Did the Inca Sail to Distant Lands?

The Inca Empire ruled much of western South America from 1438 to 1533, thriving in isolation until the arrival of Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors. Or so we thought. A strange account from Spanish chronicler Pedro Sarmiento de Gamboa - one of the few Europeans who treated Inca stories with genuine respect - tells of an astonishing voyage led by Emperor Topa Inca Yupanqui. According to de Gamboa, merchants from mysterious western islands inspired the emperor to launch a massive naval expedition, returning months later with gold, a brass chair, black-skinned people, and even the jawbone of a horse - long before the Spanish brought horses to the Americas.

Historians fiercely debate this tale. Some believe it is pure myth, citing a complete lack of archaeological evidence and the Inca's traditional land-based power. Others propose that the Inca may have reached closer islands like Easter Island or the Galapagos, although problems with these theories - including the absence of gold or native populations - make them shaky. The most radical theory suggests the Inca voyaged as far as Australia or New Zealand, given the descriptions of dark-skinned peoples and rich gold deposits, but the staggering distance and lack of artifacts make this theory hard to prove.

If Topa Inca Yupanqui truly sailed across the Pacific, it would shatter the long-held belief that the Inca Empire was isolated before the Europeans arrived. But until solid evidence surfaces from the ruins of Cuzco or the distant shores of the Pacific, the story remains one of the greatest "what-ifs" in the ancient world.

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