The Incan Empire: The Largest Empire in Pre-Columbian America

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The Incan empire was the largest empire to ever exist in pre-Columbian America. It lasted for about a century during the times of 1438 to 1572 and its advanced architectural monuments in Machu Picchu are a great fascination and mystery to many people. Today, there are many arguments among historians, debating whether the Incan empire truly was like a modern welfare state or in what ways it could be compared to the Aztec empire’s government. Indeed, there are certain laws and policies within Incan history that would prove the argument of those who say that it was in fact like an early welfare state and that its government really could not be compared to that of the Aztec’s to be held true.
With that in mind, we must first understand what a welfare state is before being able to understand how the Incan empire demonstrated being one. A welfare state is made up of a government that takes care of its people and provides them with certain measures of help. The purpose of a welfare state is to create a balance in the economic equality of its citizens or to at least ensure a certain minimum standard of living for them (wiseGEEK, pg 1). Education, housing, healthcare, pensions, and unemployment insurance are among some of the things that a modern welfare state provides today for its people. While these are rather costly, government insurance programs and/or government taxes normally help to pay off these debts while in some countries, certain requirements need to be met before an individual can qualify for any help at all.
States do however, run into certain problems when trying to run this way. The most common is usually not being able to create or set up an efficient system at all. It can be rather difficult trying to provide for all ...

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...GALE|CX3437500379&docType=GALE>. "Ancient Aztec Government." Ancient Aztec Government. Aztec-History, n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2013. . “Britannica School.” Britannica School. Britannica Encyclopedia, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. http://school.eb.com/levels/high/article/109431. "Inca Empire : One of the Best Government in Ancient Days." Inca Empire : One of the Best Government in Ancient Days. Peru Travel Diary, n.d. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. . Incas: Lords of Gold and Glory. Alexandria, VA: Time-Life, 1992. Print. Lost Civilizations. Wyborny, Sheila. The Aztec Empire. San Diego: Blackbirch, 2004. Print Holetzky, Sherry, and Bronwyn Harris. "What Is a Welfare State?" WiseGeek. Conjecture, 27 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Dec. 2013. .

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