I wasn’t really sure what to expect from Garcilaso and his general history but I found it quite fun. The way he writes is very interesting but I can see that it is not an unbiased take at all. I was reminded of Guaman Poma and his First Chronicle while I was reading. Like with Guaman Poma Garcilaso seems to be writing with an agenda. He says he is recording history but actually he is writing a history in the way he wants the world to remember it as. So I am wondering if I would call this a history because I am doubting the credibility of the author. Can I trust anything that he says or should I just be sceptical and take what he says with a grain of salt? Maybe I will just have to read between the lines and fact check his claims. Garcilaso writes an interesting story but I am left wondering how much is a story and how much is history.

I found it interesting that Garcilaso thought so highly of the Incas but thought very little about the other indigenous groups. He compares the Inca Empire to the Roman Empire with the only difference being that the romans had a writing system and the Inca didn’t. He puts the Incas on a pedestal that separates them from other indigenous peoples. It reminds me of the special girl trope so that here he is saying that the Inca are special, they’re not like other indigenous peoples. They are better, smarter, more sophisticated. That’s why they should be seen with respect that other groups do not deserve. I wonder if Garcilaso only sees the Incas like this because he is part Inca and so has a very biased view. It’s not like he would want to say anything  less about his own people and most people think that their own are better than everyone else. The Spanish certainly did.

Garcilaso, as a mestizo, is caught between worlds. He wants to make both the Spanish conquerers and the Incas look good, which is a tricky thing to do when they were on opposing sides of a war. I found him a bit confusing at times because he seems to switch around as he tries to make both sides look good. Sometimes he seems pro-indigenous and other times he seems pro-Spanish. What side is he on?