the state was the small group that controlled the economy of the incan empire.
who were the small groups that controlled the economy of the incan empire?
the state
societal relations with dragons in south america are based around a modified ayllu wherein the chief and "owner" of the community is a dragon. "crucible of gold" reveals that the incan society of south america used to be more equal between dragons and men. it was a great honor for men to persuade a dragon to join one's ayllu. few dragons were chiefs then. the status, social standing of the unit was all decided by the dragon's health, size and strength, but the diseases brought from europeans devastated the human population while leaving the dragons untouched. the plagues reversed man's dominance. as a result, there are more dragons than men in the incan empire, and dragons occupy most positions of political significance, though there are still human representatives and it is not entirely dragon-ruled. dragons serve as chiefs of their ayllu, managing and taking care of their people. the dragons are extremely possessive of their people, but the shortage of humans has resulted in a practice where dragons of small ayllus steal people from larger ones. it is not possible for a man for travel alone and unaccompanied along the roads without being abducted by a dragon eager to adopt them into their social unit. a dragon's status in incan society is determined by not only how many people they manage, but how well they care for them as well. humans who feel they are not well looked after may complain to the provincial governor of humans to transfer them to another ayllu. if the only governors were dragons, they would not seriously take onboard any grievance from humans wanting to be reunited with the original ayllu they were stolen from. governors are also tasked with managing patrols to prevent thievery of men while ending disputes between dragons over ownership of people. any dragon caught stealing would be forced to return the person to their original owner and compensate the aggrieved party, usually by giving one from their own ayllu too. if they refused they would have to accept a challenge, a fight with a heavyweight dragon, acting as a representative of the state.
temeraire (series)
the strategic deployment of incan mythology did not end after the incan empire was colonized by the spanish. in fact, incan mythology was utilized in order to resist and challenge the authority of the spanish colonial authorities. many incan myths were utilized to criticize the wanton greed of european imperialism. there was widespread killing and rape of women and children in south america by the european soldiers. for example, there are myths among the indigenous people of the former inca empire that tell the stories of foreigners who come into the andes and destroy valuable objects. one such myth is the tale of atoqhuarco amongst the quechua, which describes how an indigenous woman is destroyed in an act of rebellion against a lascivious foreigner, whom eventually is transformed into a predatory fox. powerful colonial institutions are also critiqued in some of these myths, with the catholic church being frequently lambasted. for example, the story of the priest and sexton highlights the hypocrisy and abusive nature of a catholic priest and his callous treatment of his indigenous parishioners. as such, these myths show that inca mythology was strategically deployed for subvert and rebel against spanish rule in the former incan empire.
inca mythology