The Royal Commentaries of the Incas and General History of Peru, Abridged

Considered the most important text from colonial Peru, Garcilaso de la Vega was a mestizo Peruvian born of a Spanish conquistador and an Inca noblewoman. He was born into a relatively privileged position in Cusco soon after the submission of the Incas, and he identified very much with his Inca roots. While his book was censored by the Spanish Crown and the Roman Catholic Church, he aimed to improve the image of Peru's indigenous people. He deftly did so within the censorship constraints. His account of Inca life before the Spaniards is clearly biased not only because of his aim, but also because the Incas hadn't developed writing. Their history is told and retold orally through the generations, and Garcilaso experienced that tradition via extended family on his mother's side. So a little unreliable in that department, but the most interesting part of this book was the second half, which details the countless small wars between rivaling factions of Spaniards in the first years after the conquest. The Spaniard conquistadores fought various wars among themselves with the stakes being all the fruits of the conquered Incas' labor. It illustrates the caudillo mentality in Latin America, a major reason why Latin American nations have fallen behind North America and Western Europe.

Excellent book from an original source. Describes the demeanor of the people, technologies, agriculture, food, ceremonies, military, justice, record keeping and all.Much better than the Spanish crown colonial establishment history books that use language such as: “And the MIGHTY Spaniards of SUPERIOR STRENGTH defeated the POOR PITIFUL and BACKWARDS INDIANS as god himself decreed!”...Yes.. a much more accurate, balanced, clear history of the peruvian peoples...It teaches a lot about a properly functioning society based on collective justice and cooperation.Highly recommend.

This was the only authoritative translation I could find after searching not only a variety of sources on the www but also bookshops in Lima and Cuzqo. The introduction places the book in context and assists in better understanding the translated text and its understatement of facets of history that contradicted the Spanish establishment view. This is an essential read for both students and those otherwise interested of South American and pre-columbian history.

The fact that this book was ever allowed to be printed was amazing! There were several who tried to prevent it from being published. A must read before your trip to Peru. A complete understanding of the history of the Inca Empire. These were a very advanced thinking people. One wonders what would have happened if the Spaniards would have never arrived and destroyed the culture. Maybe there would be a United States of South America with one president and even more contributions to the world from these very intelligent and wonderful people.

story line is amazing and book had good quality

Such detail about the conquest with care taken to not upset the reviewers who could have kept the book from being published. A sad tale!

Great Book.

This book provides some terrific insights from an original source for anyone looking to enhance understandings of the Inca and their Conquest. A terrific complement to McQuarries' Last Days of the Incas and Hemmings' Conquest of the Incas.