The Inca vs. Modern Day America |
The Inca vs. Feudal Europe |
Class Structure:
America's class structure is kind of unique. We don't have a large class of farmers. We have what is called a "Middle Class" These are people who work and earn their own money, but don't necessarily owe anything or belong to the people who are richer than them. They can own their own homes and become wealthy if they work hard enough. Also, our rulers are not necessarily the most wealthy people in our country. Our rulers are chosen by the people through an election process and are paid for doing their jobs. This doesn't mean that we don't have a wealthy elite, we most definitely do, but their wealth is not always decided by birth. Our class structure is not very strict, there is a lot of room for movement. The Incan class structure, on the other hand, was very strict. The class you were born into was most often the class you stayed in. |
Class Structure:
When it comes to class structure, the Inca and Medieval Europe seem very different, but essentially you have a large working class supporting a wealthy elite. At the top of the Incan Class structure was a ruler called "Sapa Inca." Sapa Inca owned everything in the Incan empire, kind of like the monarch (or king) owned everything in European feudalism. Beneath both Sapa Inca and the European Monarchs were a class of nobles who helped their leaders rule and controlled the land. Incan nobility was unique because there were multiple levels of Incan nobility: Capac Incas, Hahua Incas, and curacas. In the Incan empire, there were commoners directly below the Nobles who farmed the land and made the food-- they were kind of like European peasants. The biggest difference seems to be that the Europeans had a an entire class of warriors above the peasants. These warriors were called knights. -Textbook |
Religious Beliefs:
The Incans seemed to have very cohesive and united religious beliefs. Everyone seemed to believe in multiple gods, and the ceremonies and sacrifices seemed to be very much part of their culture. Today, the U.S. seems to be much more diverse. Not everyone holds the same religious beliefs. Some people believe in one God (Christians, Muslims, and Jews). Some people don't believe that God exists (they are called Atheists). Many eastern religions (such as Hinduism and Buddhism) teach that there are multiple gods, but they focus less on the gods and more on teaching people how to live a moral life. Most religions today do not believe that it is necessary to make blood sacrifices to keep God (or the gods) happy. |
Religious Beliefs
The religious beliefs of the Inca and Medieval Europe could not be more different. In Medieval Europe. they followed a religion called Roman Catholicism. Roman Catholicism was run by a large political structure called the Catholic Church. They had a very import religious book called the Bible that taught them how to live and taught them things ranging from how the world was created to how they should live their daily lives. Roman Catholicism taught that there was one Creator God. The Incans were polytheistic, meaning they believed that there were many gods. The most important god to them was Inti, the sun god. The Incas also believed that spirits dwelled in sacred objects and places called huacas. One way that they were similar to the Roman Catholics was that they did have priests who conducted ceremonies where they worshipped their gods. -Textbook |