Brazil and Andean Highlands
Uploaded by Admin on Dec 15, 1999
The similarities between the societies found in Brazil and those found in the Andean Highlands are relatively few. The Andean Highland dwellers were mostly Incas, found in greatest numbers in Peru. The inhabitants of Brazil were mainly concentrated around the Amazon River Basin area. The Andean Highland people consisted in large part of the Inca civilization (the name of the ruling family, not an ethnicity). However, the geographic location of these societies is not the only disparity that exist between these groups of people. Perhaps the most striking of the differences is the characteristics of these societies and the advancements, or lack of, that where achieved in each. With each group having distinct characteristics in the way of life, government, and labor, this affected the colonizing groups in significantly different ways and ultimately lead to the prosperity or decline of the colony at that specific time.
The forms of rule in the Amazon Basin and the Andean Highlands were of great contrast. At the time of European discovery of the New World, there existed very little political hierarchy in the areas of the Amazon River Basin. At most, and this was fairly uncommon, there was a local tribal chief. However, the government did not extend any further. There was no network of higher ruling. This may have stemmed from the fact that villages were scattered around the Amazon, divided by dense forest. The tribal chiefs would make some village decisions and be a liaison with other local villages. Still, territorial war was a major aspect of the Amazon Basin dwellers' lives. This is in sharp contrast to the political system that existed in the Inca civilization. The Inca had a profoundly intricate political system that was based on rule that was inherited through blood lines. There were local, regional, and empire ruling leaders. These statesmen demanded tribute from the lower classes and also force labor upon them, but they did provide services for the good of the people and the empire. The leaderships had relatively few physical duties other than overseeing the domain that he ruled. Territorial war was also a characteristic of the Inca society. This society has often been labeled either a socialist empire or a welfare state.
Specifically, the people of the Amazon Basin lived in small villages around the Amazon River and relocated often (when the soil became fallow). They were a tribal society maintained itself through shifting...