9781422280263

The Aztec priests rebelled. Montezuma was killed, and the Spaniards were driven out of Tenochtitlán. However, they returned in 1521 to defeat the Aztecs and took over the Aztec empire. In 1532, a second Spanish conquistador, Francisco Pizarro, was facing a similar situation in Tahuantinsuyu, the great Inca empire that covered present-day Peru, Bolivia, and Ecuador, as well as parts of Chile. Pizarro’s army was even smaller than Cortés’s—only 180 men. Soon after he arrived at the Inca town of Cajamarca, Pizarro took as his hostage the Inca ruler, Sapa Inca (Supreme Lord) Atahualpa. Just as Cortés had done 13 years earlier in Mexico, Pizarro was making sure that he and his army would be safe. Atahualpa had extraordinary power over his Inca subjects: they believed he was a god and obeyed him without question. So when Atahualpa offered Pizarro a gigantic ransom for his freedom—a room full of gold, and two rooms of silver—the Incas obediently collected these precious metals from all over Tahuantinsuyu. Atahualpa now expected to be released. And Pizarro now realized just how powerful his hostage was; the Sapa Inca could order his people to do anything. What if he directed his subjects to kill all Spaniards? Pizarro could not afford to let Atahualpa go. Instead, he executed his hostage in 1533. Why Take Hostages? Hostage taking is a form of blackmail. Terrorists kidnap people to use as a bargaining chip in negotiations with governments and other authorities.  The terrorists can make many demands: large amounts of money; an aircraft or other vehicle so that they can escape arrest; or the release from prison of a criminal connected with the terrorist organization. Whatever they want, the threat is the same: “You agree to our demands, or we will kill our hostages.”  It is a very dangerous situation, but it has certain advantages for the terrorists. All extremists and terrorists need and want publicity, so that the cause for which they are fighting becomes known. They know that if they take hostages, this will be widely reported on TV and in newspapers.  Taking hostages brings other benefits as well. It lets terrorists show how powerful they are by making problems for governments and forcing them to spend time, money, and effort to counter them.

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