Born in Cuzco in 1539, Garcilaso de la Vega was the son of Spanish conqueror Sebastián Garcilaso de la Vega y Vargas and Inca princess Palla Chimpu Ocllo. He grew up in the earliest years of the Spanish empire, just when the conquered Incas were becoming used to Spanish rule. He lived among and was related to indigenous Peruvians who were alive in the days of Huascar’s rule in Cuzco and his subsequent battle with half-brother Atahualpa, as well as those who were alive during the rule of Huayna Capac.
He grew up learning both Quechua and Spanish while living with his mother – until he turned 10. It was then, with the death of his father who had long since abandoned the family, he decided to go to study in Spain with the 4,000 pesos he had received as an inheritance.
January 1, 2009 | Culture & History
When Francisco Pizarro arrived in the Rimac valley, founding the city of Los Reyes on the 18th of January 1535, he arrived in place quite different from what you might imagine. Here was an expansive green and fertile land, in the middle of the Peruvian desert coast, home tens of thousands living under the rule of the Incas. Where Lima is found today was once a land of pyramids and palaces, cities and farms, with complex irrigation canals spanning kilometres in length bringing water to every home.
September 15, 2008 | Archaeology, Culture & History, Lima City Guide
The Spanish had explored Central America and were engaging in expeditions reaching out south-wards along the pacific coast. One ship sailed down past the equator where eventually it reached the mouth of a river. There, the Spaniards on the ship noticed a native man fishing on the coast. Four of the strongest fastest Spanish disembarked some way away while the ship continued and stopped directly off the coast infront of the fisherman. Never having seen anything so strange and wonderful before, the fisherman was transfixed, staring at the ship not paying attention to his surroundings.
August 2, 2007 | Culture & History
