Nueva Crónica
Book •
The Nueva Crónica by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala is a prodigious illustrated manuscript written around 1615 that documents Andean history, customs, and a forceful critique of Spanish colonial abuses.
Combining text and drawings, the work was addressed to the Spanish king as a petition seeking redress for indigenous suffering and maladministration.
Scholars view it as both a literary and political document that blends indigenous and European forms to argue for justice and reform.
In the podcast, the authors treat Guaman Poma's work as evidence of vernacular skepticism and political agency among commoners in the Andes, challenging narratives that confine intellectual activity to European elites.
Combining text and drawings, the work was addressed to the Spanish king as a petition seeking redress for indigenous suffering and maladministration.
Scholars view it as both a literary and political document that blends indigenous and European forms to argue for justice and reform.
In the podcast, the authors treat Guaman Poma's work as evidence of vernacular skepticism and political agency among commoners in the Andes, challenging narratives that confine intellectual activity to European elites.
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Mentioned by Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra and Adrian Masters as an example of vernacular skepticism and a major indigenous petitionary chronicle.
Jorge Cañizares-Esguerra and Adrian Masters, "The Radical Spanish Empire: How Paperwork Politics Remade the New World" (Harvard UP, 2026)
