The Importance of Atahualpa in Seventeenth-Century Peruvian Historiography

Gálvez Peña C. · Hipogrifo (2026) · DOI: 10.13035/h.2026.14.01.19

Resumen

Seventeenth-Century Histories written in the Viceroyalty of Peru (1621-1681) by creole religious historians, aimed at revising the foundational events of the Conquest, both the role played by the main historical figures as well as the legal justification behind it. Using the historical work of Garcilaso de la Vega (1609) and the legal theory supporting the creole right for appointment to positions of rule, Peruvian religious historians appropriated early colonial history and created a new version, framed by Providence, the rights of creoles and connected to Spainʼs imperial expansion. This Peruvian History rewrote the roles of key historical figures of the Conquest and justified their actions not only to legitimize their place in history but to make Peruvian creoles, heirs to that historical legacy.

Instituciones: Pontificia Universidad Católica del Perú