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Inca Empire: Tupac Yupanqui's Northern Conquests

Type Event Region South America Time 1485–1490

In the mid-to-late 1480s, Inca Sapa Inca Tupac Yupanqui launched large-scale northern campaigns, conquering coastal and highland chiefdoms of Ecuador…

Timeline

  1. 1485–1487Mountain passes of the northern Andes · EcuadorTupac Yupanqui personally led tens of thousands of troops northward from the imperial heartland, crossing treacherous mountain passes, defeating highland chiefdom alliances such as the Cañari, and seizing strategic routes into the Ecuadorian interior.
  2. 1487–1490Quito and the Ecuadorian coast · EcuadorInca forces advanced along multiple routes to conquer Ecuador's coastal polities and the Quito highlands, incorporating local rulers into the imperial tribute system and building extensions of the Inca road, bringing the empire's northern frontier near the present-day southern border of Colombia.

Sources