Process Work Day 5: May 16, 2012

My thesis statement:

Topic: The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire

Position: superior weaponary

Area of investigation: The decline of the Inca empire.

The Spanish, led by Francisco Pizarro conquered the Inca empire with superior technology and war tactics, the conquest led to the decline of the Inca empire and the destruction of its culture.

Process Work Day 4: May 2, 2012

Today I finished my collection of resources for my resource log.

I found a number of great books and schloarly sources. Yet, I need to research more in deth to find more information from sites such as Ebsco and Salem History ebook.

Today I also finished developing my research question. I only developed it today because I wanted to gain a full understanding on my interests about the incas. My research question is: What were the main factors and events that drove the Spanish into gaining complete control over the Inca civilization?

I have already gained some information to answer my research question as written in my previous post.

After researching further into the Spanish conquest over the Incas, I have gotten to know Francisco Pazzarro, the explorer who initially proceeded to travel to Central and South America, and who began to have a great interest in the Incas and their many resources, developments and accomplishments over their region. I will continue to research more into Pizarro, and then finilize and write my thesis statement.

Process Work Day 3 Part 2: April 30, 2012

After completeing the proposal I proceeded to research my topic in detail and become more familiar. I used my who, what, where, when, why, how questions I brainstormed as a guide. I wrote 4 pages of notes that were filled with useful and informative information about my topic, the Incas.

One of the most important questions I brainstormed was: How did the Spanish conquer and control the Inca empire? This was answered at the end of my research notes, and I concluded the information with these following main reasons, which are in my mind the foundation of my research topic and thesis.

Why did the Spanish Win

• Inca Empire is weakened by over-expansion and civil war.
• The Spanish capture and kill Atahualpa, leaving the Inca without a leader.
• The Spanish have horses, steel and iron weapons and guns.
• The Spanish bring diseases. This is a very small dose of the information I collected. Next process day I will be creating my log of sources.

Process Work Day 3: April 30, 2012 Part 1

Today was the due date of the proposal. During this library period I completed my proposal and 4 pages of essential research notes. My proposal is the following:

Which civilizations are you interested in studying?
Inca.

Which time period are you focusing on?
1500s

What kind of activity would you like your final project to be?
Virtual Product, a blog.

Why did you choose this civilization and this format for the final project?
I chose this civilization because I wanted to expand my knowledge on the rise and fall of the Inca empire. I chose to create a visual product i.e. blog because I enjoy creating and displaying information in this specific way.

What do you want to gain from this activity?
I want to gain an abundance of information about the Inca empire, and to also further develop my researching abilities as well as my organization and creativity skills.

What is your plan of action?
I will be using a variety of different sources that include articles, online encyclopaedias, websites and text books. This way I will be provided with different types of information.

Process Work Day 2: April 26, 2012

Today was another research period in the LP library. I created a who, what, where, when, why, how chart listing two questions under each category about what I want to research further about the Inca civilization. Here is the following chart-

Who
1. Who was the Incas ruler? (Political leader)
2. Who was the highest and lowest of the social classes?

What
1. What was the social organization of the Inca civilization?
2. What type of economy did the Incas have?

Where
1. Where was the Inca civilization located?
2. Where was the dynasty located?

When
1. When did the Incas develop to be an efficient civilization?
2. When did the Inca civilization begin to decline?

Why
1. Why did the Spanish control the Inca rule?
2. Why was the Inca army so essential for diplomacy?

How
1. How did the Spanish come to control the Incas?
2. How were the internal politics amoung the Incas resolved?

These questions will act as an outline for my in depth research.

Process Day 1: April 16, 2012

Today we began the summative. I researched and researched until I found a topic that caught my eye. The Inca Civilization. I was instantly engrossed into my research. I began by collecting a number of sources. I found an extremely helpful and useful textbook called- The Incas: A new Perspective that will be my primary research source for the remainder of the project. I also found a number of articles on Britaanica online.

I thought long and hard about my research question, and finally decided on the following: I am researching the inca civilization because I want to find out more about the origins, growth and decline of the Inca civilization as well as the political and social structure. Particularily the fall of the inca empire by the Spanish conquest. In order to help my audience understand the dynamic inca state and their accomplishments as an ancient civilization.

With my research question done, I am ready to progress in the next stage of the summative.