Inca Garcilaso de la Vega | |
|---|---|
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| Born | 12 April 1539 |
| Died | 23 April 1616 (aged 77) |
| Occupation(s) | Writer, historian |
| Parent(s) | Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega (father) Isabel Chimpu Ocllo (mother) |
| Writing career | |
| Language | Early Modern Spanish |
| Genres | Chronicle Autobiography |
| Notable works | Comentarios Reales de los Incas La Florida del Inca |
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Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (12 April 1539 – 23 April 1616), born Gómez Suárez de Figueroa and known as El Inca, was a chronicler and writer born in the Viceroyalty of Peru.[1] 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 and an Inca noblewoman born in the early years of the conquest, he is known primarily for his chronicles of Inca history, culture, and society. His work was widely read in Europe, influential and well received.[2] It was the first literature by an author born in the Americas to enter the western canon.[3]
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.
- ^ "A los indios, mestizos y criollos de los reinos y provincias del grande y riquíssimo imperio del Perú, el Inca Garcilasso de la Vega, su hermano, compatriota y paisano, salud y felicidad." (To the Indians, Mestizos and Creoles of the kingdoms and provinces of the large and riquíssimo empire of Peru, the Inca Garcilasso de la Vega, their brother, compatriot and fellow countryman, wishes health and happiness.) Prólogo a la Historia General del Perú
- ^ John Hemming: “The conquest of the Incas.” Macmillan, 1993, ISBN 0-333-10683-0: “He told many delightful stories about his childhood in Cuzco. But as a historian Garcilaso has forfeited my confidence: he meanders, forgets, romanticises or blatantly distorts too often to remain authorative.”
- ^ Noble David Cook, "Garcilaso de la Vega, el Inca" in Encyclopedia of Latin American History and Culture, vol. 3, pp.32-33. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons 1996.