Chapter 3 "Collision at Cajamarca" Summary and Analysis

The conquest of the Americas by Europeans was one of the biggest population shifts of modern times. The first encounter between Inca emperor Atahuallpa and Spanish conquistador Francisco Pizarro in the Peruvian highlands illustrates the factors that helped determine the outcome in many similar situations across the globe. Although the Incas outnumbered the Spanish, Pizarro's forces were able to defeat, kill, and enslave the Indians. Diamond analyzes the events of this situation in an attempt to discover what factors helped Europeans win similar battles.

Diamond argues that Pizarro's military advantage lay with the steel swords, steel armor, and the horses that the Spanish used. Atahuallpa's troops used only stone, bronze, and wooden clubs, slingshots, and quilted armor. The Spanish army reaped great advantages from the use of horses in their conquests. Horses provided...