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I have been surprised at how much the various tribes in the area aided the Spanish and helped the conquest. I expected the Inca population to be larger and more cohesive. It turns out they had been dominant in their civilization for less time than I had expected when the Spanish arrived. This book has been fascinating for what I am learing. I have been doing a lot of exploring on the web as I read to supplement. Pictures really help me to appreciate the text more. I'm still impressed by their civil engineering feats like the polygonal masonry and their high-altitude terraced gardens and storehouses. I even read a story about a group that maintains today a traditional suspension bridge to keep that skill alive.
Another thing that has surprised me is how little the Incas resisted the Spanish. I just finished the chapter on the Cusco rebellion. I suppose in the beginning they didn't know what to expect when these unfamiliar Europeans showed up. However their response really seems to run hot or cold. Warfare was still brutal and fierce on both sides. Kill the women, chop off their hands and heads, burn them alive, crush them with boulders and that sort of thing. Some of the descriptions from the contemporary accounts are chilling. I like the way that Hemming states these things so succinctly and matter of fact, yet it makes the impact of the words that more forceful and visual.
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