A provincial administrator displaying quipus.
These knotted accounting devices were crucial to
administering the far-flung provinces of the Inca
Empire. Guaman Poma de Ayala, Felipe. El
primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno. Edited by
John V. Murra and Rolena Adorno, 320/348.
Mexico City: Siglo Veintiuno, 1980 [1615].To rule over a diverse and far-flung realm, the Incas employed a range of
administrative strategies that varied in intensity and adapted to local conditions.
Research in recent years has revealed that Inca rule was either “direct” or
“indirect.” In cases of indirect rule, the Incas governed through local allies—
coastal rulers and highland headmen—who remained in power but gave limited
tribute to the Inca ruler and allowed state officials to develop resources not in
use at the time of annexation. Several chronicles indicate that the Incas
attempted indirect rule as an initial strategy during their early period of territorial
expansion, but they also note that local leaders frequently rebelled against their