Diseases and Illnesses

According to research, the Incas weren’t very concerned about health and didn't catch many diseases before the big war waged between the Inca empire and the Spaniards. When the war had begun the Spaniards had steel swords and the Incas had wooden clubs. Even in the beginning, the Incas had already started to fall. As the Spaniards stayed closer and longer near the empire, many of the Incas fell sick with the disease of smallpox. The reason why this disease only spread after their arrival was because diseases are normally carried by herd domestic animals such as sheep and pigs. Although llamas are also of this category there were not massive herds of them living in the empire. People of Eurasia were normally the ones to get the diseases since they were always near sheep and pigs and were exposed to the diseases. As time went by they developed an immune system for the animals but still carried the disease to other places. Ever since the disease had been exposed many had died including the Sapa Inca who was in rule in that period of time. This had caused great devastation and depression among the people which resulted into the Incas psychological health being threatened. The priests had started to bring out prayers and such with the idea of healing the Incas but to no avail.

 Therefore, the Spaniards used biological weapons more than military conquest when waging war on other empires which caused the estimated amount of 95 percent of the population of Native Americans through North and South America to die an unpleasant death. Around 50 percent of Incas died from the smallpox disease. After smallpox the flu, typhus and several more illnesses had appeared which threatened the Inca empire constantly until the Spanish took over.