Pedro Cieza de León (
Llerena,
Spain
, image_flag = Bandera de España.svg
, image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg
, national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond")
, national_anthem = (English: "Royal March")
, i ...
c. 1520 –
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
, Spain July 2, 1554) was a Spanish
conquistador and chronicler of
Peru
, image_flag = Flag of Peru.svg
, image_coat = Escudo nacional del Perú.svg
, other_symbol = Great Seal of the State
, other_symbol_type = National seal
, national_motto = "Firm and Happy f ...
and
Popayán
Popayán () is the capital of the Colombian department of Cauca. It is located in southwestern Colombia between the Western Mountain Range and Central Mountain Range. It has a population of 318,059 people, an area of 483 km2, is locate ...
. He is known primarily for his history and description of Peru, ''Crónicas del Perú''. He wrote this book in four parts, but only the first was published during his lifetime; the remaining sections were not published until the 19th and 20th centuries.
Early life
Cieza de León was born to a family of Jewish
conversos
around 1520 in
Llerena, a town in southeastern
Extremadura
Extremadura (; ext, Estremaúra; pt, Estremadura; Fala: ''Extremaúra'') is an autonomous community of Spain. Its capital city is Mérida, and its largest city is Badajoz. Located in the central-western part of the Iberian Peninsula, it ...
, less than 100 km (60 mi) from
Portugal
Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of ...
. Although recently converted from
Judaism
Judaism ( he, ''Yahăḏūṯ'') is an Abrahamic, monotheistic, and ethnic religion comprising the collective religious, cultural, and legal tradition and civilization of the Jewish people. It has its roots as an organized religion in t ...
to
Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
, the family enjoyed good social standing in the region because of their networks and business dealing
His father, Lope de León, was a shopkeeper in the town, and his mother, Leonor de Cazalla, was a native of Llerena. There is scant documentary evidence of the young Cieza de León’s childhood, and little is known of his early life before his voyage to the Americas. Given the fact that he left home at 13, it is unlikely that Cieza de León received more than a rudimentary education.
In 1536, in
Córdoba, Andalusia, Córdoba, at 16, Cieza de León was greatly surprised to learn of the discovery of the land of the
Incas
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, ( Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The adm ...
and so decided to go to
Seville
Seville (; es, Sevilla, ) is the capital and largest city of the Spanish autonomous community of Andalusia and the province of Seville. It is situated on the lower reaches of the River Guadalquivir, in the southwest of the Iberian Peninsula ...
to embark on his journey to South America, to see for himself the artifacts of
precious metals
Precious metals are rare, naturally occurring metallic chemical elements of high economic value.
Chemically, the precious metals tend to be less reactive than most elements (see noble metal). They are usually ductile and have a high lu ...
which had been brought to Spain from
Cajamarca
Cajamarca (), also known by the Quechua name, ''Kashamarka'', is the capital and largest city of the Cajamarca Region as well as an important cultural and commercial center in the northern Andes. It is located in the northern highlands of Peru ...
br>
In light of the prohibition of entry into the Spanish colonies for Jews and Jewish converts to Catholicism, Alonso López and Luis de Torres attested for Cieza de León that he was not prohibite
Jewish converso Pedro López de Cazalla, secretary of Spanish
conquistador Francisco Pizarro
Francisco Pizarro González, Marquess of the Atabillos (; ; – 26 June 1541) was a Spanish conquistador, best known for his expeditions that led to the Spanish conquest of Peru.
Born in Trujillo, Spain to a poor family, Pizarro chose ...
, conqueror of the
Incan Empire
The Inca Empire (also known as the Incan Empire and the Inka Empire), called ''Tawantinsuyu'' by its subjects, (Quechua for the "Realm of the Four Parts", "four parts together" ) was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The admin ...
, was also his first cousi
In South America
Cieza de León participated in various expeditions and helped found a number of cities. These activities include the following:
* 1536 and 1537: Expedition to San Sebastián de Buenavista and to Urute with
Alonso de Cáceres
Alonso de Cáceres y Retes (Alcántara, late fifteenth century - ?) was a Spanish conquistador and governor-captain of Santa Marta, who traveled extensively throughout the Americas from Mexico, south through Central America, and as far as Peru. ...
.
* 1539: Foundation of San Ana de los Caballeros (
Popayán Province Popayán Province was first a Spanish jurisdiction under the Royal Audience of Quito and the Royal Audience of Santafé , and after the independence one of the provinces of the Cauca Department (Gran Colombia), later becoming the Republic of New Gr ...
), with Jorge Robledo.
* 1540: Foundation of Cartago (Popayán Province).
* 1541: Foundation of Antioquía (Popayán Province).
* He took possession of an encomienda in
Cartagena of Indies, which he granted to
Sebastián de Belalcázar
Sebastián de Belalcázar (; 1479/1480 – 1551) was a Spanish conquistador. De Belalcázar, also written as de Benalcázar, is known as the founder of important early colonial cities in the northwestern part of South America; Quito in 1534 and Ca ...
.
* 1547: Cieza de León participated in missions headed by
Pedro de la Gasca
Pedro de la Gasca (June 1485 – 13 November 1567) was a Spanish bishop, diplomat and the second (acting) viceroy of Peru, from 10 April 10 1547 to 27 January 1550.
Biography
Pedro de la Gasca studied at the University of Salamanca and the U ...
in support of the royalist campaign against
Gonzalo Pizarro
Gonzalo Pizarro y Alonso (; 1510 – April 10, 1548) was a Spanish conquistador and younger paternal half-brother of Francisco Pizarro, the conqueror of the Inca Empire. Bastard son of Captain Gonzalo Pizarro y Rodríguez de Aguilar (senior) ( ...
's rebellion.
* 1548: He reached the "City of Kings" (present-day
Lima
Lima ( ; ), originally founded as Ciudad de Los Reyes (City of The Kings) is the capital and the largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón, Rímac and Lurín Rivers, in the desert zone of the central coastal part of ...
), where he started his career as a writer and official chronicler of the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. ...
. During the following two years he traveled across the Peruvian territory, collecting interesting information he would later use to develop his works.
Later life and the fate of his writings
Cieza de León returned to Seville, Spain, in 1551 and married a woman named Isabel López de Abreu. In this city he published, in 1553, the first part of the chronicles of Peru ''(Primera Parte)''. He died the following year, leaving the rest of his work unpublished. His ''Second Part of Chronicles of Peru'', describing the Incas, was translated by
Clements Markham
Sir Clements Robert Markham (20 July 1830 – 30 January 1916) was an English geographer, explorer and writer. He was secretary of the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) between 1863 and 1888, and later served as the Society's president for ...
and published in 1871. In 1909, the fourth part of his chronicle, focusing on the civil wars among the Spanish conquerors was published under the title ''Third Book of the Peruvian Civil Wars''. The third part of Cieza de León's ''Crónicas del Perú,'' which examined the discovery and conquest of Peru by the Spaniards, was considered by historians to be lost. The document eventually turned up in a
Vatican
Vatican may refer to:
Vatican City, the city-state ruled by the pope in Rome, including St. Peter's Basilica, Sistine Chapel, Vatican Museum
The Holy See
* The Holy See, the governing body of the Catholic Church and sovereign entity recognized ...
library, and historian Francesca Cantù published a Spanish version of the text in 1979.
[Cook, Noble David. Introduction to 1998 translation of ''The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook.'' Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998, p. 25-26.]
Significance
Though his works are historical and narrate the events of the
Spanish conquest of Peru
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, also known as the Conquest of Peru, was one of the most important campaigns in the Spanish colonization of the Americas. After years of preliminary exploration and military skirmishes, 168 Spanish s ...
and the civil wars among the Spaniards, much of their importance lies in his detailed descriptions of geography, ethnography, flora and fauna. He was the first European to describe some native Peruvian animal species and vegetables.
Bibliography
*Cieza de León, Pedro de.
''The Second Part of the Chronicle of Peru, translated by Clements R. Markham.'' London: Hakluyt Society, 1883. (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2010. )
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The Travels of Pedro de Cieza de León, AD 1532-50, Contained in the First Part of His Chronicle of Peru, translated by Clements R. Markham.'' London: Hakluyt Society, 1883. (reissued by Cambridge University Press, 2010. )
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The War of Las Salinas, translated by Clements R. Markham.'' London: Hakluyt Society, 1923 (1883).
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The War of Quito, translated by Clements R. Markham.'' London: Hakluyt Society, 1913 (1883).
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The War of Chupas, translated by Clements R. Markham.'' London: Hakluyt Society, 1917 (1883).
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The Incas of Pedro de Cieza de León, translated by Harriet de Onis.'' Norman, OK: University of Oklahoma Press, 1959.
*Cieza de León, Pedro de. ''The Discovery and Conquest of Peru: Chronicles of the New World Encounter, edited and translated by Alexandra Parma Cook and Noble David Cook.'' Durham, NC: Duke University Press, 1998.
Notes
External links
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Cieza de Leon, Pedro
1520 births
1554 deaths
Historians of Peru
People from Campiña Sur (Badajoz)
Extremaduran conquistadors
Incan scholars
16th-century Spanish historians
Spanish people of Jewish descent
Conversos