This episode features historians Tom Holland and Dominic Sandbrook continuing their series on the fall of the Inca Empire, focusing on the dramatic events of 1535-1537.

The discussion centers on Manco Inca's great uprising against Spanish rule, beginning with his secret gathering in Cusco in autumn 1535 where he delivered a stirring speech against Spanish oppression. Drawing extensively from The Conquest of the Incas by John Hemming, the hosts detail how Spanish conquistadors Francisco Pizarro and his brothers had installed Manco as a puppet emperor, only to systematically humiliate and abuse him.

The episode covers the massive siege of Cusco in 1536, where Manco's 100,000-strong army nearly succeeded in driving out the Spanish garrison, the dramatic street-by-street fighting that followed, and the eventual stalemate that led to Manco's strategic withdrawal to establish an Inca state in exile at Vilcabamba in the jungle.

Manco's Humiliation and the Seeds of Rebellion

Juan and Gonzalo Pizarro systematically humiliated Manco by kidnapping his sisters as concubines, with Juan taking the unmarried Inquil Koya and Gonzalo demanding Manco's wife Kura Okilo despite offers of silver

When Manco attempted to flee Cusco in November 1535, the Pizarro brothers captured him and subjected him to degrading torture: "They urinated and spat in his face. They struck and beat him. They called him a dog" - Cristobal de Molina

The high priest Vilak Umu returned from Diego de Almagro's disastrous Chile expedition with reports of Spanish brutality, telling Manco: "We cannot spend our entire lives in misery and subjection"

The Great Siege of Cusco Begins

Manco escaped Cusco in April 1536 by promising Hernando Pizarro a giant golden statue of his father, using Spanish greed against them

The Conquest of the Incas describes the assembled force as "the last great tribute to the Inca's genius for organization" - 100,000 warriors gathered from across the empire

Spanish observers reported the massive army: "there were so many troops they covered all the fields" by day, and by night "there were so many campfires that the land like a clear sky filled with stars"

On May 6th, 1536, Manco's forces used heated stones wrapped in cotton as incendiary projectiles, setting Cusco's thatched roofs ablaze and creating "one great sheet of flame"

The Battle for Sacsayhuamán Citadel

Juan Pizarro led 50 horsemen in a desperate charge up the hill to capture the strategic citadel overlooking Cusco, described as "one of the wonders of the world"

Juan Pizarro died after being struck by a massive stone while not wearing his helmet due to facial swelling from a previous injury, dictating a cruel final will that left nothing to his indigenous concubine

The citadel's commander Titu Cuzi Gualpa fought "like a lion" and killed his own men who tried to surrender before leaping to his death rather than be captured

After capturing the fortress, Hernando's men "rounded up 1,500 people and they put them all to the sword" in a massive massacre

Almagro's Return and the Three-Way Standoff

Diego de Almagro's expedition to Chile proved disastrous, marching past the massive silver mine at Potosí without realizing it contained "80% of the world's silver"

Almagro attempted to win Manco's alliance by writing: "My well-beloved son and brother, I'm so sorry for the abuse the Christians have done to your person"

Manco tested Almagro's loyalty by demanding he execute four Spanish scouts, but when Almagro refused, Manco concluded "these Spaniards will always stick together"

The messenger Rui Diaz suffered the series' most unusual torture: stripped naked, force-fed chicha beer, and pelted with guava fruit from slings before being shaved

Manco's Strategic Withdrawal to Vilcabamba

Realizing he couldn't defeat two Spanish armies, Manco withdrew from the highlands to establish an Inca state in exile at Vilcabamba in the jungle

Almagro installed Manco's half-brother Paulu as a new puppet emperor in July 1537, stripping Manco of his title as Sapa Inca

The final configuration left Francisco Pizarro controlling Lima on the coast, Almagro ruling Cusco in the highlands, and Manco establishing his jungle stronghold at Vilcabamba