The Sapa Inca
and his Government

The Sapa Inca was all-powerful. He ruled everything. He made all the laws. Everything was the responsibility of the Sapa Inca, and nothing could be done until the Sapa Inca approved it. How did the Sapa Inca rule 12 million people all by himself? That's easy. He didn't.

The Sapa Inca organized his government in a pyramid.

• Alone at the top of the pyramid was the Sapa Inca
  

• Supreme Council (4 men)
  

• Provincial Governors
  

• Officials (army officers, priests, judges, and others from the noble class) These individuals could ride in a litter and had other special privileges not enjoyed by the general population.
  

• Tax collectors. There were several levels of tax collectors. There was one tax collector for every ayllu (for every family group.) That tax collector reported to a collector higher up the scale who might be in charge of 10 ayllus. And so it went. Tax collectors could be in charge of 100 people or 10,000 people. Their rung on the social scale was measured accordingly.
  

• Workers. At the bottom of the pyramid were the workers. Workers were organized into family units called ayllus. Most of the people in the Inca Empire were workers.

 

When the Sapa Inca made a new law, he told the top tax collectors. They told the tax collectors who reported to them, who told the next level down, and so on, until everyone every farmer and every family in the empire heard the news. Since the workers could not vote or voice an opinion, that was the end of it until the Inca made a new law. Word would come down. If you broke any Inca law, punishment was harsh and swift.

The Sapa Inca put his relatives in positions of power. You could work your way up. But mostly, the government officials were members of the royal family and the nobility.

It was easy to tell if someone in charge was a royal or not. When the royals were young children, boards were strapped to their heads. This was not painful, but their head grew almost into a point. To the Incas, pointed heads were symbols of beauty and prestige.

Inca Government 

Crime and Punishment