The Inca Empire: A Complex Society

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Prompt A: The Inca Empire was a complex society whose reign lasted less than 100 years. Stretching from the western corner of modern Columbia down towards the center of Chile and Argentina, the Incas occupied a vast area to both the east and west of the Andes. Within this large expanse, its inhabitants drew benefit from the coastal, mountainous, and rainforest climates. The western coast and lowlands afforded maize, cotton, fish, fruit, and shells while the forest to the east of the Andes provided fruit, but also was a good resource for wood, feathers, and coca leaves. The Andes themselves was rich with metal and was the perfect place to grow maize, potatoes, quinoa, and was a good environment to raise llamas and alpacas for their wool.…show more content…
Because of this, close to two million refugees fled Western Europe to come to North America to try to escape the famine that ravaged their homelands. Nearly one million of these immigrants came from Ireland where the impact of the blight was felt the hardest. From the moment the Irish landed in Boston, they were subject to poor living conditions and inability to earn a livable wage. In New York, they faced a better reception, but were often taken advantage of by “runners,” or people who promised them aid when they came into the country. The immigrants were promised a place to stay, food to eat, and a place to house their belongings but received only horrible living conditions that were torn away from them when their money ran out and their possessions were retained as…show more content…
Stretching from Northern Minnesota to the Gulf of Mexico, this behemoth of moving water provided not only a means to transport goods from the Northern territories to the Southern territories, but it also inspired the nearby settlers to solve the problem of being unable to transport goods from the South to the North, among other challenges At the beginning of the River’s use by settlers, American immigrants utilized the same canoes the Native Americans used. However, these canoes could not hold much cargo and could only go South. The construction was only strong enough to survive the passage with the current and could not withstand the upriver trek going against the flow. This challenge inspired settlers to develop keelboats. Keelboats were towed upstream by men on shore and could carry up to 80 tons of goods. The trek was arduous and long, which prompted the shippers to develop steamboats which utilized large wheels with paddles on them to propel themselves against the current. However, because of the currents strength, the steams boats still didn’t make it very far upstream. As time progressed, the steamboats became more reliable and began carrying passengers in comfortable cabins. Trips that would have taken four months by land now took only 20 days. During World War II, the river became a crucial means of transportation of goods vital to the war effort, such

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