Skip to main content

Secondary sourceBook1688

The Royal Commentaries of Peru

Garcilaso de la Vega (translated by Paul Rycaut) · 1688

An early English translation of Garcilaso de la Vega's history, preserving an Inca-descended perspective on Atahualpa's downfall.

An early, imperfect English translation carrying Garcilaso's account of Atahualpa's fall to English readers.

Ask Atahualpa about this sourceView the original(opens in new tab)
Full text (Internet Archive)

About this source

What it is

Published in 1688, this is an English translation by Sir Paul Rycaut of Garcilaso de la Vega's Royal Commentaries, originally written in Spanish. It covers Inca history and the Spanish conquest, including the fall of Atahualpa. Historians note the translation is incomplete and sometimes inaccurate, omitting many chapters.

Why it matters

This translation introduced Garcilaso's Inca-influenced account of the conquest to English readers long before modern scholarly translations existed. Its flaws show how historical knowledge about figures like Atahualpa could be reshaped, shortened or distorted as it crossed languages and centuries.

Look closer

  • Why might a translator with limited Spanish have left out so many chapters?
  • How could missing chapters change what English readers understood about Atahualpa and the Incas?
  • Why is it useful for historians to compare different translations of the same source?

This book is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Atahualpa on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

More Atahualpa sources

Meet the AI Atahualpa →
Black-and-white ink line drawing with a bold Spanish caption across the top reading Conquista and Atahualpa, Ciudad de Caxamarca. A robed friar with a cross faces a kneeling Inca man, while a crowd of Spanish soldiers with spears and Andean figures fills the scene.Painting

Secondary source

Atawallpa Pizarro tinkuy

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala · 1532 (depicted); drawing later

A bound manuscript volume lies open in a glass case on a white pedestal, showing two pages with handwritten Spanish text and a pen-and-ink drawing of figures with a Spanish-style scene at left. A numbered tag reading 35 sits beside it. Colorful graphic wall art surrounds the case.Book

Primary source

El primer nueva corónica y buen gobierno

Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala · c. 1615

Pen-and-ink drawing titled 'Conquista', showing Spanish soldiers in armor and helmets with a seated Inca ruler being executed. A bearded, feathered Spanish figure stands at left; a figure with a cross and sword stands center; a headless body lies on the ground below, with a severed head held at right. Caption text at the bottom is in Spanish.Painting

Secondary source

Muerte de Atagualpa Inca

Felipe Huaman Puma de Ayala · c. 1615

A stone building with a low tiled roof and a small doorway at its base, its pale stone-block walls lit by sunshine under a blue sky. Rough rock slabs lie in the foreground.Artifact

Secondary source

Ransom Room

Book

Secondary source

Suma y Narración de los Incas

Juan de Betanzos · 1551

Ready when you are

Start chatting with Atahualpa now.

20 messages free · No credit card · Available in 50+ languages.

Trial Humy for freeGet a quote for institutions