Genocide Project

The primary topic of Comentarios Reales (Royal Commentaries of the Incas) is the comprehensive history, culture, and governance of the Inca Empire in Peru before and during the Spanish conquest.Written by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, a mestizo born of a Spanish captain and an Inca princess, the book is divided into parts that cover various aspects of the civilization:

• Origin and Religion: It details the mythical origins of the Incas, starting with Manco Cápac, and describes their religious rites, including the worship of the Sun and the concept of the god Pachacámac.
• Government and Laws: The text explores the administrative structure of the empire, its division into four districts (Tahuantinsuyo), and the legal systems established by successive Inca kings to maintain social order and justice.
• Social Structure and Customs: It provides accounts of daily life, such as marriage practices, the education of the nobility, the role of the “Chosen Women” (Aclla), and how lands were distributed and cultivated.
• Expansion and Conquest: The book recounts the military campaigns and peaceful diplomatic efforts used by various Inca rulers to expand their territory from the initial foundation of Cuzco to the conquest of regions as far as Chile and Quito.
• Cultural Achievements: It describes the empire’s architectural feats, such as the Temple of the Sun and the fortress of Cuzco, as well as their advancements in agriculture, irrigation, and record-keeping through the use of quipus.
• Conquest and Decline: The narrative covers the eventual civil war between half-brothers Huáscar and Atahualpa, the arrival of the Spanish “Viracochas,” and the subsequent fall of the Inca Empire.

The author’s stated intention was to provide a more detailed and accurate account of the Inca civilization than previous Spanish historians, drawing on his unique perspective and first-hand knowledge of the Quechua language and indigenous traditions.

The author of Comentarios Reales was Inca Garcilaso de la Vega. Born in Cuzco on April 12, 1539, his unique background was defined by his heritage as a mestizo, the son of both Spanish and Inca nobility:

• Spanish Lineage: His father was Captain Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega Vargas, a Spanish conqueror of noble Extremaduran descent. His Spanish family included illustrious figures in both arms and letters, such as the poet Garcilaso de la Vega and Jorge Manrique.
• Inca Lineage: His mother was the Inca princess Isabel Chimpu Ocllo, a granddaughter of the Inca monarch Túpac Yupanqui and a niece of Huayna Cápac.
• Bicultural Upbringing: He grew up in Cuzco during the tumultuous aftermath of the Spanish conquest. He was raised hearing the traditions, myths, and history of the Inca Empire from his mother’s royal relatives, while simultaneously being educated in the Spanish language and traditions by his father’s associates and Spanish tutors.
• Unique Perspective: This dual heritage allowed him to position himself as both an “Indian” and a Spaniard. He used his fluency in Quechua and his intimate knowledge of indigenous oral traditions to interpret and correct the accounts of Spanish historians, whom he viewed as outsiders often misinterpreting his native culture.

This background led him to move to Spain in 1560 to seek royal recognition for his father’s services, where he eventually transitioned from a military career to a literary one, dedicating his later life to recording the history of his mother’s people.

Inca Garcilaso de la Vega’s primary motivation for writing Comentarios Reales was a profound love for his homeland and a desire to provide a more complete and accurate account of Inca history than previous Spanish writers.

Specific motivations mentioned in the text include:

• Correcting Misinterpretations: He noted that Spanish writers often gave incomplete reports or misinterpreted native terms because they were foreigners to the Quechua language. He intended to serve as a commentator and interpreter for many of these terms.
• Providing Comprehensive Detail: Having grown up in Cuzco—the “other Rome” of that Empire—he claimed a clearer and more extensive knowledge of the civilization’s rites, religion, and government than previous authors.
• Preserving Memory: He sought to record the “relics” of his mother’s people, fearful that their ancient traditions, which were being lost following the Spanish conquest, would disappear entirely.
• Abolishing False Opinions: He aimed to dismantle the widespread perception of indigenous peoples as being “brute and bestial” or lacking understanding by demonstrating the order, reason, and political sophistication of the Inca laws and government.
• Religious Purpose: He offered the work to serve the “Christian republic,” viewing the history as a way to give thanks for the integration of these nations into the Catholic Church.
• Establishing Truth: He protested that he would only write the truth, often using Spanish historians to authorize his claims while adding details they lacked or removing errors born of their lack of linguistic understanding.

The author of Comentarios Reales (Royal Commentaries) was Garcilaso de la Vega, known as “El Inca”. Born in Cuzco on April 12, 1539, his unique background was defined by his dual heritage as a mestizo, the son of both Spanish and Inca nobility:

• Spanish Lineage: His father was Sebastian Garcilaso de la Vega Vargas, a Spanish captain of noble Extremaduran descent. His Spanish family included illustrious figures in both arms and letters, such as the poet Garcilaso de la Vega and Jorge Manrique.
• Inca Lineage: His mother was the Inca princess Isabel Chimpu Ocllo, a granddaughter of the Inca monarch Túpac Yupanqui and a niece of Huayna Cápac.
• Bicultural Upbringing: He grew up in Cuzco, hearing traditions, myths, and history from his mother’s royal relatives while being educated in the Spanish language and traditions.
• Unique Perspective: This dual heritage allowed him to position himself as both an “Indian” and a Spaniard. He utilized his fluency in Quechua and intimate knowledge of indigenous oral traditions to interpret and correct Spanish historians, whom he viewed as outsiders who often misinterpreted his native culture.

Following his father’s death, he moved to Spain in 1560 to seek recognition for his father’s services and eventually dedicated his life to recording the history of his mother’s people.

The author of Comentarios Reales (Royal Commentaries) was Garcilaso de la Vega, famously known as “El Inca”. Born in Cuzco on April 12, 1539, his unique background was defined by his dual heritage as a mestizo, the son of both Spanish and Inca nobility:

• Spanish Lineage: His father was Captain Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega Vargas, a Spanish conqueror of noble descent from Extremadura. His Spanish family included illustrious figures in both arms and letters, such as the poet Garcilaso de la Vega and Jorge Manrique.
• Inca Lineage: His mother was the Inca princess Isabel Chimpu Ocllo, a granddaughter of the Inca monarch Túpac Yupanqui and a niece of Huayna Cápac.
• Bicultural Upbringing: He grew up in Cuzco during the tumultuous aftermath of the Spanish conquest. He was raised hearing the traditions, myths, and history of the Inca Empire from his mother’s royal relatives while simultaneously being educated in Spanish language and traditions by his father’s associates and Spanish tutors.
• Unique Perspective: This dual heritage allowed him to position himself as both an “Indian” and a Spaniard. He used his fluency in Quechua and intimate knowledge of indigenous oral traditions to interpret and correct the accounts of Spanish historians, whom he viewed as outsiders often misinterpreting his native culture.

Following his father’s death, he moved to Spain in 1560 to seek royal recognition for his father’s services, where he eventually transitioned from a military career to a literary one, dedicating his later life to recording the history of his mother’s people.

The Comentarios Reales (Royal Commentaries) by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega is divided into nine books that detail the history, culture, and governance of the Inca Empire.

Book 1: Origins and Foundations

• Topic: Explores the discovery of the New World, the origin of the name “Peru,” and the mythical foundation of the Inca Empire.
• Key Details: It describes the life of the first Inca, Manco Cápac, who established the city of Cuzco. It also provides an overview of the “barbaric” ways of life (idolatry, lack of clothing, and communal living) that existed before Inca rule.

Book 2: Religion and Social Order

• Topic: Details Inca religious beliefs and the early administrative structure of the empire.
• Key Details: The Incas worshipped the Sun as their primary deity and recognized a supreme creator god named Pachacámac. The section introduces the system of decurions (officials in charge of groups of 10 to 1,000) used for governance and tracking population statistics. It also covers the achievements of the second and third kings, Sinchi Roca and Lloque Yupanqui.

Book 3: Expansion and Infrastructure

• Topic: Recounts the military conquests of the fourth and fifth kings and describes significant architectural and engineering feats.
• Key Details: It chronicles the reigns of Maita Cápac and Cápac Yupanqui, including the first use of suspension bridges made of wicker or straw. A major portion is dedicated to describing the immense wealth and structure of the Temple of the Sun (Coricancha) in Cuzco.

Book 4: Education, Marriage, and Noble Customs

• Topic: Focuses on the social institutions of the Inca elite and the lives of the sixth and seventh kings.
• Key Details: It describes the “Chosen Women” (Acllas) who lived in seclusion and worked for the Sun or the Inca. The book also explains strict marriage laws (including royal sibling marriage), the education of noble children, and the reigns of Inca Roca and Yáhuar Huácac.

Book 5: Governance and the Rise of Viracocha

• Topic: Details the economic systems of the empire and the pivotal reign of the eighth king, Inca Viracocha.
• Key Details: It explains how lands were distributed and cultivated to support the Sun, the Inca, and the common people. It recounts the rebellion of the Chancas and the victory of Prince Viracocha, who took over the empire from his father.

Book 6: Royal Life and the Reign of Pachacutec

• Topic: Describes the majesty of the royal court and the expansive conquests of the ninth king, Pachacutec.
• Key Details: This section details the elaborate service and ornamentation of royal palaces, including “gardens” of gold and silver. It covers Pachacutec’s legal reforms, the establishment of schools, and his conquest of many coastal and highland provinces.

Book 7: Colonization and Architectural Grandeur

• Topic: Discusses the policy of mitmac (resettlement), the final conquests of the tenth king, and the fortress of Cuzco.
• Key Details: It explains how the Incas moved populations to secure new territories and ensure agricultural productivity. It describes Inca Yupanqui’s campaigns in Chile and concludes with a detailed account of the massive stone fortress of Sacsahuaman.

Book 8: The Empire at its Peak

• Topic: Covers the extensive conquests of the eleventh king, Túpac Inca Yupanqui, and lists the natural resources of the empire.
• Key Details: It narrates the difficult campaigns in the Chachapoyas and Quitu regions. The latter half acts as a natural history, cataloging the animals, plants (like coca and maize), minerals, and rivers found throughout the Inca domains before the Spanish arrival.

Book 9: The Last Days and the Civil War

• Topic: Details the reign of Huaina Cápac, the division of the empire, and the subsequent bloody civil war.
• Key Details: It describes Huaina Cápac’s decision to leave the Kingdom of Quito to his illegitimate son Atahualpa, while the rest of the empire went to the legitimate heir, Huáscar. The book concludes with the violent conflict between the two brothers, Atahualpa’s eventual victory, and his brutal extermination of the Inca royal line.

The Comentarios Reales de los Incas, written by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega, is a foundational work of colonial Spanish-American literature that provides an extensive history of the Inca Empire.

The Author’s Perspective

The book’s significance is rooted in the author’s unique mestizo heritage. As the son of a Spanish captain and an Inca princess, Garcilaso positions himself as both a relative of the Inca monarchs and a Spanish subject. He writes with the intent to “serve as a comment and gloss” to previous Spanish historians, correcting their linguistic misunderstandings and providing more nuanced detail through his fluency in Quechua and firsthand cultural knowledge.

Thematic Scope and Structure

The work is structured into nine books, covering the full arc of the Inca civilization:

• Origins and Foundation: It details the mythical founding of Cuzco by Manco Cápac and the transition from “barbaric” tribal life to imperial order.
• Religion and Worldview: Garcilaso describes their worship of the Sun and their conceptualization of a supreme creator god, Pachacámac. He also explores their beliefs in the immortality of the soul and universal resurrection.
• Governance and Law: A major focus is the sophisticated administrative and legal structure of the empire, including the division into four districts (Tahuantinsuyo) and a decimal system for social organization.
• Economic Social Order: The text details the communal labor system, land distribution, and the state-managed storage of resources to provide for the elderly, widows, and orphans.
• Cultural Achievements: Garcilaso highlights advancements in architecture (such as the Temple of the Sun and the fortress of Cuzco), agriculture (terracing and irrigation), and record-keeping through quipus.
• Expansion and Conflict: It chronicles the military and diplomatic efforts of successive Inca rulers to expand their territory, concluding with the devastating civil war between Huáscar and Atahualpa.

Literary and Historical Legacy

Garcilaso’s narrative often adopts an elegiac tone, lamenting the destruction of the Inca empire while celebrating its past majesty. While some later critics questioned his historical accuracy, modern scholarship has rehabilitated many of his claims, particularly regarding geography and the order of Inca conquests. The book is seen as a crucial effort to preserve the “relics” of a civilization extinguished by the Spanish conquest.