“The condition of the peasant in Peru,” summarizes Mr. T. A. Joyce,
“approximated nearer to the ideals of the doctrinaire socialist than
in any country of the world. But it was at a price which, perhaps,
the native of no other country would consent to pay. From the cradle
to the grave the life of the individual was marked out for him; as he
was born, so would he die, and he lived his allotted span under the
ceaseless supervision of officials. His dress was fixed according to
his district; he might not leave his village except at the bidding of
the state, and then only for state purposes; he might not even seek
a wife outside of his own community. An individual of ability might,
perhaps, rise to be one of the subordinate inspectors, but the higher
ranks were inexorably closed to him.”
[Illustration: THE CONCACHA STONE
A famous “Huaca” (meaning “holy”). The name was applied to material
objects, such as rocks, etc., which were worshiped]
Because of this despotism, which placed all the labor in the hands
of the state, the Incas were able to achieve marvels in the way of
building, road-making, irrigation works, and agricultural engineering.
Inherently an agricultural people, the greatest efforts of the ancient
Peruvians seem to have been exerted, not in building tombs for the
dead, as did the Egyptians, but in making conditions better for the
living. It is true that a great deal of labor was expended on the
wonderful palaces of their rulers. Each successive Inca thought it
necessary to rear an edifice for himself. But the greater part was
employed for the benefit of the country as a whole, in irrigation and
other projects. Water was brought many miles, and regions which today
are desolate through the Spaniards’ failure to keep in repair the
ditches and canals were flourishing agricultural communities in the
days of the Incas. Rampant streams that threatened to destroy fertile
valleys were penned within stone walls. Roads made throughout the whole
dominion were useful, of course, for the transportation of troops, but
especially valuable because the intershipment of crops was thereby made
easy.
[Illustration: MACHU PICCHU