The last of the Andean civilizations, Inca society was the product of complex historical and social processes of class and state formation. This study examines the contradictions, tensions and conflicts these processes engendered and explores the involvement of Europeans in Andean life after the 1530s as it resulted in new forms of exploitation.

The historical landscape - pre-state societies in the Andes, class and state formation - some theoretical considerations, class and state formation in the Andes; Inca society before the Empire - the creation of Inca society, the prelude to Empire, the constitution of the Empire; the impact of Empire - the formation and organization of the Imperial State, conquest, succession, and the changing composition of the Imperial ruling class; quiescence and rebellion in the Imperial State - border wars and Imperial expansion, rebellion and civil wars; the clash of Empires and the formation of colonial society - the plunder economy - war, resistance, and immigration, the crisis of the 1560s, the formation of colonial society.