The way that Guaman Poma wrote was a bit confusing at times. He would add in details, like the names of popes, that were not really needed or would repeat himself a bit. I had to re-read a couple times to clear up my confusion but overall it was fine.
I found it very interesting the way Guaman Poma describes the Spanish in a negative way and often criticizing them for greed, bad behaviour and mistreatment of the Inca. When he spoke about the Spanish king he had nothing but praise, however the majority of the other Spaniards he mentioned were talked about very negatively. Guaman Poma even described the many crimes committed by the Spanish in Peru, saying that they were robbing the Spanish crown and were bad christians. I was surprised that he would be so blunt about this, figuring that he would dance around the truth so as not to offend anyone.
However, Guaman Poma also seems to conform to the Spanish’s racism, like when he talks about black people and non christian Incas. Could it be that he believes everything that he says in his book or is he just trying to play along so that there is a greater chance of his book being read by the king, and if it is read of it, of it getting the king to take action to stop the Spanish abuses of the Inca? Even as a Christian who accepts the Spanish king as the rightful ruler of Peru, Guaman Poma is still an indigenous man, meaning he will never he accepted fully by the conquerers. It is not longer the Inca’s world so that people must play by the Spanish’s rules.
Guaman Poma claims that he is from nobility and several times he writes about the high ranks and great deeds of his family that may or many not be true. It could be that he made events and facts up to increase his own status and improve his image. So is part of his agenda in righting this book for personal gain? If his book was read and acted on by the king then he would be a hero to his people and likely he would be given some respect and recognition from the Spaniards. We will likely never know but I think it was probably a mix. By the way he details the abuses committed by the Spanish against the Incas and his condemnation of their actions show that he cares about putting an end to them. He also had the opportunity for some self propaganda.
“When he spoke about the Spanish king he had nothing but praise, however the majority of the other Spaniards he mentioned were talked about very negatively.”
Yes, this is an important point… and obviously it’s determined in part by the fact that he’s writing *to* the King. And why, after all, is it the King to whom he’s writing?
Hi there!
I agree that it was very interesting to see how Guaman Poma does not beat around the bush when discussing the wrongs of the Spanish. Using his voice to criticize is almost a reclaiming of agency on behalf of the indigenous. Because the indigenous are living in a society that was not built for them, they are robbed a voice, or at least one that’s heard by the Spanish. However, Guaman Poma uses his voice, validated by his ethnicity to speak on behalf of the indigenous.
You mention how Guaman Poma reiterates the fact that he is a descendant of nobility. The fact that he is conscious of his status and keeps placing emphasis on it perhaps signifies to the reader that class was a major component to having a voice in Spanish society. Guaman Poma stands in an incredibly unique position in that he not only sees the injustices committed against the indigenous (as done by other authors like De Las Casas) but also has direct lineage to it. However, because he is also partly Spanish, this grants him a space at the discussion table. It is almost as if he is leveraging this half of his being to correct the injustices being committed against the other half.