Inca Garcilaso
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a
chronicler A chronicle (, from Greek ''chroniká'', from , ''chrónos'' – "time") is a historical account of events arranged in chronological order, as in a timeline. Typically, equal weight is given for historically important events and local events, ...
and writer born in the
Viceroyalty of Peru The Viceroyalty of Peru (), officially known as the Kingdom of Peru (), was a Monarchy of Spain, Spanish imperial provincial administrative district, created in 1542, that originally contained modern-day Peru and most of the Spanish Empire in ...
. Sailing to Spain at 21, he was educated informally there, where he lived and worked the rest of his life. The natural son of a Spanish
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
and an
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
noblewoman born in the early years of the
conquest Conquest involves the annexation or control of another entity's territory through war or Coercion (international relations), coercion. Historically, conquests occurred frequently in the international system, and there were limited normative or ...
, he is known primarily for his chronicles of
Inca The Inca Empire, officially known as the Realm of the Four Parts (, ), was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America. The administrative, political, and military center of the empire was in the city of Cusco. The History of the Incas, Inca ...
history, culture, and society. His work was widely read in Europe, influential and well received. It was the first literature by an author born in the Americas to enter the western canon. After his father's death in 1559, Vega moved to Spain in 1561, seeking official acknowledgement as his father's son. His paternal uncle became a protector, and he lived in Spain for the rest of his life, where he wrote his histories of the Inca culture and Spanish conquest, as well as an account of De Soto's expedition in Florida.


Early life

Born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa in
Cuzco, Peru Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous province and department. The city was the capital of the Inca Empire until ...
, in 1539, he was the natural son of a Spanish conqueror and ''
encomendero The ''encomienda'' () was a Spanish labour system that rewarded conquerors with the labour of conquered non-Christian peoples. In theory, the conquerors provided the labourers with benefits, including military protection and education. In pr ...
'' and a royal Inca mother.Libros Peruanos. "Inca Garcilaso de la Vega."
/ref> He was born during the early years of the Spanish conquest. His father was Spanish captain and ''
conquistador Conquistadors (, ) or conquistadores (; ; ) were Spanish Empire, Spanish and Portuguese Empire, Portuguese colonizers who explored, traded with and colonized parts of the Americas, Africa, Oceania and Asia during the Age of Discovery. Sailing ...
''
Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas (1507 in Badajoz, Extremadura, Spain – 1559 in Cuzco, Viceroyalty of Peru) was a Spanish conquistador and colonial official. He fathered a son, the mestizo chronicler Garcilaso de la Vega, with the Inca ...
(d. 1559). His mother was an elite Inca woman,
Palla Chimpu Ocllo Isabel Suárez Yupanqui born as Palla Chimpu Ocllo (1523-1571), was a princess of the Inca Empire. She was born to Sapa Inca Túpac Huallpa (r. 1533). She married Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas, and was the mother of Inca Garcilaso d ...
, who was baptized after the fall of Cuzco as Isabel Suárez Chimpu Ocllo. She was descended from Inca nobility, a daughter of
Túpac Huallpa Túpac Huallpa (alternatively ''Tupaq Wallpa'' or ''Huallpa Túpac)''; before July 1533 – October 1533), original name Awki Wallpa Túpaq, was the first vassal Sapa Inca installed by the Spanish conquistadors, during the Spanish conquest of ...
and a granddaughter (not a niece) of the powerful Inca
Tupac Yupanqui Topa Inca Yupanqui or Túpac Inca Yupanqui (), also Topa Inga Yupangui, erroneously translated as "noble Inca accountant" (before 14711493) was the tenth Sapa Inca (1471–1493) of the Inca Empire, fifth of the Hanan dynasty. His father was Pach ...
. Because his parents were not married in the Catholic Church, he was considered
illegitimate Legitimacy, in traditional Western common law, is the status of a child born to parents who are legally married to each other, and of a child conceived before the parents obtain a legal divorce. Conversely, ''illegitimacy'', also known as ''b ...
and the boy was given only his mother's surname. Under the Spanish system of
caste A caste is a Essentialism, fixed social group into which an individual is born within a particular system of social stratification: a caste system. Within such a system, individuals are expected to marry exclusively within the same caste (en ...
that developed, he would have been classified as a
mestizo ( , ; fem. , literally 'mixed person') is a term primarily used to denote people of mixed European and Indigenous ancestry in the former Spanish Empire. In certain regions such as Latin America, it may also refer to people who are culturall ...
(for his mixed parents). When Gómez was young, his father abandoned his mother and married a much younger Spanish noblewoman, ''doña'' Luisa Martel, who was only four years older than Gómez. As such, Gómez lived with his mother, her husband Juan de Pedroche, her Inca family and her two daughters, De la Vega's half-sisters Ana Ruíz, who went on to marry Martín de Bustinza, and Luisa de Herrera, who married Pedro Márquez de Galeoto (one of their children was Alonso Márquez de Figueroa). His first language was
Quechua Quechua may refer to: *Quechua people, several Indigenous ethnic groups in South America, especially in Peru *Quechuan languages, an Indigenous South American language family spoken primarily in the Andes, derived from a common ancestral language ...
, but he also learned
Spanish Spanish might refer to: * Items from or related to Spain: **Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain **Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many countries in the Americas **Spanish cuisine **Spanish history **Spanish culture ...
from early boyhood."Inca Garcilaso de la Vega" by José Carlos Rovira and Remedios Mataix.
Cervantes Virtual website
He lived with his mother's family for the first ten years of his life before his father took the boy into his household and gave him an education. Garcilaso received an inheritance when his father died in 1559. The next year, at the age of 21, he left Peru for Spain.


Travel to Spain

Suárez de Figueroa reached Spain in 1561 while there was still fighting in his native country under the conquest. He may have studied Latin in Seville under the tutelage of Pedro Sánchez de Herrera. The Spanish did not achieve their final victory until 1572. He traveled to
Montilla Montilla () is a town and municipality of Spain, located in the autonomous community of Andalusia. , the town had a population of 23,209, which makes it the fourth most populated municipality of the Province of Córdoba. It lies 32 miles south o ...
, where he met his father's brother, Alonso de Vargas, who acted as the young man's protector and helped him make his way. The younger man soon traveled to Madrid to seek official acknowledgement as his father's son from the Crown, and he was allowed to take the name of Garcilaso de la Vega. Also referred to as ''"El Inca"'' or "Inca Garcilaso de la Vega", he received an informal education in Spain. Together with his uncle's support, gaining his father's name helped him integrate into Spanish society.


Later life

He remained in Spain and did not return to Peru. As warfare continued in the conquest, he was at political and even physical risk there because of his royal Inca lineage. It is recorded that he died in Córdoba on 23 April 1616, but it could have been up to two days earlier because of the inaccuracy of the existing documents.


Personal life

He had at least two sons, born of relationships with different servants. One son was recorded as being born in 1570; he might have died at a very young age. With another servant, Garcilaso had a second son, Diego de Vargas, born in 1590, who helped his father copy the ''Royal Commentaries'' and survived him until at least 1651. It is possible that his eldest son was the 'Admiral' Lope de Vega, who commanded a ship in the fleet of
Álvaro de Mendaña Álvaro or Álvar (, , ) is a Spanish, Galician and Portuguese male given name and surname of Germanic Visigothic origin. The patronymic surname derived from this name is Álvarez. Given name Artists * Álvaro Carrillo, Afro-Mexican songwrit ...
, on his 1595 expedition to the
Solomon Islands Solomon Islands, also known simply as the Solomons,John Prados, ''Islands of Destiny'', Dutton Caliber, 2012, p,20 and passim is an island country consisting of six major islands and over 1000 smaller islands in Melanesia, part of Oceania, t ...
. Lope de Vega was lost at sea when his ship parted from Mendaña's fleet in a fog.


Military service

De la Vega entered Spanish military service in 1570 and fought in the
Alpujarras The Alpujarra (, ) is a natural and historical region in Andalusia, Spain, on the south slopes of the Sierra Nevada and the adjacent valley. The average elevation is above sea level. It extends over two provinces, Granada and Almería; ...
against the
Moors The term Moor is an Endonym and exonym, exonym used in European languages to designate the Muslims, Muslim populations of North Africa (the Maghreb) and the Iberian Peninsula (particularly al-Andalus) during the Middle Ages. Moors are not a s ...
after the
Morisco Revolt ''Moriscos'' (, ; ; "Moorish") were former Muslims and their descendants whom the Catholic Church and Habsburg Spain commanded to forcibly convert to Christianity or face compulsory exile after Spain outlawed Islam. Spain had a sizeable Mus ...
. He received the rank of captain for his services to the Crown.


Writings

He received a first-rate but informal European education in Spain after he moved there at age 21. His works are considered to have great literary value and are not simple historical chronicles. He wrote from an important perspective, as his maternal family were the ruling Inca. He portrays the Inca as benevolent rulers who governed a country where everybody was well-fed and happy before the Spanish came. Having learned first-hand about daily Inca life from his maternal relatives, he was able to convey that in his writings. As an adult, he also gained the perspective to describe accurately the political system of tribute and labor enforced by the Incas from the subsidiary tribes in their empire. Baptized and reared as
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
, he portrayed Incan religion and the expansion of its empire from a viewpoint influenced by his upbringing. He did not acknowledge or discuss the human sacrifices that are now known to have been part of Inca practice. It is unknown whether that was an effort to portray his Inca ancestors in a more positive light to a Spanish audience or his ignorance of the practice having lived most of his life in Spain.


''Historia de la Florida''

De la Vega's first work was ''La Florida del Inca'', an account of
Hernando de Soto Hernando de Soto (; ; 1497 – 21 May 1542) was a Spanish explorer and conquistador who was involved in expeditions in Nicaragua and the Yucatan Peninsula. He played an important role in Francisco Pizarro's conquest of the Inca Empire in Peru, ...
's expedition and journey in Florida. The work was published in
Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...
in 1605 and became popular. It describes the expedition according to its own records and information Garcilaso gathered during the years. He defended the legitimacy of imposing the Spanish sovereignty in conquered territories and submitting them to
Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...
jurisdiction. At the same time, he expresses and defends the dignity, the courage, and the rationality of the Native Americans. It was translated and published in English in 1951. Historians have identified problems with using ''La Florida'' as an historical account. Jerald T. Milanich and Charles M. Hudson warn against relying on Garcilaso, noting serious problems with the sequence of events and location of towns in his narrative. They say that "some historians regard Garcilaso's ''La Florida'' to be more a work of literature than a work of history." Lankford characterizes Garcilaso's ''La Florida'' as a collection of " legend narratives," derived from a much-retold oral tradition of the survivors of the expedition.


''Comentarios Reales de los Incas''

While in Spain, Garcilaso wrote his best-known work, '' Comentarios Reales de los Incas'', published in Lisbon in 1609. It was based mostly on stories and oral histories told him by his Inca relatives when he was a child in Cusco, but also on the remnants of the history by Blas Valera which was mostly destroyed in the sacking of Cadiz in 1596. The ''Comentarios'' have two sections and volumes. The first was primarily about Inca life. The second, about the
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 Spaniards, ...
, was published in 1617. It was first published in English in London in 1685, translated by Sir Paul Rycaut and titled ''The Royal Commentaries of Peru.'' More than a century and a half after its initial publication, in the 1780s, as the uprising against colonial oppression led by
Tupac Amaru II Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...
was gaining momentum,
Charles III of Spain Charles III (; 20 January 1716 – 14 December 1788) was King of Spain in the years 1759 to 1788. He was also Duke of Parma and Piacenza, as Charles I (1731–1735); King of Naples, as Charles VII; and King of Sicily, as Charles III (or V) (1735 ...
banned the ''Comentarios'' from being published in the
Quechua language Quechua (, ), also called (, 'people's language') in Southern Quechua, is an Indigenous languages of the Americas, indigenous language family that originated in central Peru and thereafter spread to other countries of the Andes. Derived from ...
in
Lima Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
or distributed there on account of its "dangerous" content. The book was not printed again in the Americas until 1918, but copies continued to be circulated secretly.Video Inca Garcilaso y Tupac Amaru
It was translated and printed in English in 1961 in the United States as ''The Incas'', and in another edition in 1965 as ''Royal Commentaries of the Incas'' (see below). File:Garcilaso de la Vega La Florida Del Ynca title page 1605.jpg, Title page of ''La Florida del Ynca'' (1605) File:Garcilaso de la Vega Commentarios Reales 1609.jpg, Title page of ''Comentarios Reales de los Incas'' (1609)


Honors

*
Cusco Cusco or Cuzco (; or , ) is a city in southeastern Peru, near the Sacred Valley of the Andes mountain range and the Huatanay river. It is the capital of the eponymous Cusco Province, province and Cusco Region, department. The city was the cap ...
's main stadium, Estadio Garcilaso de la Vega, is named after him. * The Regional Historical Museum of Cusco Casa del Inka Garcilaso de la Vega is also named after him and is located in his former house. * In 1965, Inca Garcilaso de la Vega University, in
Lima, Peru Lima ( ; ), founded in 1535 as the Ciudad de los Reyes (, Spanish for "City of Biblical Magi, Kings"), is the capital and largest city of Peru. It is located in the valleys of the Chillón River, Chillón, Rímac River, Rímac and Lurín Rive ...
, was named in his honor. * In
Rome, Italy Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
, near
Villa Borghese Villa Borghese is a landscape garden in Rome, containing a number of buildings, museums (see Galleria Borghese) and attractions. It is the third-largest public park in Rome (80 hectares or 197.7 acres), after the ones of the Villa Doria Pamphil ...
, there is a statue dedicated to Inca Garcilaso de la Vega which was erected in 1967. A similar statue, dated 1973, stands in the Plaza República del Perú in
Buenos Aires Buenos Aires, controlled by the government of the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires, is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Argentina. It is located on the southwest of the Río de la Plata. Buenos Aires is classified as an Alpha− glob ...
,
Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...
.


See also

* Fray Martín de Murúa *
Guaman Poma Felipe Guamán Poma de Ayala (Fane, 165after 1616), also known as Huamán Poma or Waman Poma, was a Quechua nobleman known for chronicling and denouncing the ill treatment of the natives of the Andes by the Spanish Empire after their conquest of ...
* Blas Valera * Diego Fernández


References


Further reading


Primary sources

* Garcilaso de la Vega, ''The Florida of the Inca'', trans. John and Jeannette Varner. 1951. * Garcilaso de la Vega ''El Inca'', ''Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru'', trans. Harold V. Livermore. 1965.


Secondary sources

* Brading, D.A. "Inca Humanist" in ''The First America: The Spanish Monarchy, Creole Patriots, and the Liberal State''. New York: Cambridge University Press 1991, pp. 255–71.
"4th Centennial of Garcilaso de la Vega"
(). ''CHASQUI/Peruvian Mail. Cultural Bulletin of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs'', vol. 14, number 28, 2016 * Schreffler, Michael J. and Jessica Welton. "Garcilaso de la Vega and the 'New Peruvian Man': José Sabogal's frescoes at the Hotel Cusco," ''Art History'' 33, (January/February 2010): 124–149.

(), Dept. of Special Collections, University of Notre Dame


External links


''Volume 1: Histoire de la conquete de la Floride''
from the Collections at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

''Volume 2: Histoire de la conquete de la Floride''
from the Collections at the
Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...

Fully digitized works by Garcilaso de la Vega
at the
Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American 501(c)(3) organization, non-profit organization founded in 1996 by Brewster Kahle that runs a digital library website, archive.org. It provides free access to collections of digitized media including web ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Garcilaso de la Vega, Inca 1530s births 1616 deaths 16th-century Peruvian historians 16th-century Spanish historians 17th-century Peruvian historians 17th-century Spanish historians Historians of Peru History of South America Indigenous writers of the Americas Italian–Spanish translators Mestizo writers People from Cusco Peruvian male writers Peruvian people of Spanish descent Peruvian politicians of Quechua descent Peruvian Roman Catholics Peruvian writers Scholars of the Incan civilization Spanish chroniclers Spanish colonization of the Americas Spanish Roman Catholics Viceroyalty of Peru people