Blog for Week of October 7th

     Something that interested me from this week of class was the Garcilaso document that we read about. More specifically, the story of Atahualpa and Huascar caught my attention. We always learn about modern history's alliances and enemies, yet these same types of relationships existed centuries ago. Human nature fuels conflict and agreement, and the struggle for power between Atahualpa, Huascar, and the Spanish is no different. You want to have the bully on your side because it will serve to your advantage and as a detriment to the enemy. This story reminds me a little bit of World War II. The United States was brought into an ongoing war and made a huge difference by helping the side that was "losing" to victory. A very similar occurrence happened with the Spanish as Atahualpa feared an alliance between Huascar (Allies) and the Spanish (U.S.). 

    It's really neat how Garcilaso was very self-aware regarding his own writing. He knew that his ideas would be important as a way to remember Incan history. Garcilaso de la Vega was in a very unique position considering he was the descendant of both Incan royalty and a Spanish conquistador. Although many Mestizos were born as a result of the Spanish conquest, we don't see very many examples of what they were thinking at the time. The fact that Garcilaso's writing is not only a unique element of Mestizo culture but also shows clear self-awareness for the future is incredible. It is easy to understand the conflicting opinions reflected in the document between Garcilaso's Spanish and Incan heritage. On one hand, Garcilaso wants to create a positive reflection of Incan culture. On the other, Garcilaso wrote the document in Spain for a mostly Spanish audience. There are so many conflicting parts to what Garcilaso had to say; it is extremely impressive how he was able to take all these different pieces to form the commentaries that effectively portray Incan culture while also pertaining to a Spanish audience. 

Comments

  1. Amanda WilsonOctober 8, 2021 at 3:12 PM

    Ben, I agree! I also appreciated how Garcilaso was self-aware when he was writing. His writing was interesting to read because it seemed that he wasn't as biased as other writers such as Cortés. Additionally, I was intrigued how it is more likely that his statements in his writing were validated more than other authors due to the fact that he was a descendent of Inca royalty and of Spanish.

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  2. Professor StarkOctober 12, 2021 at 2:01 PM

    Thank you, Ben, for the post. I like the comparison you make between the significance of alliances and the struggle for power in the past. Good example of comparing the U.S. in WWII and Atahualpa's fear of Huascar allying with the Spanish. A nice job of discussing Garcilaso's efforts to portray the Incas favorably to a Spanish audience.

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