Garcilasso de la Vega, the son of a distinguished Spaniard of the same
name, was born at Cuzco in 1540. His mother, named Nusta, was a niece of
the great Inca Huayna Capac, and granddaughter of his no less eminent
predecessor, Tupac Yupanqui. The intimate blood relationship which
connected him with the Incas naturally drew attention to his work, and,
with more haste than reason, was treated as the best possible
qualification for writing Peruvian history; therefore his "Commentarios"
acquired a very great celebrity, and came to be regarded as the highest
authority on all questions relating to Peru previous to the Conquest.
The work never deserved this reputation, although it was not without
value as an addition to what had been written on the subject by
Spaniards. Garcilasso was not well qualified to write a faithful history
of Peru either by his knowledge or by the temper of his mind. His aim
was to glorify the Incas and their times, and much of his work was in
the strain of tales heard in childhood from his mother.
The "Commentarios Reales" were written just as their author's training
had prepared him to write them. He lived in Cuzco without education
until he was nearly twenty years old, his intellectual development being
confined to the instruction necessary to make him a good Catholic. He
then went to Spain and never returned to Peru. The next period of his
life was devoted to seeking distinction in the Spanish military service;
but political influence was against him, and he could not attain the
object of his ambition. He finally retired to Cordova, acquired some
literary culture, and resolved to win distinction by writing a history
of his native country. His materials for such a history, in addition to
what could be learned from the earlier Spanish writers, consisted
entirely of what he had learned of his mother and his early Peruvian
associates at Cuzco, and of such acquisitions as could be gained by
means of correspondence with his acquaintances in Peru, after the
purpose to write a history was formed. It can be seen readily that
Garcilasso's history written in this way might have a certain value,
while it could not be safely accepted as an authority. The first part of
his work was published in 1609, when he was nearly seventy years old.
According to his version of the Peruvian annals, the rule of the Incas
began with the mythical Manco Capac, and lasted over five hundred years;
and this version, with some variations in estimates of the time, has
been repeated ever since. The dynastic line of the Incas thus determined
is given in the work of Rivero and Von Tschudi as follows:
1. Manco-Capac, mysterious "son of the sun," who began to reign in 1021
A.D., and died in 1062, having reigned forty years. 2. Sinchi-Rocca,
who reigned thirty years, from 1062 to 1091. 3. Lloque-Yupanqui,
reigned thirty-five years, from 1091 to 1126. 4. Mayta-Capac, thirty
years, from 1126 to 1156. 5. Capac-Yupanqui, forty-one years, from 1156
to 1197. 6. Inca Rocca, fifty-one years, from 1197 to 1249. 7.
Yahuar-Capac, forty years, from 1249 to 1289. 8. Viracocha, fifty-one
years, from 1289 to 1340; his son Inca Urco reigned after him eleven
days, and was then deposed "as a fool incapable of governing." 9.
Titu-Manco-Capac-Pachacutec, sixty years, from 1340 to 1400, living,
says tradition, to be one hundred and three years old. 10. Yupanqui,
thirty-nine years, from 1400 to 1439. 11. Tupac-Yupanqui (Garcilasso's
great-grandfather) thirty-six years, from 1439 to 1475. 12.
Huayna-Capac, "the most glorious of the Incas," fifty years, from 1475
to 1525. After his death the empire was divided between his two sons
Huascar and Atahuallpa. This caused a civil war, which ended with the
death of Huascar in 1532. One year later Atahuallpa was himself
destroyed by Cortez.
Manco-Capac, here set down as the first Inca, with a marvelous story of
his mysterious origin and his miraculous powers as a civilizer, was
undoubtedly borrowed from traditions of the origin of civilization in
the more ancient times, which had been used by the Incas in support of
their claim to direct descent from the sun. In reality, the first Inca
was Rocca, or Sinchi-Rocca, and several of the early Spanish writers
were sufficiently well informed to see this. The period of the Incas
must have been less than five hundred years if their dynasty consisted
of no more than twelve or thirteen sovereigns. In other respects, this
table of the sovereigns may be substantially correct, for there is a
general agreement in regard to the names and the order of succession,
although Montesinos maintains that the fifth Inca on the list was
borrowed by Garcilasso from traditions of a much more ancient sovereign
who was greatly celebrated in the historical poems, or confounded with
him. The period of the Incas was very distinct in Peruvian history, but
it is now understood that they represent only the last period in the
history of a civilization which began much farther back in the past.