Andean Worlds Chapter Summary
Justin Currie
Professor Hinde
History
November 25th, 2010
Andean Worlds 1. Kenneth J, Andrien. Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness under Spanish Rule. 1532-1825. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001. Print.
In his book, Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture and Consciousness under Spanish rule. 1532-1825, the author, Kenneth J. Andrien, examines the Spanish invasion of the Incan Empire (called Tawintinsuyu) in 1532. This invasion brought cataclysmic change to the entire Andean region, resulted in the complete collapse of the empire and the deaths of most of the citizens through war and pestilence in later years. What had once been the proud and content citizens of the most advanced, powerful …show more content…
Chapter one is more specifically about the different perspectives you have to take into account when discussing Incan history because while there are oral histories there is a complete lack of a written language and as such, historians must rely on either word of mouth or arrangements of knotted strings, called quipu, which the Andeans used to record their census data, contents of state warehouses and the numbers of taxpayers. They were also used to record basic information about significant events such as battles and dynastic events. There are problems with the quipu though, such as the fact that they are knotted strings which can easily fray and become damaged over time, rendering them useless to historians. Chapter two meanwhile focused on Tawantinsuyu before the Spanish invasion. It goes into great depth and discusses the political climate, how the empire functioned, the fall and eventual takeover of the empire by Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors. This chapter was interesting because it pointed out that really one of the only reasons that the Spanish had such an easy time of it when they invaded the Empire was because a huge, five year civil war that completely crippled the empire had just ended. As such this made the empire very susceptible to invasion and interference because of the many indigenous tribes that had backed the wrong brother Huáscar, were still angry and …show more content…
Chapter five begins with the account of the aged indios ladino Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala who in 1615 with his young son took a manuscript he had been writing for over 30 years. This manuscript was remarkable in that it was written in both Castilian and his native Quechua. What is so remarkable about this is that the Incan language never developed an alphabet and it was not until 1560 that a Castilian-Quechua dictionary was released. Under colonial rule Spanish friars opened schools that taught Castilian which was the most common language in Spain. Spanish arts and Andean arts merged which lead to a distinctive culture that was neither Andean nor European. Indios Ladinos were indigenous people who had learned Castilian as well as their native tongue. They were the frist people of true mixed cultures and were extremely important because they were able to serve in many important jobs and showed the coming together of two cultures even when they had been born when Tawintinsuyu existed. Chapter six focuses on the spiritual conquest of the Andean world which although it was incomplete led to huge cultural and religious changes. Although the people accepted the trappings of Christianity such as the feasts, rituals, music, dances and prayers they viciously clung to their traditional rites and refused to give them up. This annoyed the clergy
Professor Hinde
History
November 25th, 2010
Andean Worlds 1. Kenneth J, Andrien. Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture, and Consciousness under Spanish Rule. 1532-1825. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2001. Print.
In his book, Andean Worlds: Indigenous History, Culture and Consciousness under Spanish rule. 1532-1825, the author, Kenneth J. Andrien, examines the Spanish invasion of the Incan Empire (called Tawintinsuyu) in 1532. This invasion brought cataclysmic change to the entire Andean region, resulted in the complete collapse of the empire and the deaths of most of the citizens through war and pestilence in later years. What had once been the proud and content citizens of the most advanced, powerful …show more content…
Chapter one is more specifically about the different perspectives you have to take into account when discussing Incan history because while there are oral histories there is a complete lack of a written language and as such, historians must rely on either word of mouth or arrangements of knotted strings, called quipu, which the Andeans used to record their census data, contents of state warehouses and the numbers of taxpayers. They were also used to record basic information about significant events such as battles and dynastic events. There are problems with the quipu though, such as the fact that they are knotted strings which can easily fray and become damaged over time, rendering them useless to historians. Chapter two meanwhile focused on Tawantinsuyu before the Spanish invasion. It goes into great depth and discusses the political climate, how the empire functioned, the fall and eventual takeover of the empire by Francisco Pizarro and his conquistadors. This chapter was interesting because it pointed out that really one of the only reasons that the Spanish had such an easy time of it when they invaded the Empire was because a huge, five year civil war that completely crippled the empire had just ended. As such this made the empire very susceptible to invasion and interference because of the many indigenous tribes that had backed the wrong brother Huáscar, were still angry and …show more content…
Chapter five begins with the account of the aged indios ladino Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala who in 1615 with his young son took a manuscript he had been writing for over 30 years. This manuscript was remarkable in that it was written in both Castilian and his native Quechua. What is so remarkable about this is that the Incan language never developed an alphabet and it was not until 1560 that a Castilian-Quechua dictionary was released. Under colonial rule Spanish friars opened schools that taught Castilian which was the most common language in Spain. Spanish arts and Andean arts merged which lead to a distinctive culture that was neither Andean nor European. Indios Ladinos were indigenous people who had learned Castilian as well as their native tongue. They were the frist people of true mixed cultures and were extremely important because they were able to serve in many important jobs and showed the coming together of two cultures even when they had been born when Tawintinsuyu existed. Chapter six focuses on the spiritual conquest of the Andean world which although it was incomplete led to huge cultural and religious changes. Although the people accepted the trappings of Christianity such as the feasts, rituals, music, dances and prayers they viciously clung to their traditional rites and refused to give them up. This annoyed the clergy