, and returned, bringing back with him slaves, gold, a chair of brass, and a skin and jaw bone of a horse. These trophies were preserved in the fortress of Cuzco until the Spaniards came. The duration of this expedition undertaken by Tupac Inca was nine months, others say a year, and, as he was so long absent, every one believed he was dead. :�
"¿Viajarón los Incas por Oceanía?"
Revista Enraizada. (In Spanish) 2020.

Analysis

Many historians are skeptical that the voyage ever took place. Supporters have usually identified the islands with the

Galápagos Islands The Galápagos Islands ( Spanish: , , ) are an archipelago of volcanic islands. They are distributed on each side of the equator in the Pacific Ocean, surrounding the centre of the Western Hemisphere, and are part of the Republic of Ecuad ...

. It has also been suggested that one of the islands was

Easter Island Easter Island ( rap, Rapa Nui; es, Isla de Pascua) is an island and special territory of Chile in the southeastern Pacific Ocean, at the southeasternmost point of the Polynesian Triangle in Oceania. The island is most famous for its nearl ...

, where oral traditions have claimed that a group of long-eared '' hanau eepe'' came to the island from an unknown land.The "Hanau Eepe", their Immigration and Extermination
Rongorongo.

References

External links